Kindergarten testing madnessThis is kindergarten, the happy land of building blocks and singalongs. But increasingly in schools across Massachusetts and the United States, little children are being asked to perform academic tasks, including test taking, that early childhood researchers agree are developmentally inappropriate, even potentially damaging. If children don’t meet certain requirements, they are deemed “not proficient.” Frequently, children are screened for “kindergarten readiness” even before school begins, and some are labeled inadequate before they walk through the door. (Boston Globe)Wisconsin dumps its standardized test
A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing. The tests will be replaced over the next two to three years with a system that combines state, district and classroom assessments. Wisconsin is one of the few states with a law prohibiting the pay of teachers being tied to a standardized test score. This has attracted the ire of the DOE. Arne Duncan is threatening to withhold federal Race-To-The-Top dollars unless the law is changed. (MPR News)
How awful, both that little kindergarteners are forced to take completely inappropriate tests and that Wisconsin will possibly be punished for taking a creative approach to evaluation and accountability. I agree that standards should exist and be enforced as should efficiency and accountability measures. However, standardized NCLB statewide tests on one hand and teacher pay tied to those tests on the other are debatable (I for one would say 'terrible') indicators.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes teach Kindergarten Spanish at a school down the road, and ummm... please be reminded that it is as argued above completely development inappropriate...