standardized testing

[jeana4]

there must be comments here somewhere, but I didn't see them...I teach 6th grade in a middle school and our scores are "fantastic" but I'm not seeing the same in the classroom. I know this is heresy if said at school to an administrator, but the 5th graders came in with at least average or above, but can't seem to follow directions when reading independently or "figure out" how to get info from map keys or charts when working alone. I teach in NJ to a basically suburban population but am not pleased how misleading these scores are. I support a "standard" of achievement but just who is deciding the "proficient" score?
Any comments??

[mopar]

The state decides the standards. Some states have done major improvements to align the testing with the curriculum. However, I live in one of those states and I still find that the students have major gaps in their learning. If its not on the test, its not important.
Teachers spend so much time teaching to the test that they leave out all the independent learning skills and listening skills. I think that it is just a matter of time before this new generation of test takers enters the world. The government will have to see that lack of motivation and independence that this generation will bring. Hopefully, it will swing the pendulum back into good teaching not teaching to the testing.

[Boxcar]

The above poster is exactly right. There is so much emphasis on teaching to the test that students miss out. Instead of teaching strategies and skills that can be applied in numerous ways, there is more of an effort to teach facts. Standardized tests seem to be more about accumulated knowledge and less on problem-solving or independant reasoning. It is all about looking good for the higher levels, regardless of whether what's under the surface can stand up in the light of day or not.

[Yiyang]

Sometimes it is pretty easy to make guideline for fact / knowledge teaching, which requires recall. A test may find out accountability. I heard that "No child left behind" emphasis more on numbers (scores, passing rates, all about numbers). Experience teacher can see that not everything can be measured in numbers.

I come from China and had grown up in standardize test. Here is a true story: a couple of national famous professional writers found themselves could not pass the entrance exam in Chinese language tests.

[mopar]

Oh, politicians are deciding on the proficient score! They decide what is passing and then who is not passing. However, it seems that many of the teachers are actually writing test questions for the test and helping to design the tests. This is a good beginning, but we still have a long way to go!

[landreth2007]

How about 5th graders who pass the state benchmark but can't find the subject noun or identify the verb in a sentence? Many of them can't answer a short answer question correctly. If there is more than one part to the question, forget it.

I'm tired of teaching test taking skills. I want to teach kids.

[Boxcar]

isn't it frustrating? Even at the preschool and Kindergarten levels, you have to worry about testing.