What's Wrong with Calls for "More and Better" Tests?

[proud2BlibKansan]

In anticipation of this week's State of the Union address from president Obama, rumor has it that education policy will be one of the principal themes of the speech. And anyone who cares about this nation's public schools and universities should ready themselves for the sick feeling in their gut they get when the president equates education policy with "bipartisanship" and members of Congress rise in unison and huzzah in agreement.
To set the stage for the speech, Arne Duncan began the month with a call for a bipartisan push for education "reform" to focus on better tests. Specifically:

People across the political spectrum support the work of 44 states to replace multiple choice "bubble" tests with a new test that helps inform and improve instruction by accurately measuring what children know across the full range of college and career-ready standards, and measures other skills, such as critical-thinking abilities.

On cue, White House courtiers waiting in the wings, from the Center for American Progress, chimed in with supportive rhetoric for a bipartisan agreement on "better tests" as well. CAPer Matt Yglesias explains:

Insofar as we're thinking about the federal level, to me it seems like the most important thing is developing better tests. Almost any approach to assessing the performance of a school or a school system is going to be on some level based on test scores, so there's always a risk of a "garbage in, garbage out" phenomenon where bad tests lead to bad decisionmaking. And since you'd like to see results comparable across states this is something where the federal role is crucial.


Then, to illustrate just how the focus on more and better tests is going to be raised to the levels of panacea, the CAP rolled out a new report last week that based just about everything on the notion that test scores are the be-all and the end-all of education attainment in our country.

more . . . http://www.openleft.com/diary/21485/left-ed-pre-sotu-edition-whats-wrong-with-calls-for-more-and-better-tests

[Hannah Bell]

1. scaring me: "education policy will be one of the principal themes of the speech."

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Yet he doesn't have the money to pay for what he wants to do

Obama's education policy plans will be about as effective as that vote on repealing health care in the House last week.

[provis99]

2. we should apply knowledge and competency tests to politicians

If they want to go around standardized testing people, they can bloody well be tested for their suitability for office. Those that fail get fired from their seats.

[damntexdem]

3. What's wrong with more and better tests? Simple: "more."

How about fewer and better tests?

[Warren Stupidity]

5. Is the end goal of edumacation 'test passing' or an informed citizenry capable of critical thinking?

[xchrom]

6. obama should be asked that -- and not allowed to skip around it. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. His own kids don't have to take these tests

What does that tell you?

[xchrom]

9. plenty - and thanks to op's like yours -- i learned that here. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Education 101

LOL

[northoftheborder]

14. Private schools, (most really good ones with positive reputations)...

.....must take some of the same tests as public schools, so that their graduates can be compared upon entry to college or other higher education. I'm sure this may not be true all across the board.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. No test at Sidwell Friends

We looked it up already:)

[defendandprotect]

7. What's wrong with them is is that they are STANDARDIZED ....

so that they can be read by computers -- and make testing companies wealthy!

And enable those who want to destroy public education --

The answers are ready made -- alternate choice -- not something that really "tests"

anyone on their knowledge ==

It's a gimmick long used to weed out people -- a gimmick for bigotry and gender

bias -- not something scientific by any means -- but elitist!

[WinkyDink]

10. It is the "better" part that is the sticking-point.

[patrice]

12. Some of it wouldn't be so bad if they would at least also make authentic assessment an equal weight

in student evaluations.

Authentic assessment is more descriptive, less judgmental, than standardized evaluations.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. The states would probably just hire temps to score the portfolios

LOL

[patrice]

20. yep. After-all, nothing is connected to anything else, words have only certain meanings & no others.

All anyone has to do is count stuff, because the difference of a word or two, here or there, doesn't mean anything worthwhile. :sarcasm:

BTW, I have had this reaction to canvassing more than once.

[Jakes Progress]

15. The campaign for super NCLB was the domino for me.

Lots of stuff bothered me, but I could only rely on informed reading to determine whether the administration was wrong or not.

With education, I don't need second hand resources. I have local, state, and national experience and expertise in education and assessment. And I know this is wrong. It is wrong-minded. It is small and mean-spirtied. No one with any experience in assessment would approve of this if they didn't have low motives. It takes a real piece of scum to support doing what arne wants to do to children and American schools. Maybe I could go along with the president being snowed by the charlatans, but he's supposed to be a smart guy. In this case he proves himself stupid or willfully complicit in attempting to ruin our children's lives.

Using children to get yourself elected and playing to the lowest part of the human spirit is wrong. Barack Obama is wrong and there is no way to spin or twist it any other way. Whether it is stupidity or just self-serving greed makes no difference.

[Starry Messenger]

16. Cha-ching!

[hobbit709]

17. Back in my day we had tests.

You passed or failed on whether or not you knew the material instead of knowing how to take a multiple guess test.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.