Gallagher expresses the same frustration I feel - test scores have overtaken the importance of true learning. According to Gallagher, the government's wish to have high test scores has put pressure on states and districts to "win" with the highest scores. Educators are encouraged to attend workshops so they can be trained on how to improve test scores, teach the standards to meet those scores and give sample tests to prepare their students for the tests. This type of environment does not foster deep cognitive understanding of concepts or ideas. It does not provide students with the abilities needed to become active and informed citizens of our communities. It kills the passion to want to read.
I have seen how testing can affect students' learning and the teacher's inability to help those students due to testing. Let me explain. Bibb County recently purchased a testing program through AimsWeb. Currently, all elementary and middle schools must perform three testing sessions three times a year to see how our students are perfoming in math and reading. I am a teacher who helps students who need remediation in reading and comprehension as well as writing. I was prevented from teaching these critical skills to my students because I had to administer one of the standardized reading tests three days this past month. Testing kept me from teaching -how can I encourage reading and writing when I'm testing, not teaching?
Gallagher nailed it when he stated that when we force students to learn and memorize facts for a test we are "sacrificing deep, rich teaching" which in turn chips away our "students' motivation." Students are becoming desensitized to learning and more focused on passing state or national tests -it is our fault. Teachers are rewarded or admonished based on their classes' scores. What are educators to do? Well, as Gallagher suggests WE must encourage reading, provide reading material of high interest and find a happy medium in teaching the concepts of reading. Maybe we can help some of our students... classroom by classroom.
