To test or not to test....That is the question

Good Morning lovelies! Happy Good Friday!

Hope everyone had an amazing week
 The discussion about redefining disability has been quite the good one as well as the conversations that has branched from it.

For today's blog post, the controversial topic of standardized testing is posed.

"Should WE test children?"

When I say WE, I mean us as a society- a cukture. We have normalized testing to where we do it in everyday situations. As a Pre-School teacher, I find myself "testing" my kids on if they were listening to me or not by asking them to repeat my directions in the order I gave them. A mother may "test"  her child by doing an intentional act that measures the accountability of her child. Society put it's people to a "test" once they reach a certain threshold to see if they can measure up to great amount of success.

Overall, testing is pretty normalized. In terms of education, I feel it is double-edged sword. As an educator that has worked with all age groups with varying degrees of intelligence, I do feel testing is a productive way to measure where a student is at currently and see what can be improved to keep them on grade level-if not excel beyond it.

However, as a Pre-School teacher in one of Chicago's more affluent areas, I see first hand the education disparities of the children I work with to the children I identify with. I don't need to work in Lincoln Park to know my city's segregation is at the expenses of Black and Brown children's education; I grew up in that reality. However, being an educator myself has given me different perspective that does not come from my own personal narrative.

My students are 4 years old and know words like "irreconcilable", "hostile", perplexed" and "microscopic". However, my seventh graders from Auburn-Gresham (with the exception of a handful), couldn't even spell these words....Let alone use them in a sentence.

Putting all children from all backgrounds to the same test when we as a culture and as a country do not provide the same resources to succeed in a equitable way is unjust and cruel to these children. Children are answering the same questions on material they may not have been taught due to their school climate and are put to the same grading scale as other schools that have over 70% of their school population at or above grade level.

I do feel testing is a means for measuring where a student is, but should not be the definite measuring tool or method to obtain information on a child's intellectual develoment.

When I taught ESL in China, students in fifth grade were gearing up for a test similar to what we have in the states for ACT/SAT. The GaoKao is their national equivalent and much harder; with much more emphasis on individual achievement being a predictor on overall individual outcome for the future. Students must choose between a hard-science track with a focus on physics, chemistry, etc. Or a soft-science track such as education, humanities, social-science. These students choose this track their first year of high-school and begin studying for that track from that point forward. There is no switching tracks and only courses within that chosen track are offered to that student.

Students are tested the end of their senior year and based on their scores, it is decided which schools they can be accepted into and what careers they may entertain. Unlike in America, there is no "redemption" of yourself if you fail this test. There is no community college and future acceptance into a four-year university. This test has been criticized because it puts much pressure, stress, and anxiety in young children while forcing them to choose a career path they have yet to explore, let alone fully know about because they barely know themselves.

While I see benefits of testing, I feel alternative methods should be used to counterbalance the sole reliance of testing so we as a culture can move forward towards better Education and standards.