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i left teaching before NCLB was enacted, but the above seems to be the most common gripe about it, especially among teachers. here's what i don't understand: what do the tests cover that the standard curricula do not? the impression i get is that teachers believe that preparing their students for the standardized exams required by NCLB is a separate activity than teaching the curriculum, and the former interferes with the latter. are these tests not aligned with the core curricula?
yes, i realize that taking a standardized test is a skill that can be taught, but it's actually something that is best learned by practice, and the students still have to know the content in order to pass the test. it doesn't matter if you can reduce every multiple choice question to two options because you are skilled at taking tests if you still don't know if the correct answer is A or C, so what is it that makes "teaching to the test" a different activity than teaching content?
i will add this caveat: i returned to teaching for a short time post-NCLB, and i did notice that there was testing done much earlier in the school year. my kids couldn't perform well because the test given in november covered content that they would not learn until march. that was pretty pointless.
NCLB started when I was in Senior High, so I didn't have a great deal of experience with it compared to some.
The main concerns I heard were mainly that there was such a rush to get the students ready for the test that the teachers didn't have time to really explore the content.
Instead, they often felt like it was just a matter of making the students memorize and retain the facts.
To be honest, I never noticed any real difference as a result of the whole enterprise aside from a couple extra tests.
It means just teaching what is on the test. The districts closely analyze each year's test and see what they emphasize and what they don't. If they see the tests are only asking 2 questions about fractions, they won't teach fractions as much. They chart what questions are related to which objectives, which are ignored and if there is a pattern to the questions on what is asked odd years or even years or what objective seems to come up every 4 years a lot and then only teach that objective every 4 years. It's very precise. Like the flu shot, they try and predict what the questions will be in the coming year. They practice taking multiple choice tests with information based on real questions and real trick answers in the similar pattern to past tests. The see how many sentences get a good score on the writing test and then they practice writing essays with exactly that many sentences.
I have been teaching for 14 years. It is amazing to me how things have changed so much in so little time. Speaking for my state, the test is closely aligned with the standards. However, the test is only one way to measure the standards. Unfortunately that has now become the predominant way that all assessments are geared in order to expose the students to "test like formats" so they are used to it when they take the "real" test.
Additionally, it is now assumed that all major assessments, seeing as they mirror the test, should correlate to what the child actually receives on the test. Therefore, a child that achieves a score lower than their assessments must not have been "aligned" properly in the classroom.
Of course there are no extenuating circumstances that would explain why a child would not perform in an identical manner every time. It must also be true that all children are in the same place at every age, at every grade and that there are no real developmental, maturity, or motivation differences among children.
There is a difference between teaching to the standards and teaching to the test, but unfortunately, teachers are so scared of uncontrollable factors, that they feel it is necessary to teach to the test (format, wording,etc)
In my district, students are tested every 4 weeks and the scores are compared across the district. There are bar graphs hanging in every classroom, and the students are always talking about beating other classes on their test scores. It is really a sad thing. For most students now, school=testing....not learning. They couldn't care less if they know it later on. They only want to be able to perform for the test.
Another issue with teaching to the test is that many students seem incapable of applying information outside the realm of a multiple choice test any more. They can't seem to get out of that box that testing puts them in. It is really a sad state of affairs!
There is a difference between teaching to the standards and teaching to the test, but unfortunately, teachers are so scared of uncontrollable factors, that they feel it is necessary to teach to the test (format, wording,etc)
In my district, students are tested every 4 weeks and the scores are compared across the district. There are bar graphs hanging in every classroom, and the students are always talking about beating other classes on their test scores. It is really a sad thing. For most students now, school=testing....not learning. They couldn't care less if they know it later on. They only want to be able to perform for the test.
Another issue with teaching to the test is that many students seem incapable of applying information outside the realm of a multiple choice test any more. They can't seem to get out of that box that testing puts them in. It is really a sad state of affairs!
personally, i never encountered this. the last time i was in the classroom, i didn't even know when the test was being administered until a box was delivered to my door, and i never saw what was on it until i proctored the exam and collected the booklets from my students. i couldn't have taught to the test if i wanted to. where is this happening? although i'm no longer an educator, i still have close contacts in the profession, and have worked as a consultant with a few different schools, and everything i observed indicates to me that "teach to the standards" is the mantra around here. the complaints i hear about having to teach to the test are primarily in this forum, so maybe it's a state or regional issue?
personally, i never encountered this. the last time i was in the classroom, i didn't even know when the test was being administered until a box was delivered to my door, and i never saw what was on it until i proctored the exam and collected the booklets from my students. i couldn't have taught to the test if i wanted to. where is this happening? although i'm no longer an educator, i still have close contacts in the profession, and have worked as a consultant with a few different schools, and everything i observed indicates to me that "teach to the standards" is the mantra around here. the complaints i hear about having to teach to the test are primarily in this forum, so maybe it's a state or regional issue?
Just out of curiosity, how long have you been out of the classroom?
I began teaching in 2000. In my state, we were just creating state tests, etc. There was some idea about the test, but people didn't focus on it. Since the standards for NCLB continue to rise, so does the level of pressure on classroom teachers. Sure, when we are in staff development, we here standards and objectives. That is what they should be doing. But there are too many teachers still teaching to the test. Although, in my state, they are completely revamping the test this year with a high level of DOK so the test will look completely different. It makes it more difficult to teach to the test when you don't know what it looks like.
I talk to teachers all over the US on several teacher forums, and the "teaching to the test" ideaology is WIDE spread....I would venture to guess that districts that don't put that as a focus are in the minority. Now, I am not saying that supers are telling their teachers to teach to the test, but behind closed doors, it is all about doing whatever you have to get those kids to pass. I have personally heard of teachers at my school flat out cheating so their kids will pass. One teacher alerted the administration and they suspended her! The message was sent loud and clear----do what you have to and don't say a word about anything that is not completely on the up and up.
There is a difference between teaching to the standards and teaching to the test, but unfortunately, teachers are so scared of uncontrollable factors, that they feel it is necessary to teach to the test (format, wording,etc)
In my district, students are tested every 4 weeks and the scores are compared across the district. There are bar graphs hanging in every classroom, and the students are always talking about beating other classes on their test scores. It is really a sad thing. For most students now, school=testing....not learning. They couldn't care less if they know it later on. They only want to be able to perform for the test.
Another issue with teaching to the test is that many students seem incapable of applying information outside the realm of a multiple choice test any more. They can't seem to get out of that box that testing puts them in. It is really a sad state of affairs!
We've got the charts, graphs and so forth too! It's a big deal. Is it enough to motivate the students who are on the lower end? Not really.
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