For those who are not hockey fans, players in the National Hockey League (NHL) have been on strike thus far this season.   A fourth grade teacher casually asked his class, “When does the NHL start?”  A student gleefully replied, “next week.”  This prompted another student to moan and groan, “oh no, not another test.”

At first blush this appears to be an innocent and seemingly humorous exchange.  It does, however, belie a more insidious reality.  It reveals what appears to be a never ending subjugation of our students to the acronym rich, substance depleted, way that they are experiencing learning.  We will get to testing in a moment.

The students hear and watch us.  They know that the “eduspeak” which revolves around things like ELAs, APPR, RTTT, AIS, AIMS Web, etc. dominates our verbal exchanges.  For a student to think that NHL was shorthand for yet another assessment should be no surprise.  Earlier this year I came to the conclusion that the more acronyms that a group of educators might use in a 15 minute dialogue, the further afar we are from the heart of the matter to move forward in our mission to educate children.

It is a sad day when nine and ten year olds are depressed at the thought of yet another test.  Simply put, the craze to prod, poke and pinpoint the progress of our students in an effort to demonstrate improvement is out of control.   The professional work of educators is under assault from profiteers and prognosticators who claim to be in the business of reforming education for the betterment of all.

The damage rendered to the impressionable hearts and minds of young children may be more difficult to measure.  Any accounting of the impact from over testing is probably less instantaneous and immediate.   Parents are becoming acutely aware of the effects upon their children with increased anxiety levels, and the difficult task of maintaining a healthy balance in their young lives which nurtures a child’s soul as much as it helps students to be globally competitive.

It is time for more people to take a stand against the wave of high stakes standardized testing practices which dilute the time that should be devoted to promote a child’s curiosity of the world; time that should be spent playfully examining why things are the way they are, exploring the nature of things, and learning how to manage their emotions in a safe and caring environment.