Yesterday I posted this comment in Facebook.
"No standardized test can actually measure creativity or critical thinking for several reasons. For examples, how many ways are there to accomplish anything? Is there any one right way to solve a problem? How many different options will a standardized exam allow for? Will it recognize genius, or will it grade true genius a 1 out of 4 because it doesn't fit the standard?"
Today I received reply this on one of the group pages on which it was posted:
Karen M.F. ( I initialized the last name because her sister is a minor.)
"My teenaged sister (who is absolutely brilliant) is convinced that she is bad at reading/lit. I asked her to explain (she is a straight A student at a top magnet school). She said "sometimes there is more than one answer." I didn't get it until she said that she could never figure out which bubble to fill in. A kid who could comprehend the whole Harry Potter series before she was 11, reads 2 novels a week, can discuss books with depth and understanding thinks she "sucks at English" because she is more nuanced in her thinking than the paper pusher who wrote the test. Since she started having trouble with reading comprehension questions on tests, she has become demoralized and is only phoning it in--why should she do more? The tests want her to dumb down her thinking. Our kids are going to learn to hate reading."
"No standardized test can actually measure creativity or critical thinking for several reasons. For examples, how many ways are there to accomplish anything? Is there any one right way to solve a problem? How many different options will a standardized exam allow for? Will it recognize genius, or will it grade true genius a 1 out of 4 because it doesn't fit the standard?"
Today I received reply this on one of the group pages on which it was posted:
Karen M.F. ( I initialized the last name because her sister is a minor.)
"My teenaged sister (who is absolutely brilliant) is convinced that she is bad at reading/lit. I asked her to explain (she is a straight A student at a top magnet school). She said "sometimes there is more than one answer." I didn't get it until she said that she could never figure out which bubble to fill in. A kid who could comprehend the whole Harry Potter series before she was 11, reads 2 novels a week, can discuss books with depth and understanding thinks she "sucks at English" because she is more nuanced in her thinking than the paper pusher who wrote the test. Since she started having trouble with reading comprehension questions on tests, she has become demoralized and is only phoning it in--why should she do more? The tests want her to dumb down her thinking. Our kids are going to learn to hate reading."
To how many students in all grades is this happening? How many creative and critical thinking children are being forced to withdraw form those acts because of common core tests supposedly designed to measure both of these incredibly important human traits? Will our children be reduced to robots? Were writers like Bradbury and Orwell right about the future?
Will we survive as humans?
David Greene
WISE Services
Here's another comment from Jillian M. :
ReplyDelete“Oh how I can relate! I just had this conversation w my 14 yr old yesterday. She excels in ELA and too is an avid reader. She has read more books in her short lifetime than I ever will. She came home yesterday, after taking part 1 of her ELA final, and said ” I suck at English”! I was shocked honestly. She said she struggled w the reading passages on her final. I’m soo frustrated w this whole thing. At times, I feel like I’m the only one fighting for a better future for my girls. Where are parents? Do they even know what’s happening w education?”