Teachers Vent, Then Consider How to Combat Testing Pressures

By Joanne M. Haas

Educate your district, and then think about refusing to give the test.

That was one option discussed Thursday (October 26, 2000) by a Milwaukee-based expert on assessment - and by some Wisconsin teachers concerned about the increasing pressure to do more standardized testing.

"Some unions have refused to break the seal on the test.that should be considered. That should be talked about," author and educator Bob Peterson told an audience at the 2000 WEAC Convention at the Sheraton Hotel in Madison.

Peterson stressed, however, such an action would be futile unless it would follow an aggressive, unified public awareness campaign about alternatives to standardized testing.

Officials and citizens need to hear about the potential harm of excessive testing and understand that such "accountability" methods are not the best measures of a school's success.

After such a public education period, Peterson suggested, Wisconsin teachers then could consider following their international peers and decline to administer certain standardized tests.

Peterson, a 5th-grade teacher at La Escuela Fratney in Milwaukee, is the founding editor of the quarterly Rethinking Schools and writes often about testing and assessment. He also is in the middle of a struggle against increases in testing in the Milwaukee district.

"Our association could do more in terms of putting out the dangers.We could also talk about positive alternatives," he said, citing as examples performance assessments, portfolios and student-led conferences.

Peterson also said a school should be able to opt out of more standardized tests if the staff can document an alternative is better.

The title of Peterson's workshop Thursday was, "The Testing Craze: How it harms Children and Teachers and What We Can Do About It."

Peterson called on the 40 or so people in his workshop to voice concerns about testing.

Some of the comments included:

• I'm worried the tests are driving the curriculum.
• I feel like I'm preparing all year for that test.
• Test results are linked to funding.
• We are overwhelmed with tests.
• If a students fails, then what?
• If a student fails, what happens to the teacher?
• Test results are linked to teacher evaluations.
• It's dragging down teacher morale.
• It's driving a wedge between the teachers and administration.
• Staff meetings no longer include vital school issues, just test concerns.
• It's a can of worms, put a cover on it.

"We've heard from people from every corner of the state with some very serious concerns about testing," Peterson said. And, he said, the pendulum is still moving for tests - a politically-charged idea.

"Gov. Bush supports them (tests) in every single grade. And it's pretty frightening," Peterson said.

Wisconsin, when the mandatory high school graduation test begins in a few years, will have 20 standardized tests given to students in 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades. There is a push afoot in Milwaukee to increase the total from 20 to 52.

"People ask me, 'Why? Are these people out of their minds?' Well, yes, actually some of them are," Peterson said.

Some in the audience raised their hands when asked if standardized tests were given to first graders and kindergartners. Testing students at that age is inappropriate, he said, since about all they can do is successfully fill the bubble on the score sheet. It's more about the "testing of small motor skills," Peterson said.

The three reasons for assessment often cited are to improve teaching and learning, help parents know how their children are doing, and help the public and policy makers know how the children are doing. They sound good. But Peterson, as well as nearly all in the audience, argued the opposite is true.

"We know there is a relationship between socio-economic status and (achievement levels on) standardized test scores," he said.

Peterson also stressed it is worthwhile to study the background of testing.

"Testing, historically, has been used as a tracking mechanism," he said.

"The United States has the largest number of tests given in the world.in terms of absolute number, America is second to none."

Workshop participants expressed the belief that we live in a number-crazed society that is forcing teachers to change their teaching methods to make sure students score well on standardized tests. It's all done, they said, to please policymakers who fail to see how the process limits a child's learning.

One teacher said the pressure of testing and scores has impacted the ability to "teach to the whole child."

Peterson said one positive note is the coming state mandatory high school graduation test will not be a high-stakes measure, as originally proposed. This means local school districts will have the authority to weigh other issues instead of just the score when determining whether a student will graduate.

Economically speaking, Peterson said, one interesting effect is the spin-off in the testing materials business - there are more and more study aids for the increasing number of standardized tests at younger and younger ages.

Peterson said teachers in some states get monetary bonuses if students test well, adding more pressure to merely teach to the test.

One teacher said they could whine all day and it would do no good. What positive things can we do as teachers? he wondered aloud. And the topic again turned to getting the word out.

Teachers were encouraged to talk publicly about how the increasing emphasis on standardized testing robs children of a well-rounded education, about the pressures they create, and about politicization of standardized testing. They need to also talk about alternative and often more costly measures that provide a more accurate measure of how a child is learning, Peterson said..

For more information, visit these Web sites:
www.rethinkingschools.org
www.FairTest.org.