What are students expected to learn, perform, demonstrate over the course of the semester? Originally, the Test Preparation portion of the 10th Grade English curriculum was devoted to preparing students to master standardized tests like the CAHSEE or STAR exams. There is a nation-wide trend that has been the buzzword in education and political circles for standardized education, or in other words “No Child Left Behind.” Educational equity. Leveling the playing field. Accountability. What does this all mean?
For us as teachers, this means we have our work cut out for us. The goals, objectives, dreams and ambitions that guide our planning must be checked with national, state and district standards and objectives. We are told that we are merely aligning our work with the standards, which is a demonstration of ‘good teaching’.
For our students, this shift in priorities is much more confusing. In the pre-No Child era, students were expected to read whole works, engaged in creative projects that engaged with the texts, and learned language in the context of themes and larger concepts. Now, they are given tests and quizzes frequently, drilled on preparing for multiple choice questions, asked to comprehend facts, compare/constrast, get the main idea and/or theme, evaluate the writer’s style, and sometimes asked their opinions about readings. That seems to be a greater burden of responsibility for each individual student than it does to us as teachers who at least are trained to use this language and commit at least half of our waking lives to these ideas. But for our students, they are entering an unfamiliar, often alienating world.
What I am suggesting is not to throw out the entire standardized education movement. That is unwise and as likely as emptying the Pacific Ocean and filling it up again. No Child Left Behind is here to stay whether we like it or not. That’s one of the things I learned that’s helped me survive as a teacher – reserve your personal opinions about battles you cannot win. Essentially, what I propose is to shift the paradigm or our perspective on the situation. Rather than view the Test Prep as a way to catch up students performing below standards, why not look at it as a beginning for these students to think of how they can change their world. Often, under-performance is not isolated to a lack of intellectual or academic skills, but inherently tied to family, social, and personal issues. By merely tackling the academic deficiencies, we emphasize individual success/failure rather than help students seek the source of their failures and help them find ways to overcome them. Failure becomes a cycle when the real problems are not addressed. Test Prep can be a whole lot more for our students, but it does not have to change its goal of preparing students to succeed on standardized tests. Strengthening their ability to think about themselves and the world around them will eventually impact their ability to answer questions on multiple choice tests. They need to learn to find the correct answers, but they will do so because they know why the question was asked in the first place and they can see why answering correctly is important to them.
Many of us started teaching because we really thought we could change the world, one student at a time. Whether it’s been one year or 10, or 30, we need to keep believing in that ideal. If we do not aim high, we will only get mediocre results. Meeting the standard is good, but we can do more. Their world will not be qualitatively better if their scores go up. It is still a world that is filled with stereotypes, racism, violence, hypocrisy. And that is only at school. Imagine how giving students real tools to live life could change the world. Does the President and other education bigwigs really believe children were left behind because not everyone was tested on the same standards?
Eric chow 