“And for starters please…teach our children the importance of thinking outside the box.” True! This is a fundamental thought process that all children need to grasp and understand. This is a wonderful skill that jobs and universities look for. How are they going to be able to succeed if they cannot even think differently and creatively if they are pushed to think how everyone else “should”? Not everyone learns the same way as others. Many critics can easily see that there is a problem with standardized testing. For standardized testing means of assessment encourages teachers to teach a narrow subset of skills that will increase test performance rather than focusing on a deeper understanding of the that can be readily transferred to similar problems. One good example, is that say a teacher teaches states that all of the questions on a math test are simple addition problems like 2+2=4, 4+7=11,... so the teacher does not invest time for addition applications of addition such as story problems and such, therefore there will be more time for material which is assessed on the test. This is known as “teaching to the test”. This is a really big issue for me because when I was in high school I was very interested in math and science hence taking all science classes possible like: chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science. To my dismay, when I decided that I wanted to do engineering, I found out that my own physics class did not teach some of the fundamentals of physics (for engineering) that I needed such as conservation of angular momentum, not to mention my favorite electricity and magnetism (very weak teaching in that area, in my opinion). In my opinion, every high school stuedent should be required to be introduced to calculus and trigonometry. Many problems and solutions of real life probability, science, and such are based on these mathematical skills.
“If my child is spending this much time studying for a minimum basic skills test, where does it leave time for actual learning?” Well said! The NCLB focuses on math and English language skillsthreat to states that choose to test students in all areas, where the states get no credit under NCLB for improvements made in other subjects areas and will be forced to narrow focus. (and eventually science) may elevate scores on two fundamental skills while students loose benefits of a broad education. So if the goal of elevating performance of students is so large, then the change in performance should be made across the board of other subject areas as well.
To end, “schools have but only one set of schoolbooks per class. Are you kidding me...” is a considerable question we should all be asking. NCLB creates huge demands upon local districts, many are not funded by this law. NCLB, LEAs must allow transfers of students from poorly performing schools to good schools, but Title I funding will not follow that student to the new school. So if you were a principal of a school with good scores. You serve 400+ students with great success. Then 40 new students come waltzing in who are at the bottom of the scale. They come come to your building with no extra resources to turn around their poor performance. You have no special programs for such students and no teachers specially trained to work with such students who are below their grade level. Last note: Education Week reported in its December 4, 2002 issue:
"Governors: State Finances Worst Since World War II"By Robert C. Johnston
Thirty-seven states were forced to cut some $12.8 billion from their enacted budgets in fiscal 2002, according to "The Fiscal Survey of States," which was released last week by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers, both based in Washington.
