tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post1565803357047650769..comments2024-03-29T04:34:05.185-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: CAP: The Promise of TestingPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-3921742085776571672016-02-10T11:51:18.587-05:002016-02-10T11:51:18.587-05:00(1) As usual, your biases seem to impede your read...(1) As usual, your biases seem to impede your reading comprehension skills. Eric clearly states that the rest of the year the students are learning "new and interesting material."<br /><br />(2) It doesn't matter whether or not teachers have any influence on test scores. Per the state, the test scores impact the school's state rating. Test prep does influence test scores because of knowing what kind of answers the test authors want and what format they want them in, which have nothing to do with real-world learning.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-14902962920648625652016-02-10T10:48:46.456-05:002016-02-10T10:48:46.456-05:00Rebecca,
1) I agree. Eric is concerned that his c...Rebecca,<br /><br />1) I agree. Eric is concerned that his children are learning nothing during the weeks in which they are preparing for at grade level exams. I am wondering why the months that are spent on at grade level work during the school year are not a greater concern for him.<br /><br />2) Schools and teachers do not feel obliged to do a whole host of other things that have no impact on exam results (having students sleep with the textbook under their pillows, for example), so why do they feel obliged to do test prep when they "know" that teachers do not really have any influence on test scores?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-35536692538451410682016-02-10T05:25:49.240-05:002016-02-10T05:25:49.240-05:00(1) There is no such thing as an entire class &quo...(1) There is no such thing as an entire class "at grade level" in all subjects. "Grade level" is arbitrary and approximate. You teach the students where they are.<br />(2) When schools (and/or teachers) are "graded" by the stupid test, schools feel obliged to spend time on test prep, to try to get any advantage they can, since part of taking tests is understanding what kind of answers and format the stupid test-makers expect. If the stupid "high stakes" were not attached to the stupid test, it wouldn't matter and they wouldn't feel obliged to do test prep. (Tests in general are not necessarily stupid, but tests prepared by people other than the teacher, especially by people who are not educators, usually necessarily are.)Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-65053433413673091092016-02-09T16:13:32.537-05:002016-02-09T16:13:32.537-05:00So the entire class is above grade level? It would...So the entire class is above grade level? It would seem that the class is mislabeled as a grade below the actual class.<br /><br />If all the students in the class are above grade level, it would seem that no test preparation is required. If the arguments given elsewhere are correct that teachers have no real impact on exam scores, test prep is totally useless and should be discontinued. It seems to me that it is the test prep that is taking up the time, not really the tests themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-91978218681931657252016-02-09T11:39:01.796-05:002016-02-09T11:39:01.796-05:00Why are you assuming that the rest of the course o...Why are you assuming that the rest of the course outside of the test prep and the exams is grade level? It is not. But the state exams are all at grade level. So, during the year my children were learning new and interesting material until that all ceased for test prep and exams. Skipping grades would not have been good for my children and many others. The systematic solution is to get rid of these tests. They are detrimental to education. This is why I focus on the tests. Also I care about more than just my children.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228908566250306699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-45525226402031352472016-02-09T09:45:34.450-05:002016-02-09T09:45:34.450-05:00Eric,
I am not sure why you focus on exams. If yo...Eric,<br /><br />I am not sure why you focus on exams. If your children are above grade level, every day in the classroom they will learn little. Isn't that a waste of the whole year, not just weeks?<br /><br />It is certainly not a uniformly good thing to change age based tracks, but little in life is uniformly good or bad. My middle child went from fifth to seventh grade and started taking college classes as a 15 year old high school junior. That was the only way to keep him intellectually interested in school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-72374490020978096342016-02-08T22:38:03.346-05:002016-02-08T22:38:03.346-05:00Not generally allowed in North Carolina. Also, no...Not generally allowed in North Carolina. Also, not always a good idea depending upon the emotional maturity levels of the children and so many other factors. <br /><br />Wouldn't a better solution simply be to get rid of these stupid tests that serve no purpose? That seems like a much better solution to the problem. I did not take these types of end of grade tests in my K-8 education, and my K-8 public education was just fine. We even got the opportunity to act in plays and go on many field trips. My children did worksheets and filled in bubbles on tests. How stupid is that? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228908566250306699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-46403419766764046312016-02-08T21:35:43.121-05:002016-02-08T21:35:43.121-05:00Eric,
Perhaps your children could skip a grade or...Eric,<br /><br />Perhaps your children could skip a grade or two? Tracking by age is the standard in public schools, but it is also possible for students to change tracks.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-7333914972678474032016-02-08T21:11:15.883-05:002016-02-08T21:11:15.883-05:00I hate the tests. The EOG (end of grade) tests in...I hate the tests. The EOG (end of grade) tests in North Carolina are useless. They have wasted weeks and weeks of instructional time for my children every year. The test preparation for these tests lasts weeks. These are grade level tests. My children are above grade level. So, they learn nothing from the test preparation. They learn nothing form taking the tests. They also learn nothing that last two weeks of school after passing the tests. What a huge waste of time. I hate these tests!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228908566250306699noreply@blogger.com