March Madness - NCLB Style

This month students in Kansas are taking state assessments. These are "high stakes" tests for educators and today I realized for students too. At the high school level, I don't often hear my students worrying about their performance on the tests or discussing their goal of scoring Exemplary. BUT today my 3rd grader, Carter, came home from school talking about the "state assessment." Since when do 9 year-olds use the word assessment? He has heard us talk about scoring "Exemplary" with his older brother, Clayton, who is a 6th grader. It isn't like we sit around the house discussing performance on state tests, but evidently he remembers Clayton getting "certificates" for doing well....seriously, I don't talk about math standards 24-7 at home...really! So Carter comes home and is worried that if he doesn't pass the "assessment," he won't pass 3rd grade. Maybe he has been talking too much to his cousin in Texas? Texas has much more high-stakes assessments and moving to the next grade level is dependent on passing the state tests. THANKFULLY, Kansas has not made that decision. BUT still...my baby is worrying about the state assessment (or how he says it "atestment"). Clayton is talking about getting a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. When I was in 6th grade, a healthy breakfast and a good night's sleep meant it was summer time!! Are my high school students worried, getting a good night's sleep, and eating a healthy breakfast before they test? I am not so sure. I think they get "worn out" on testing by the time they get to us. This is closely tied to my opinion that we have too many standards. I would like to see the state curriculum go "deeper" rather than "wider" when they review the standards. If you compare the assessed indicators the US has compared to other countries, we have about 3 times as many.


Teachers should be held accountable for curriculum and standards and NCLB has done just that. In fact NCLB has improved education in many respects. However has NCLB taken the joy and fun out of learning? Are students feeling like they come to school only to be assessed? How much of the time in the classroom is spent "assessing?" I am going to think about this in my classroom...I think I give quite a few assessments. My reasoning is "I need the feedback to make adjustments in my curriculum, teaching, and pace." However, I may be finding other ways to get that feedback. Tomorrow I will be going over my lesson plans to look how many days I spend reviewing for tests, taking tests, and discussing tests. Are we using the data to improve student learning? If not, it is time to rethink the way we do business.