Many of you that will read this are in the education field and know about the legislation of "No Child Left Behind" and high stakes testing. Essentially how a student does on a particular test determines the "effectiveness" of a teacher and therefore the school. Schools can be labeled a "failing" school. A teacher can be labeled as an "ineffective" teacher and lose their job. As in any profession, yes, there are teachers who do not carry their own weight and are pretty much ineffective, but those are few and far between. The overwhelming number of educators that I know and have had the pleasure of working with are hard working, dedicated, and caring individuals who love children and want the best for them. So sometimes I get frustrated to know that how a student does on ONE test will determine if I or my colleagues will have a job.
In Indiana, this test is called ISTEP. Off the top of my head I believe that it stands for, Indiana Student Test of Educational Performance, but I could be wrong. It tests students on their current grade level standards. The test is given during two different testing windows. One is in late February & the other is in late April, I believe. So can you already see how its messed up. My students will be tested on 6th grade standards, but we will only be a little over 1/2 thru the 6th grade school year. So anyway, the tests takes like a total of 6 days. 6 days!! 6 days out of 180 school days!!
So whatever mood the students happen to be in during those 6 days could determine our effectiveness!! Really? That is crazy!!I teach in a urban school district in Indianapolis. I am a resource (special education teacher). The students that I work with have been diagnosed with some sort of disability: it may be a learning disability, an emotional disability, a neurological disability, or even a physical disability. So pretty much, these kids were born like this..for the most part. However, quite a few of them havent had it so good along the way either. So I guess what Im trying to say...their environment &/or family structure hasnt helped them along the way.
Im not, in any way, trying to say that because they have a disability or dont have a stable home life, that they dont have the right to a great education or that they cant learn. Because that is the furthest from the truth so dont twist what Im trying to say. I think that the students at MSD Warren Township in Indianapolis, Indiana get a great education. And every day, I know that my students learn new things and Im proud of them as they are proud of themselves!! What Im trying to get across is that the majority of my students have been through a lot in their short lives. They have more daily stress than most of you reading this. I think that most of them love coming to school (even if they wont admit it) because its a break from their reality, they can be a kid, and they know that they are loved. But what I am trying to say is that I get real frustrated that 6 days out of a child's life determines a score. This score determines "what kind of student" this child is. This score determines whether the teacher is "an effective teacher". As far as I know, this score doesnt determine if they will graduate from high school. This score doesnt determine what your credit score will be in the future...doesnt determine if you will be an upstanding citizen in the community, if youll go to college, if youll be a good parent....you get the point...in the long run it doesnt help determine the bigger, more important things in life. The things that matter.
To Be Continued...
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