A LYS Superintendent sent in the following.
I have written before about the failures of the high stakes testing andpunitive accountability programs. Within the current operating framework, twoquestions are difficult to answer.
1. If schools are failing, why do we need to generate harder exams everyfew years?
2. If exam scores are improving but our students are still"failing", why do we think our current framework of testing andaccountability will ever produce the student product we are seeking?
However, if we step outside our current framework, these questions havelogical answers.
It could be that the tests get harder because students continue toperform better on tests AND students are still not adequately prepared for allaspects of life after public school. So far, we have approached theproblem believing that testing performance and college-career readiness aresomehow entangled.
But a simpler solution to the conundrum could be that public schoolsserve no one well. Standardized testing is driving the creation astandardized product. Obviously, schools are failing to produce astandardized product that satisfies all stakeholders. With the best ofintentions we have failed to acknowledge that all people are not the same. Allpeople do not have the same goals, needs, or desires in life. Yet we haveembraced a public education system that forces all students into the samevehicle driven by the standardized testing engine. This is not good for our children, it is not good for business, and it is not good for our country.
Why? The standardized education product created bystandardized education testing is irrelevant because it connects to nothing and no one. As such, this negatively impacts everything from funding to engagement to scores to dropout rates.
Without trying to have it both ways, I will add that I do think there isa role for standardized testing in public schools. But it is simply onemeasure, not the “be all end all,” that our elected leaders have made it.
Michael Seabolt
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
- Call Jo at (832)477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copiesavailable on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
- Call Jo at (832)477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary SchoolLeadership Tale” Individual copies available onAmazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
- Nowat the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite(Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
- Upcoming Presentations: Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote),Advancing Improvement in Education Conference (Multiple Presentations), TASSPAssistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), North Dakota Association ofSecondary School Principals (Keynote), American Association of SchoolAdministrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association ofSecondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
- FollowSean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder