As the movement to end high stakes testing continues to grow, I can't help but think about how far reaching the damage being done really goes and how difficult it will be to undo.
The testing/accountability movement that has now crashed down upon us certainly did arrive quickly, at least from my vantage point. And while it was approaching, I could sense myself and my colleagues bracing for its impact. The piece that has been truly shocking however, is how fast and how dramatically it is damaging our schools, classrooms, and students.
I have been witness to psychological and emotional damage to administrators, teachers, and of most concern, students.
(And "Testing Season" is not even upon us yet!)
Evidence of Damage
- During a recent administration of the MAP test, a 10 year old rubbed her arm raw due to testing anxiety. (She is very bright and it took her 3x as long as others to complete the test.)
- At the conclusion of the second marking period, a ninth grader had a total of 15 assessments in a 5 day period. This included finals, midterms, SLOs, LAMs, etc. Yes, you read it correctly FIFTEEN!
- A usually even keeled colleague of mine has had numerous tirades about unfair testing practices, unbalanced classrooms, inconsistent directives from administration, etc. all in front of students.
- A colleague of mine in a primary school building reports how a bright second grade girl has been sick almost every Friday from November on. It was discovered that Friday is the day her teacher gives the new CCLS aligned math tests.
- Administrators from the very top, all the way down have said in one form or another, "We don't have the answers. We are under attack too." (By the way, hearing this from your leadership does not help ease concerns)
These are just some of the stories I have collected over the past month after asking the question, "How are CCLS and APPR affecting the culture in your school building?"
I know there are many more (horror) stories out there. Feel free to share them here.
The point of all of this is - we are damaging people. Emotionally and psychologically we are damaging adults and children with a testing movement that has absolutely NO research to back up its validity.
We should ask the question, " Where is the study that shows the long term psychological effects on children who are exposed to high stakes testing?"
Let's stand together against this movement!
Let's demand change!
Let's foster real, research based, 21st century education reform!
Come Along!
Testing, testing, and more testing CANNOT be the answer to fixing the education system. The current educational environment, created by testing and APPR, has led to finger pointing and fear. It has not led to educational reform. It has stripped teachers of the ability to teach anecdotally and meet the needs of the individual learners in the classrooms. Are we just trying to fit square pegs in round holes?
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