PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Re: - Texas teachers testy over testing
The article under dissection today reveals an attitude of unwavering faith over the concept that success equals high achievement on standardized tests. This article describes the current educational malaise in the State of Texas. It would be well for those of us concerned with education elsewhere in the western world to evaluate this premise. I just know that I would be one of those testy teachers if I were forced to operate under such conditions!
There are many interesting questions raised by this good idea gone awry. As a matter of fact, most of my responses to this situation are questions. The questions tumble out of my mind! What is success? Who ought to determine the definitions of success for individuals in a democracy? Who is capable of determining and pronouncing excellence? Can the presence of quality work be equated with top achievement scores? If so, is this true in all subject areas, or just in certain ones? Which realms of human endeavour do achievement tests test? Is academic achievement the supreme measure of the quality of human performance? Is academic achievement correlated with the prestige we assign to certain occupations? On a broad, intercultural basis, are there certain human endeavours of tremendous worth that are not related to academic achievement? If all that is worthy in human experience and endeavour cannot be tested academically, what importance ought we to assign to academic testing? Should all students/citizens within a country be tested with one common testing mechanism? If not, who should be exempt, and how should this exemption be applied? If generalized testing were mandated, what correlation do the results have with future life experiences? What is the result on self-esteem for students underachieving on standardized tests? What correlation exists between self-esteem and long-term adult life performance? How can self-esteem be repaired, once damaged? What is the effect on schools' willingness to nurture under-achievers back to health if funding is tied to achievement? What is the effect of anxiety on test performance? What is the effect of anxiety on real-life performance? What correlation exists between high scores on achievement tests and future career choices? Which parts of the social fabric are impacted by the failure of citizens in educational institutions? What is the responsibility of educational institutions for students who cannot for whatever reason live up to high standards of success? Whose responsibility is it to re-direct students at risk into constructive activity and learning in other spheres so that they can become productive members of society? If pressure to perform on academic tests were lifted, would students still learn? What benefit is it to the business community to receive employees geared to other-directed performance? What impact does an educational experience tailor-made for test writing have on creativity and initiative? What needs do entrepreneurs have that supercede high academic achievement? What correlation is there between emotional/social skills and high academic test achievement? What significance are emotional/social skills in the workplace? Can these skills be tested effectively? What guarantee can schools legitimately give the workplace that students exiting their high school programs are ready to face the world? What relationship exists between high school education and post-secondary education? Considering the fact that junior high and senior high schools are Banbury to every citizen as they pass from childhood to adulthood, should not some focus be given to developing their emotional/social skills, their moral/logical reasoning, and their creative/philosophical development? These are questions worth answering.
I am surprised that the creators of this Texan misadventure did not see it coming. As human beings, we yearn to master our environment. We yearn to belong to our social group. We yearn to be lovable and capable. These are instinctive needs that ensure our survival in every sense of the word. Is this not enough to urge us on to learn about the universe around us? I say that it is. The Texan experiment was merely an exercise in bribery given by self-satisfied tyrants who did not allow educators or parents the opportunity of using discretion. Their venture actually feels dangerous to me. Their unthinking application of a generalized approach toward receiving feedback on instruction led to the loss of rational self-examination. It led to wholesale rebellion in the case of the entire Austin Independent School District. It led to the loss of self-responsibility within professional careers, and wholesale blaming sprees as well as self-inflation over others' accomplishments. The whole topic of responsibility was perverted so that, while people were unable to influence the course of events legitimately and thus take personal responsibility for their own actions, they were instead rewarded or punished according to the actions of others. No wonder everyone was in a tizzy!
What led to this confusion? At the beginning, the idea of rigorous accountability testing must have seemed appealing. Why? Perhaps the goad to high achievement was seen as capable of actually producing quality work. This sounds possible. Perhaps it was meant to goad schools into not shirking their educational responsibilities. Perhaps it was seen as a means of artificially producing a competitive market for educational institutions. It was no doubt seen as providing a carrot on a stick to the providers of education.
However, there were a few fallacious thought processes going on here. The first one involves the actual power that educators have over their students. In other fields of endeavour, such as cooking, computer technology, carpentry, law, jewellery-making, and so forth, the efforts of the practitioner are applied and they hold sway. In the fields of gardening, teaching, social work, medicine, and other interactive occupations, the practitioner applies his/her efforts, and thereafter, other elements come into play. The gardener is not responsible for the devastating effects of a hurricane. The teacher is not responsible for the total abdication of responsibility by a student. Both have to work in concert, or there is no result at all. Moreover, the interplay between student and teacher involves not just the subject matter, but also personal elements such as personality, motivation, talent and aptitude. It is a very complex relationship. To reduce the outcome of such complexity to a simple test result is insultingly and narrowly simplistic.
Another misguided thought process involved in this procedure was that it totally ignored the pressure to conform that is inherent in the dictate. Our culture is surprising open it encourages self-responsibility, initiative and creative productivity. It already holds within its moral principles a tremendous value upon individuality. This Texan mandate totally ignored the concept of individuality. In painting its wide swath upon the population, it disrespected the right and ability of professionals to determine appropriate curricula for individual students. It dictated the acceptable spheres for human accomplishment as being mainly in the academic areas. Thus, it disrespected the value of human endeavours that cannot be measured quantitatively by achievement tests. It would not have recognized the value of a Mother Theresa. It would not have recognized the value of the work done by masters in many artistic or physical careers those chefs, painters, sculptors, musicians, athletes, forest rangers, bricklayers, gardeners, and others who give beauty and meaning to our human experience. It was highly arrogant, and it was bound to fail.
Let us remember to value all of the pieces in this jigsaw puzzle that is LIFE. Let us broaden our awareness of, and our appreciation of every aspect of our lives, our environment and each other with all of the splendid variety that truly does exist. Let us celebrate our individual accomplishments in all of the multifarious ways that they appear. Let us celebrate being alive!
May you be happy this Spring!
Diane Swiatek