Quote:
Originally Posted by FacePaint
Point Blank please correct me if I'm wrong but K-3 teachers would know if kids are falling behind without having to implement the standardized test wouldn't they? Use the money to increase access to teacher supports rather than more administration!
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Like anyone honed to their craft, a teacher would know within minutes of interacting with a student.
When I taught elementary, all I needed was a bit of time listening to a student read out loud to me and I could estimate their reading level, recommend an appropriate literacy goal, suggest a challenging but not impossible novel based on their interests, and put them in an appropriate grouping of students aimed at working on the same goal together.
I tracked all of this with data on spreadsheets- including formally benchmarked reading levels completed 3x a year, goals achieved, next goals, and daily anecdotal notes. Almost every elementary teacher is required to capture this kind of data in some way.
Standardized testing is an important data point, but excessive standardized testing leads to loss of teacher agency. Standardized testing cannot capture the full breadth of what teacher professional judgement can, and when there’s so many standardized tests to write, what is implied is that the government doesn’t trust a teacher to do their job properly.
What elementary kids need is time with a teacher. They do not need to spend hours writing tests, they need an adult to sit with them to remind them of their reading goal, watch them as they attempt their goals, and give feedback on how they did. Elementary kids can grow amazingly in a year, but it takes thoughtful lesson planning and intentional design of learning conditions. These tests take so much of that time away that it’s incredibly detrimental to their growth and development.
I guess since this is a hockey forum and there seems to be great respect for Danielle Fujita, I’ll bring her up as she’s a great example of what a student needs. If you listen to her talk about how she coaches skating, you would immediately understand why she’s so good for a hockey player’s development. I see education much in the same way as Fujita sees coaching, that in order to see measurable change in learning, teachers need to give small manageable feedback for students to try and monitor their growth over time. At some point, we need to let Fujita cook instead of wasting 2-3 months a year telling a hockey player with where they rank on fitness, top speed, etc.
