Excellent Op. Ed.

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

Standardized tests can send students who fail into tailspin
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle -- October 18, 2006
by Dan Drmacich --Guest essayist


The drumbeat of our state Regents testing policy and our federal No 
Child Left Behind Act echoed loud and clear in the Democrat and 
Chronicle's Sept. 22 and Oct. 12 stories on test results. Reading 
between the lines of the scoring data and accompanying stories of how 
schools are focusing their curricula to help students pass Regents tests 
# leads me to several critical conclusions: Students in families with 
higher family incomes generally have higher test scores than those from 
poorer families. One of the many critical reports substantiating this 
conclusion is the 2003 Metropolitan Life Teacher Assessment that 
low-income children have at least 16 critical variables to deal with 
that negatively impact test scores. These include family dysfunction and 
children entering kindergarten with low vocabulary levels.

Instead of requiring the same levels of testing performance from all 
students and publicly ranking schools that have minimal control over 
testing outcomes, wouldn't it make more sense for the state and federal 
governments to promote individual student growth and development? This 
change could be partially accomplished by never making test results 
public. The purpose of testing should be to help students grow 
academically, not to coerce higher test performances through public 
scrutiny and humiliation.

State and federal education departments also need to rely on more 
authentic, valid assessments, such as the number of books students 
comprehend, oral presentation results and portfolio demonstrations. 
Volumes of research prove that subjective teacher assessment is a much 
more accurate predictor of student success than any single standardized 
test score.

# The goal of having all students score above average on any standardized 
test is impossible. Few educators, politicians and even Board of Regents 
members understand that test writers construct standardized tests for 
the purpose of creating a wide range of scores, with roughly half the 
test takers scoring above average and the other half below. One might 
conclude that the public has been snookered into believing that 
education reform through testing will lead to more students scoring 
above average on state tests. Ironically, the very tests used by our 
state to measure student results prevent equality of performance.
# Standardized test scores do not give the public an accurate picture of 
how well schools are preparing students as citizens and leaders. Many 
New York state citizens who were poor test-takers have had successful 
college careers and hold prominent professional positions. Others have 
gone on to successful vocational careers and demonstrated success as 
leaders, parents and neighbors. Research has shown that success is not 
so dependent on IQ as it is upon an individual's EQ (emotional 
quotient). Characteristics, impossible to measure on standardized tests, 
such as leadership, perseverance, listening skills and compassion, are 
far more accurate predictors of success. More than 700 colleges have 
recognized this research, and consequently made the Scholastic Aptitude 
Tests optional for student admission.
# The emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing is creating a culture 
of failure among many students, especially in urban areas. Imagine for a 
moment how a student might feel with a curriculum dominated by test 
preparation, a routine many students find not very interesting. Also, 
consider how some students might feel after their low test scores are 
shared and compared publicly to those of higher-scoring students. Some 
students may be learning to feel hopeless.

Students who are poor, who are from English-as-a-second-language 
families, who have special education needs, who desire to have a 
vocational education or who have unique interests or learning styles, 
have suffered under the one-size-fits-all Regents education process. 
Even those students who do well on Regents tests suffer because they are 
often denied the opportunities to focus their studies on areas of 
personal interest, citizenship and other lifelong-learning skills.

<>Each person who agrees should voice his or her concerns to school 
district officials, state and federal representatives. Only through 
active citizenship can we create an education system that truly meets 
the needs of our students and our society.
#

# <>Drmacich is principal, School Without Walls in the Rochester School 
District.E-mail him at Daniel.Drmacich@RCSDK12.org 
<mailto:Daniel.Drmacich@RCSDK12.org>.
    
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/OPINION02/610180329/1039/OPINION