Does Your School District "Teach the Test" Standardized Testing Is This Bad????

As a teacher and a parent I think it's more important to find out what schools the parents and kids love the teachers. You have no control over the kids in your child's class from year to year but if your child loves their teacher they WILL learn, which is what you really want, isn't it?

Our daughter was in school with higher than 98% Standardized test scores. Our children are from highly educated parents with lots of resources. These children arrive prepared for school. ALL of the teachers are certified Gifted teachers so EVERY child on campus is taught the gifted program. Almost 100% of the teachers have a masters degree.

Each fall the students are given an assessment test to see where they are academically and again in January. Then they take the TAKS test. At the end of the year if anyone has not passed the test, they are allowed to take it again.

They teach HOW to take the test.. "Read the answers first, then go back and read the story underline the answers in the story"..blah, blah, blah.. "Take the test seriously," "Just do your best." "Do not stress about the test." "Every 5 questions make sure you are on the correct question and answering on the correct area."Thess types of thing is taught to the children.

I was PTA President at 2 of my childs schools and of course the goal is 100% so we are always looking for ways to bring up the scores.. 98% to me was excellent, but the district still stresses making it better.. We went around the state to look at what the top scoring schools were doing.. We were actually a little horrified.

In one elementary all of the signs in the hallways were modeled after the set up of the tests.. It was ridiculous. They had 2 columns. You had to read the left side then read the second column.

The lunch menu was even set up his way! One school did not allow parents to be on campus unless they were invited to be there. Parents were not allowed to mentor or tutor on the campus, only other people from the community were allowed. We asked about special programs like game nights, talent shows, field trips, etc.. they said, they "did not have time for those frivolous things".

On our campus, parents were allowed to volunteer everyday. There was an actual teacher workroom where everyday you could come in, pick up a teacher request and work on the project. Parents tutored students on our campus. Each grade level has certain field trips or end of the year special studies. There is always a talent show, a school carnival, game nights. Donuts for dads one morning.. Muffins for moms one day..

We came back and gave the update on these other schools and asked if the teachers and parents wanted us to follow these models and it was overwhelming "No" we want school to not be all about the test.

The middle school was more varied in the student populations, but the scores were still very good. Same at the high school..

I have said this before. "Our kids" are always going to do well, because they are bright and education and school are important to us. We are very involved and expect our children to do the work.

Our child graduated as a National Merit Scholar, She applied and was accepted to all 9 colleges she chose and is now in an Ivy league school. She attended all public schools, so we never paid for any private schooling.

What goes into your school ratings? Is it just a single test score? or is there more?

In our district a 'score' is based on a standardized test: the CSAP, percentage of kids who had a disciplinary action taken, mobility (how many kids have moved into/out of the school....like a teacher can help that number!!!), etc.

One of the 'excellent' rated schools keeps their numbers high by having assigned seating at lunch -no discipline issues, not allowing kids to play in the snow, no ball games at recess. They have tons of homework and it's all about the rating at the school. Not much creativity critical thinking i.e learning going on.

Another 'excellent' school went from excellent to high performing because there were a lot of foreclosures in the neighborhood and the mobility rate jumped up. Teachers/principal/curriculum/test scores are all the same...but because a bunch of kids left, they were dinked on their performance.

So, your teacher friend is right. You need to research the school itself and find out if the teachers are what you want for your child, if the principal is approachable, if the methods the school uses to keep your kid in line during the day meet your expectations. Don't go by just a rating.

I'm pretty sure all public schools teach to these tests... it is how they get/keep funding and get people to come to their district. Whether we like this system or not, unfortunately, I do believe the curriculum's are pretty standard now... and teaching to the dang tests!

I live in Fenton and our school district is an International Baccalaureate world school district(all building will be accredated by the end of this calander year). I really like the schools and teachers and I don't feel they teach the test because they have to do what the IB program calls for and what the state requires. We are one of the top districts in the county. Here's a link to the district http://www.fenton.k12.mi.us/
Also, Fenton is just a great place to live! There is a small town feel with some of the benifits of a larger town and we have many lakes right in the area. Good luck!

Sigh... honestly, I really can't get behind demonizing standardized tests. Yes, we all understand that tests do not measure the entire worth of a child. However, they are a great measure of things like, can your child read and comprehend what she has read, at grade level? Can your child do grade-level math problems? I mean, WHY is this a bad thing to test?

Personally, I wouldn't want to send my child to a school where the average child couldn't read and do math at grade level. I am not implying that it is all the teacher's fault if the average child isn't performing on grade level (obviously parental involvement is important, blah blah blah), but if your child is of above average intelligence and capability, why on earth would you want to send them to a school full of children who are performing below grade level? Let's face it, schools teach toward the average student (best case scenario) and toward the worst students (worst case scenario). Your best bet if you have an above-average kid is to put them in a school of high achievers. I know my opinion isn't fashionable, but I don't care. I have smart kids, so I put them in a private school with the highest test scores I could find. Do I care if they "teach to the test?" No. Why would I? the test measures grade level material that every child should know. That's a good thing. If your school can also provide the "extras" such as art, music, sports, etc, then so much the better, but ultimately, high test scores do tend to indicate that the teachers are doing their job well.