As a teacher in a public school my ears often perk up when I hear about high stakes testing in schools and tying tests to teacher evaluation. Our students and educators feel many stresses when it comes to testing. In the 8 years I have been teaching the process of using tests as some form of reflection on our teaching abilities has only become more scrutinized year after year. I do not accept this as a quality solution, however, if societal and political entities continue to accept and force high stakes testing upon students and educators, it is time teachers come to the table with some solutions.
If high stakes testing is the only solution (and it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon), then other factors must change in order to use testing effectively to move education forward. I’m a teacher, not a research specialist. My thoughts are my thoughts and are here to help provide a perspective to move forward and change the conversation.
If we are going to accept testing as the solution we must change the pressures.
Built in time for supportive conversations toward student and educator improvement. We must look at the results of the testing and create time for educators to work together to improve their practices. At the same time, teachers, parents and students need to be able to talk and have critical conversations that can improve student’s performance. All of these conversations must be done in a way that no party is feeling punitive, but instead is creating a supportive conversation with the ability to move everyone toward their future goals. Open conversations are vital to the educational process and must be extended to the testing realm.
Eliminate the high stakes feel for the sake of students AND educators. Educators need to be able to harness and hone their practice through some form of trial and error. It might not be a great thing to hear, but sometimes educators fail. When I make a mistake, I’m not proud of it, but I learn. Public education must build an environment so that a single test performance will not be used against students and teachers, but can be used as an opportunity for growth. Creating a high stakes system does not benefit any party involved. By allowing teachers to challenge and practice their curriculum, we allow them to examine the results of the year by comparing testing numbers in a way focused on both student and teacher growth and improvement. Using a Gordon Ramsay approach of pressure during testing, does not help anyone improve in a manner that creates quality classroom environments.
Test results must be used as tools, not awards for any party involved. This is truly the reason why I do not want to completely dismiss testing. There is some value when we use it for the correct reasons. Use the testing results as a way to build toward future results. We must create constructive feedback systems that allow for growth by students and educators. Also, by doing this we create an environment where teachers are more supportive to the idea of sharing ideas. When the competition is removed from testing scores, we can knock down the walls in our classroom and do what is best for students.
If high stakes testing continues to be legislated, then teachers must continue to operate with testing as a centerpiece to their classrooms. I'm asking politicians, school board members, superintendents, building administrators, and community members to change the conversation and create environments that actually support learning from test results. If we don't, we will not reach the outcomes we strive to achieve.
(Thank you very much Mrs. Glenn Morehouse Olson for helping edit it up.)
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