Attention all fathers: district and personal test scores can be powerful tools for your child.
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Thus far in the series, I’ve written about the benefits of standardized testing for teachers.
But most of us are not teachers. Most adults will encounter standardized testing from the parental angle.
And they often don’t like it. This is understandable. Students and teachers have come to view standardized tests as an unnecessary burden, one that unfairly heaps stress upon the tiny shoulders of eight year olds. Should such youngsters be judged based solely on their performance on one test?
No.
But what dads should know is that students are not judged based solely on their performance on one test. At least, they won’t be at a school that is worthy of your child.*
Rather, standardized test scores that are made public give dads access to apples-to-apples comparisons. What neighborhood schools are getting great results? How is your child’s school doing?PULL QUOTE RIGHT
Standardized test scores that are made public give fathers access to apples-to-apples comparisons. What neighborhood schools are getting great results? What about your child’s school?
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Prior to public release of standardized test scores, your child’s school might have been great… or it might have been mediocre… or it may have been terrible. And as a parent, you probably had an idea as to your school’s merits. But not only would you have lacked real data to examine. You would have no way of bringing attention to problems.
One dad’s opinion? That’s easy enough to ignore.
So on a macro scale, looking at district scores gives dads vital information when choosing where to live, as well as arming him with real numbers, should he have to confront his child’s school.
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But on a personal level, standardized testing also offers parents data on their own children.
Look, we all know our kids are extraordinary. We know this because they are. I taught hundreds of teens over my teaching career, and every last one of them was not only extraordinary, but wholly capable of learning everything I taught. Capable, though, is the key word here.
Just because your child can learn doesn’t mean they are learning.
Just because your child is smart doesn’t mean they are getting the education they need.
Remember: mandated standardized testing began with No Child Left Behind, whose purported goal is summed up in the title. Too many schools were passing kids on to the next grade, with no regard to whether or not these students were really learning anything. Preoccupied with keeping graduation rates high, rigorous standards took a back seat.
Just because your child can learn doesn’t mean they are learning. |
In some districts, holding students to any actual standards disappeared altogether.
So as a father, take advantage of standardized test data where you can.
* (If you find yourself at such a school, or if you’ve had a different experience, please let me know. Part of this series will entail responding to various counterarguments and comments that come my way).
Source: 30dB.com – Standardized Tests
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Photo: Flickr/Dean Hochman