Re: In Defense of Testing

["Allen Flanigan." <Allen.Flanigan@USPTO.GOV>]

Juanita,

It seems like you want a simplistic answer to overcome the simplistic
rhetoric of teacher bashing.  I don't have one to offer.  The best I can
suggest to get parents to figure out how hard many teachers work is to visit
schools and see for themselves.  But perhaps you are reading too much into
the rhetoric of these "education consumer" groups when they claim that they
speak for "most parents".  Surveys tend to show that a majority of parents
are pretty satisfied with their local school.

If you want to find "common ground" with the people who tend to gravitate to
these "education consumer" groups, most of whom seem to have an ax to grind,
I'm afraid you won't find such common ground until you are willing to sign
on to their agenda.  Personally, I'm highly suspicious of these groups, as
they tend to present a very one-sided view of things.  A Wisconsin chapter,
for example, has posted on its website without critical comment the writings
in defense of testing of one Richard Phelps, who actually had the audacity
to claim that Mickey Vanderwerker, a founder of PAVURSOL, is an employee of
Fairtest.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jedoyon@AOL.COM [SMTP:Jedoyon@AOL.COM]
> Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 11:03 AM
> To:   ARN-L@listsrva.CUA.EDU
> Subject:      Re: In Defense of Testing
>
> In a message dated 2/15/01 6:36:18 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> Allen.Flanigan@USPTO.GOV writes:
>
> << Refusing to hold teachers accountable based on the children they are
> given,
>  and instead trying to base it on what they do with the children they are
>  given, is probably a step in the right direction.  Fundamentally, unless
> you
>  believe that the primary function of schools is to make children good
> test
>  takers, this plan is still flawed because it is based on precisely this
>  premise, reducing the definition of education to good test taking skills.
> I
>  am interested in meaningful and genuine outcomes, like success in college
>  and life. >>
>
> I think we have to assume that testing is not going to go away anytime
> soon.
> It is a long standing part of the American education system.  And testing
> itself is acceptable practice in the minds of most parents, teachers and
> community members.  We will also not wake up tomorrow to find that the
> number
> of students the average teacher sees in a day has been decreased
> dramatically.  These are two issues we should accept as insurmountable, at
> least at the moment, if we are to fight the widespread misuse of testing
> and
> denial of local control.
>
> I've thought a lot about the sheer numbers of students in the public
> education system, and how it has become an impersonal sort and file
> proposition.  This is what we are fighting in the big picture.  We are
> fighting for personal service and respect for every student (and teacher)
> in
> the "system."  In order to ever gain this, we somehow have to overcome the
> notion that our schools themselves are failing.  We also have to find some
> entity that is willing to deal with the individual child.  The only
> entities
> I can think of who are, in most cases, willing and able to do this are
> parents.  In the absence of parenting desire or ability, it would seem
> practical for the school and/or teacher to assist in the care of a child,
> but
> is it fair to expect the school and/or teacher to fill this role for a
> large
> percentage of children in some cases?
>
> I keep coming back to the idea that parents must take responsibility for
> their children.  But then, there are parents who take responsibility who
> still cannot find what their children need in public schools.  The RIGHT
> claims this is because rote learning is out of vogue and social
> engineering
> is the rule of the day.  The LEFT claims it is a lack of resources within
> the
> system.  Us middle roaders feel that it is the system itself that is the
> problem.  If we could somehow delegate and assure responsibility for child
> care and school spending and force a rational approach to accountability
> that
> is not on the backs of teachers and children, we would all win.
>
> I believe in my heart that there are a relatively small number of poor
> teachers, yet a visit to the "education consumers" list reveals that my
> beliefs are in the minority.  They blame colleges of education, unions,
> tenure-- you name it.  So how do we go about proving that the majority of
> teachers are earning their pay?  How do we assess school building practice
> and point out the glaring inconsistencies beyond test scores?  How do we
> find
> common ground with the "other side" of educational activists, who believe
> our
> public school system and the parents and teachers who subscribe to it are
> the
> enemy?
>
> Juanita
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
> to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.