I know many of you are online adjuncts and not K-12 teachers, so you probably don't feel the pressure of standardized testing imposed by state laws and No Child Left Behind. My kids took their state tests today, and did remarkably well. I had a 98% pass rate, which made me overjoyed! I was VERY worried about my kids passing the test. I thought I'd share a story as to why. When my class was going over World War I, I had created a graphic organizer the kids could use to learn the major people involved with the War. At the top of the chart, I listed the leaders' names, with rows for information about the leaders' countries, roles, beliefs, etc. The kids had to review their textbooks to find the information. One kid raised his hand and looked puzzled. He was reading a section on Woodrow Wilson. His problem was that he couldn't find out what country Wilson was associated with. (Obviously, he SHOULD have known this from his prior middle school courses in US history...) He said he couldn't find the answer. I pointed to a paragraph and told him to read it again. He does, and looks up puzzled, still unable to find the answer. I then pointed to a sentence, which read something like this: "Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States, delivered a speech containing the fourteen points." The kid read it and still looked up at me and says, "But that still doesn't tell me what country he's from!" I look at him and say "he was the president of the US, so what country is he from?" and the kid still says he doesn't know... Finally I had to just tell him because he clearly wasn't getting it. I swear... This whole idea of standardized testing to ensure everyone's success is noble, but it's making our kids forget common sense. I hope it gets better! -Matt
Standardized testing for schoolkids isn't perfect, but until I see a better idea I have to say I'm in favor of it. BTW...congratulations on the impressive pass rate!
Oh yes, I agree. However, I OFTEN tell me kids how when I was in high school (and I teach at my high school), we never had multiple choice tests in history. It was all short answer and essay based. Now EVERYTHING pretty much has to be multiple choice, and as a result, history has turned into rote memorization of random pointless facts the state deems necessary. Ridiculous! -Matt
