Students Go To School And Gain...Nothing!
In the article, Is It Really All That Testing, or Is It You? Diana Fingal reviews a blog entrywritten by Scott McLeod. In his blog Dangerously Irrelevant, McLeod candidly states that educators are to blame for students’ academic shortcomings. Teachers use The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and its standardized tests requirements as scapegoats for their ineffective and uninspiring teaching methods. In other words, since the NCLB, teachers claim they have been unable to teach effectively because they are forced to focus their students passing the standardize tests. Teachers feel like the policy limits students’ educational experience and their teaching potential. McLeod counters this argument by stating that even with NCLB in place, teachers are capable of improving student learning by thinking outside the box but choose not because they are “byproduct[s] of long-held, deeply rooted cultural and pedagogical norms.” They are making themselves out to be the victims of the system instead of finding ways to overcome the challenges for their students’ sake. The result of all this is unprepared high school graduate students going into the real world. They have passed the standardized tests but are uneducated for societal elements outside the textbook. Furthermore, they lack technology skills and are disconnected from the rest of the world.
Teachers who disagree with McLeod’s claims also make valid points: they say that due to the lack of resources and support from their school administration, they are unable to teach “outside the box.” Others say the real issue is about whose validation is more important, the students’ good education but low standardized test performance or the parents’ and school’s approval?
As harsh as it may seem, I lean towards McLeod’s opinion. Since taking EDUC 422, I am learning the importance of creative, innovative teaching. Like I have said before, effective teaching is making students learn without them knowing it. For example, to explain fractions and measurements, I will have the students participate in a simple cooking activity. Instead of giving them the measurements, they will have to solve a math problem for each recipe item or direction. Of course, this activity will only be made possible if I am given the resources to do so. I will also try to design lesson plans that incorporate material they need to know for the standardized tests and practical, real world knowledge. In order to make students’ assignments interesting I will have to do my homework as well; learning can inspiring if teachers make the effort to make it interesting and engaging.
Teachers who disagree with McLeod’s claims also make valid points: they say that due to the lack of resources and support from their school administration, they are unable to teach “outside the box.” Others say the real issue is about whose validation is more important, the students’ good education but low standardized test performance or the parents’ and school’s approval?
As harsh as it may seem, I lean towards McLeod’s opinion. Since taking EDUC 422, I am learning the importance of creative, innovative teaching. Like I have said before, effective teaching is making students learn without them knowing it. For example, to explain fractions and measurements, I will have the students participate in a simple cooking activity. Instead of giving them the measurements, they will have to solve a math problem for each recipe item or direction. Of course, this activity will only be made possible if I am given the resources to do so. I will also try to design lesson plans that incorporate material they need to know for the standardized tests and practical, real world knowledge. In order to make students’ assignments interesting I will have to do my homework as well; learning can inspiring if teachers make the effort to make it interesting and engaging.
The No Child Left Behind Law and all of the standardized testing that goes along with it is something that really concerns me. In this education class and others that I have taken, I have learned a lot about how to engage students in what they are learning. I'm affraid that when I actually have a classroom of my own that I will lose sight of all the engaging activities because of the stess of the standardized testing. There's a phrase, "Teaching to the test," that means that teachers only teach their students what they need to know to pass that standardized test. Essentially, "teaching to the test," only shows students how to take tests instead of teaching them the subject matter. It is my goal as a future teacher to not lose sight of effective teaching no matter how hard my circumstances may be.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree that standardized testing can get in the way of teaching creatively and being able to really explore the subject material. I also think that schools can become so consumed with the test results of their students that they create an environment where standardized tests become the most important product of education. The pressure comes from the top-down to teachers and they somehow have to find a way to balance all of these opposing forces. However, despite all of this pressure, teachers have to help students attain a well-rounded education. I agree that teachers might have to accept the fact that these tests exist, and do their best to "teach outside the box." They also can try and fight poor legislation and work for better standards in schooling.
ReplyDeleteI agree, school this day only focus on students being able to pass the test, and may of them lack on every subject. Even though some students may score high, but the thing is they are being taught how to take test and that is what students have come to learn. How to take test, students have become pro in test taking. I do not blame everything on the teachers, but I do feel that parents should participate more on their children's education and actually do something about it.
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