Teach to the Test

Study Great Ideas, but Teach to the Test - New York Times: "'We learned how to develop good writing from the inside, starting with calling the child's voice out,' said Ms. Karnes, who got an A in the university course. 'One of the major points was, good writing is good thinking. That's why writing formulas don't work. Formulas don't let kids think; they kill a lot of creativity in writing.'

And so, when Ms. Karnes returns to Allendale High School to teach English this fall, she will use the new writing techniques she learned and abandon the standard five-paragraph essay formula. Right?

'Oh, no,' said Ms. Karnes. 'There's no time to do creative writing and develop authentic voice. That would take weeks and weeks. There are three essays on the state test and we start prepping right at the start of the year. We have to teach to the state test' (the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, known as MEAP)."

This is a great (short) article on the strangulation caused by modern test taking formats. The article focuses on writing, but I've found it applicable to other subjects as well. Calculus, statistics, the sciences--everything is taught to AP tests in that arena, and other courses are definitely focused on assessment tests.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of a medium that standarizes for comparison, assessment tests strangle real potential and artificially magnify mediocrity (you can easily buy a better score on tests like the SAT if your family has the disposable income to facilitate Kaplan/Princeton Review "test prep"). While it's inexcusable enough in the math arena where courses are warped around how to use a calculator to give you an advantage on the test, the perversion is further magnified in more subjective areas like the humanities, especially writing and literature. As this article explains, the ability to express yourself and truly THINK is sabotaged and derailed. Capable students may never find the proper avenues with which to express themselves and grow as thinkers, intellectuals, and academics--the round pegs are being made to fit in square, predefined holes.