Having taught for 30 years in public schools, I would like to say a word about testing as a teacher. Toward the end of my career I found testing took so much time from teaching that it was actually disruptive. Funding was often dependent on test results. This fact sometimes resulted in “selective” test takers. At one time I was even requ…
Having taught for 30 years in public schools, I would like to say a word about testing as a teacher. Toward the end of my career I found testing took so much time from teaching that it was actually disruptive. Funding was often dependent on test results. This fact sometimes resulted in “selective” test takers. At one time I was even required to grade some of those tests. Teaching to the test was inevitable. The status of the school financial and otherwise depended on good test results. In another respect: the office of the counselor became for much of the time, the office of test facilitator, which resulted in in availability to students who might be in need of immediate help. I felt that the tests turned kids into robots and parents into slaves to SAT scores. Just my perspective, but I can’t tell you how much I hated being chained by those tests.
Having taught for 30 years in public schools, I would like to say a word about testing as a teacher. Toward the end of my career I found testing took so much time from teaching that it was actually disruptive. Funding was often dependent on test results. This fact sometimes resulted in “selective” test takers. At one time I was even required to grade some of those tests. Teaching to the test was inevitable. The status of the school financial and otherwise depended on good test results. In another respect: the office of the counselor became for much of the time, the office of test facilitator, which resulted in in availability to students who might be in need of immediate help. I felt that the tests turned kids into robots and parents into slaves to SAT scores. Just my perspective, but I can’t tell you how much I hated being chained by those tests.