The Disruption of High Stakes Testing
9 09 2008
I was hired as a technology facilitator. That means I should be spending my time helping teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. Sometimes that requires training teachers how to set up their default printer, sometimes it requires revising the school website so it is easier to navigate for parents, teachers and students. I know eventually I will get to do more of the “fun stuff;” showing teachers how to find appropriate sources of information for a lesson or a unit, bringing a cart of laptops into a classroom and co-teaching a lesson on a new Web 2.0 tool, even helping a teacher create a classroom set of blogs for their students. But, as we enter the third full week of school, I find myself preoccupied with something that I really wasn’t hired to do. Yes, administering the NWEA test is part of my job description, but it is supposed to be a very small part. Unfortunately, for the last 3 weeks, it has been an overwhelming part. Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy with my job. I think I have the best job in the world. But if I find testing taking me away from what I am “supposed” to be doing, I can only imagine how disruptive this testing is for the classroom teachers.
Is the NWEA test you are giving a pre-test? This early in the year I thought it must be. I bet the kids love it. We have to go through giving the FCAT in March. That is Florida’s student/teacher assessment test. That test and the other things that go along with it take about a month of our time. I have to give my 2nd and 5th grade students the districts standardize elementary art assessment twice a year and grade them. That is real fun convincing my students that they really have to take a test in art.
Chan,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, the NWEA is a MAP test. We give it in addition to the ISAT, which is the equivalent of the FCAT. The NWEA is given at least twice a year, but teams have an option of giving it a third time (once each trimester).
At least they test Art. In Illinois we only test reading, writing and math. Guess nothing else matters!
The test that the art teachers give is to allow us to qualify for one of the teacher bonuses offered by the state. Many art teachers are upset having to give the test. But I think that the test allows us to collect some data on student achievement and we all know how data driven the current educational environment is.
The Florida Art Education Association is in the process of developing a state wide art assessment test for third or forth graders. This should allow us to collect data on the effects of art education on children’s achievement. The test will be given at schools with art teachers and schools without.
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