Parents/students...how much does your (child's) school push state testing?

Question

I just trying to get a feel for how much other states/districts push state testing also called standard assessment. Do you think its pushed more since the implementation of No Child Left Behind.
I am wondering because my district seems to really focus on it big time, even to the point of pressuring the kids that if they dont do well the federal government will take over the school and the teachers will lose thier jobs. It seems they study all year in prep for this exam.
So what are your expereinces with state testing in your district?

Answer 1

I live in Texas, and they are really big on it here. My oldest child will be starting kindergarten in the fall, but in her preschool they push them hard to be ready for the challenges of the TAKS test and the homework she will get next year(yes, I said homework at age 5). Kids spend all their time studying for this test and their is so much pressure to do well. Art, music, and even science have taken a back seat. There is no joy in learning.
Funny thing is, my mother in law has also taught school for for about 20 years and is now a substitute teacher, and alot of the kids in the schools she visits are lacking even in basic skills.
They can't sequence what happens in a story, have difficulty with problem solving and critical thinking, and have a 2nd grade comprehension of the English language. And she usually teaches 5th graders from various schools in the city we live in.
So,even with all the pushing, kids are still getting left behind, and are probably getting even less of an education than before. And yet, they all still manage to get to the next grade.

Answer 2

Hi there I live in the UK and even we have that over here, but we call it SAT's thats Statutory Assessment Tests. They start them when the child is about 6 and they are done once a year the results ascertain as to what level the child should be working at in the next school year, and all children are put in classes based on these levels. Not too bad an idea really as it stops other kids from being left behind when the teachers are having to spend more time with those who don't do so well.

Answer 3

Our district focuses on it also. As far as the children, they provide in school preparation and also have a web-site where children can practice test.

As far as teacher's are concerned I really do not feel that the Government could do the job a good teacher can do, nor would they want to. I also feel that there is a lot of pressure put on the teachers and the teachers we have are there because they love what they do not because of what they are offered in return.

Just like in nursing, it should hold true in teaching, we need to go back to the basic nursing/teaching methods. So much has been taken away from both because of paperwork, authority and dysfunction of the system. Neither profession is what it used to be. We lost a lot over the years!

Answer 4

Bound's hubby here:

Bound asked me to take a look at this question, since I am a secondary school teacher in a NJ public school. I have been teaching Social Studies (History) for 25 + years. I have come to dread the first week of March because of state testing. State testing has always been a pain, but since NCLB, state testing has become an off-spring of Hades!

Since NCLB has reared its ugly head, states have placed excessive attention on state testing, because of federally mandated performance standards and AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). Basically, high schools really feel the pinch of NCLB more than the earlier grades. Grade 4 and Grade 8 Assessments basically are indicators used to place students in appropriate classes to prepare students for passing the HSPT (High School Proficiency Test).

If a school fails to meet AYP within 3 years, and have the appropriate percentage of students pass the annual exam, schools do face state interdiction or take-over, in addition to loss of federal funding. Currently, my district has been successful in most respects of the testing, but we get bashed with performance of the sub-categories, usually involving minority performance, economically disadvantaged performance, and poor performance of students schooled out of the district [I will elaborate more in a moment].

There are some significant glitches in NCLB and state testing. For example, Special Education students are expected to perform at the same performance level as college prep/honors/and advanced placement students. In addition, in 2014, all students that take the test are expected to pass all components of the test at 100% success, nothing wrong! This disturbs me, because we do not get, and can not be expected to produce, cookie cutter kids! I fear too many kids will be forced to drop-out of school instead of earning a diploma! The one good thing I can say, is that I am glad I do not have to take this test!

Even though my discipline is not on the state exam (as of yet) I must work to reinforce the tested content within my discipline! In addition, it has become musical curriculum as the state alters the mandated core curriculum I am now required to teach, which will be the basis of the History exams on the HSPT.

One glitch, which all districts experience, is that they have various "special needs" students that are educated out-of-district. The problem is, the student performace is charged back to the district that pays the tuition! So schools that have no direct influence on what and how the student is taught is burdened with that students' poor performance. Also, it is extremely unrealistic to expect mentally challenged students to be able to perform at the same level with the same material as what many would call ""normal" students.

It has been my experience in recent years, that while a significant degree of attention had been placed on state testing, NCLB has pushed performance levels and expectations inordinately through the ceiling! There is a place for state testing, but the politicians that have put NCLB into law have missed a few critical points:
1) Not all students are academically oriented.
2) Not all students want to learn.
3) Not all students care about doing well on standardized tests.
4) You can't make a student learn that does not want to learn!

Sadly, it is true, school funding and teacher employment are being unfairly linked to student performance on state tests, and continued "sub-standard" schools (in many instances due to no fault of their own) face take-over by the state.

Answer 5

Our district focus on it to the point that EVERY lesson taught in the school has to be applicable to the test. Every single field trip has to apply. It really cuts down on the kids experiencing a wide range of ideas, theories, activities and the like which is what they need to grow into rounded adults.

And yes it's more prevalent since NCLB came on the scene although education was heading in that direction before Bush's big plan.

Another downside of this is in trying to get kids help in school. I absolutely hated trying to get my borderline language/reading DD help in school. It was a struggle because we're a military family who was only in the area for a year or two before moving on. Which meant the schools knew she wasn't going to count on their tests and would rather use their finite resources trying to help a kid who was going to count for them.