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To test or not to test? That is no longer the question. Standardized testing appears to be here to stay in one form or another. This workshop will help you navigate successfully through the testing system while allowing you time for creativity, and providing you with hundreds of ideas for student lessons and teacher-energizing activities. |
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"In the opening stanza of 'The Question,' Amy Auzenne, a 19-year-old from Texas writes
You never asked about
my favorite color
my first love,
the holes in my heart,
the state of my soul,
or the weight of your words upon me
An old-fashioned note, that, almost quaint. Imagine schools these days finding time to ask students questions that aren't shipped from McGraw-Hill or Harcourt and taking the time to listen to the answers. Maybe caring about what students think can't happen until power brokers decide that what teachers think matters. And no teacher in America is holding his or her breath until that happens." Susan Ohanian
(We will be reading the article that this was excepted from later in this mod) |
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Standardized testing has become a controversial flash point in education today. Fueled by No Child Left Behind, standardized tests have proliferated in today's schools. Whether you love them or hate them, whether they are beneficial or detrimental, standardized tests are a reality in today's schools. We must learn to live with them. Our students need to excel at them, and we still need to find the time for creative inquiry. In this workshop, I have attempted to sort out some of the complexities, providing teachers with at least 2 linked lessons per benchmark and grade band. I will also show you how to search and add one lesson of your own for each benchmark at the grade band of your choice. We will also create a free website in Geocities, much like this one, and upload all of our lesson links to it, forming a comprehensive "book" of lessons for all the Social Studies standards. |
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But, before we begin, let's take a look at both sides of the issue.
First, how many of you have actually read No Child Left Behind? Let's take a quick look at a summary of it.
While reading it, decide if you think its initial motives were valid, and is the testing it has spawned what was envisioned by its authors?
Second, read this article on the Evils of Testing.
Third, read this article on the Benefits of Testing.
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Take a deep breath. If your brain is fried from standards and testing, take a few moments in each mod to re-engergize your mind and spirit. (Yes, it is required!) In this section of each mod, we will look at an article or idea, short on length, long on deep thought. Something to remind us of why chose this profession and what is truly important (unrelated per se to standards and requirements, yet vital to the fulfillment of our goal to truly deserve the title "teacher.") So, in an in-person workshop, this is where we push back our chairs, grab a cup of coffee and play a team building game. Here, we can do the coffee part, but instead of the game, let's thoughtfully let the contents of these short reflections wash over us.
You will be asked for your reaction in the assignment. (I know I have to force teachers to take a break!)(Click on the Editor's Note below) |
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Read this Editor's Note from the editor of Edutopia magazine and be prepared to react to it in the assignment.. |
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Take this test. (not all of it, it's 12 pages long - try 2 or 3 pages.) Score it. How did you do? This is the state of Virginia standardized science test. Parents in Virginia are upset about it, and check out their website calling for test reform at Parents Across Virginia United to Reform SOLs (PAVURSOL): www.solreform.com (this website seems to be down a lot, so instead of going there, are going to look at Susan Ohanian's "take on the issue.")
Write a 200 word essay on your reaction to the test you just took and your reaction to the articles you just read (especially the editor's note in Digital Spa.) Focus on whether or not we can reconcile the need to improve our students' test scores with creative inquiry.
Type your essay in the body of an e-mail (not as an attachment.)
Put "Your name - Mod 1- Soc" in the Subject line of the e-mail and send to instructor at : [email protected] (this address is also listed on the homepage of this workshop.)
(If occasionally the assignments and readings seem long, remember that this is a 3 cr. hr. course, and the University looks for over 40 hours of work) |
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