I have been wondering for a while how these new national science standards would be tested. The Common Core Standards, for Math and English, are supposed to be tested in more of an essay format and the push seems to be there to do the same thing for science. (I don't know what some people have against multiple choice, but I have never had a problem with them.) Still, the question was there.
I noticed this week that the testing portion would be left up to the individual States. So, CA will write the test for my students based on the new standards. I took a little trip over to the California Department of Education - Testing website. There is nothing new. No mention of new Standards (they aren't official yet, anyway). No mention of their possible approach. No call for teacher input.
The timeline states we should begin implementing changes next school year and be fully committed to the NGSS by the following year, yet we have no idea how our students will be tested. On top of that, we have to wait for our state (CA in my case) to make that decision. Crazy.
BTW, looking at the names of the people involved in creating the new science standards, I did not find a single, current high school science teacher. Lots of college professors and a few former high school teachers, but not one current high school science teacher listed as an author. I suppose they will say they consulted, but should we have been involved in the authorship? Wouldn't that have given the standards more credibility?
If you wanted to know what it was like to fight in the trenches during WW2, would you ask a Vietnam veteran or a WW2 veteran?
I don't know what grade you teach, but there are some students (mostly 7th and 8th graders)who don't take these standardized tests seriously. Just to be "you know whats", they just bubble in whatever and they don't care whether it screws with the class scores or the teachers pay. That is why these bubble in tests are questionable. I write for AIMS reading in the summer and I know how many reviews these tests go through before they end up in someone's classroom and for kids to not take it seriously is a slap in the face to everyone who cares about the education process.
ReplyDeleteA LOT of students don't take these tests seriously. There is no accountability. The tests accomplish nothing.As I understand, it is illegal to use the scores for determining class placement the following year. In other words, score poorly, go to lower level classes the following year. So what is the incentive to study hard and to do well? Bragging rights? If you believe that is a good incentive, you haven't been on a high school campus lately.
ReplyDeleteHow about if a high score gave their parents a tax write-off? How about if a high score gave students tuition credit at a public college or university? Imagine how some students could pay for their education by testing well between K-12.