Testing, although seen as a way to hold schools accountable, has done nothing more than hold schools to a 20th century model of educating students.
We have all heard the comment that there isn't a silver bullet to save education. I have said it from time to time but after thinking about it, there really is a silver bullet that can help us regain competitiveness and creativity. That silver bullet is getting rid of high stakes testing. I understand that at this point in our high stakes testing era it sounds impossible. After all, many of us have been giving state tests every spring for over a decade (Standardized Tests and Its Victims by Alfie Kohn).
Those few weeks involve more than just giving tests. It's the prep before the test, the money spent on testing, the stress of testing on the part of teachers, students and parents, and it's also what gets lost in the time that could be spent engaging in better instruction. Testing, although seen as a way to hold schools accountable, has done nothing more than hold schools to a 20th century model of educating students. It forces many teachers to teach to the text and to the test. Testing has, in the words of Sir Ken Robinson, killed creativity (How Standardized Testing Damages Educationby Fair Test).
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