Time to re-examine?
Posted Sep 14, 2010 03:40:47 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is calling for a two-year moratorium on standardized testing.
“To actually see if students are achieving, we don’t think it’s a viable way to measure that,” says James McCormack, president of the Waterloo Region chapter of the teachers’ union.
McCormack calls the current system of standardized testing a poor allocation of existing education funding, adding that teachers are evaluating students on a daily basis. He doesn’t believe a set of tests is required.
“Teachers are quite capable of measuring the development of students. They do it all the time,” McCormack insists. “And parents are very confident with — for the most part, I believe — with interaction with teachers and they’re able to tell them how their students are performing.”
The federation argues that the tests, which focus on achievement in reading, writing and math actually rob students of other curriculum subjects, such as history, social studies and the arts.
By way of a solution, McCormack offers the idea of random testing.
“That would be a far cheaper and more viable method of testing students. Rather than testing every single individual in a Grade 3 class, do a random study and, statistically, you’ll get the results you’re looking for. At least that’s what we’ve been told and that’s what we believe,” McCormack says, in reference to an Environics Research Group study commissioned by the federation.
Opponents of standardized testing have also drawn attention to the added stress the tests can place on both students and teachers. In some cases, teachers have been found to be “teaching to the tests” — adjusting their classroom approach in hopes the students will perform well come test time.
Many parents have also complained of noticeable anxiety in their children as test day approaches.
McCormack says a system of random testing may not be “the” solution but it is certainly “a” solution. All the federation is looking for, according to McCormack, is a discussion.
“Look at what you’ve been doing, what you’re asking this test to do and then ask if it’s accomplishing that or if there’s a better way to do it. It could be a cost-saving measure. Maybe we don’t need to do it at all.”
Standardized test results in reading, writing and math are being released tomorrow for Grades 3, 6 and 9 students in Waterloo Region.
