Education shortcomings

As we traveled across the great frozen north last week, we had tho opportunity to interact with several people that we will, unfortunately, never see again. As we chatted over a meal or in the lounge car of our Amtrak train (more on that in another posting), we discussed many things of more or less importance in this world.

One thing that still stays with me, however, is the American educational system. Two items in particular: 1) Teaching to the "standardized" test, and 2) "No child left behind".

Our society has become told we are "results-oriented". We must get all the information to the students and they have to learn basic facts. The test that we administer will insure that the teachers are teaching the right stuff. And the little ones are supposed to be able to regurgitate all this back in the form of little dots on a Scantron form.

The lie here is that the test are all the same and truly standardized. As the TAKS and TAAS tests were developed and issued in the State of Texas, there were somewhere between 12 and 18 different variations of the tests. (The current STAAR test are probably not much different.) And that was at each grade level!

 That does not sound like a standardization to me.

The tests were (are) given based on the teachers and counselors and whatever school psychologists opinion of what that student could pass. You see, the teachers are graded on what their students did on these tests. Some teachers in some districts got early looks at the tests and made sure their kids were able to answer the test questions. Note I did not say the kids were TAUGHT anything, just that those teachers taught the test. The kids passed and some of those teachers are flipping burgers somewhere when their shenanigans were discovered.

Once the tests cycled through a few times, the teachers caught on to what was necessary to get their kids through the system and addressed those items. So our future leaders were fed the answers and little else. I'm sure the curriculum was followed as written, but then the curriculum was devised to make sure the students were able to answer the test questions first, and then learn any enrichment stuff as a sidebar.

The kids are not taught to think for themselves, just get through the test. But maybe that is what the business of education wants. The testing companies make a LOT of money with their "standardized tests".

I am now hearing/reading about several parents who are attempting to "opt out" of the testing cycles. Good Luck. The companies who generate millions of dollars with these tests have got the lawmakers in their pockets to mandate testing just so a kid can progress from middle to high school and even to graduate.

Another item is that even those kids who take the tests and fail miserably will be given special classes to be taught the test and how to pass it. And if they fail again, they will be given additional coaching. Until they pass a test.

So our children are not being taught History, Geography, basic Math facts, and so on, but how to take a test.

So the teachers and administrators can keep their jobs, and the policymakers in Austin (or insert your state capital here) can pat each other on the back and announce what a fine job we are doing.

Is it any wonder Texas ranks 46th in education?