Post by Mark Alford on Apr 30, 2012 14:48:00 GMT -5
A while back (of course it's been a while back, I haven't posted here in a while), a teacher questioned the ethics of "teaching to the test." This came at a point when a fellow English I teacher of mine was also looking down her nose at me for teaching to the test. I have always felt that we are taught to test as we teach. You would not give kids multiple choice answer quizzes for Romeo and Juliet and then for the test give them a lot of quotes and expect them to be able to identify speaker, audience, and meaning. Yet you would put a test worth 25% of their grade in front of them without preparing them for what is on it. 
And what is on it? That has been a sticking point to me for quite a while. I designed the EOC Underground because it was a pain to find any information regarding the test. Sure samples would be handed out from time to time, but it was hit or miss if you happened to be teaching ninth grade when they came out. Plus, until recently, we had no released test to look at. Then, when form I became released, they locked it so that it could not be printed, causing teachers to consider the ethics of Googling FREE PDF UNLOCKER
and printing it anyway.
Back to the teaching to the test, what does our State expect from us? Check out page 17 of your test administrator's manual. It says:
...according to State Board of Education policy, teachers may help students improve test-taking skills by:
1. helping students become familiar with test formats using curricular content;
2. teaching students test-taking strategies and providing practice sessions;
3. helping students learn ways of preparing to take tests; and
4. using online released test items available through the NCDPI Accountability Services Division/North Carolina Testing Program.
The test items I have have been released by the Accountability Services, so I stand by my first take on this topic - we're idiots if we do not do some teaching to the test. This is what the kids are supposed to know. We should give the skills to break down what they see. We should enable them to remain calm. And by all means, we should teach them strategies.
Has anyone else out there been looked down on for attempting to prepare your students?
And what is on it? That has been a sticking point to me for quite a while. I designed the EOC Underground because it was a pain to find any information regarding the test. Sure samples would be handed out from time to time, but it was hit or miss if you happened to be teaching ninth grade when they came out. Plus, until recently, we had no released test to look at. Then, when form I became released, they locked it so that it could not be printed, causing teachers to consider the ethics of Googling FREE PDF UNLOCKER
and printing it anyway. Back to the teaching to the test, what does our State expect from us? Check out page 17 of your test administrator's manual. It says:
...according to State Board of Education policy, teachers may help students improve test-taking skills by:
1. helping students become familiar with test formats using curricular content;
2. teaching students test-taking strategies and providing practice sessions;
3. helping students learn ways of preparing to take tests; and
4. using online released test items available through the NCDPI Accountability Services Division/North Carolina Testing Program.
The test items I have have been released by the Accountability Services, so I stand by my first take on this topic - we're idiots if we do not do some teaching to the test. This is what the kids are supposed to know. We should give the skills to break down what they see. We should enable them to remain calm. And by all means, we should teach them strategies.
Has anyone else out there been looked down on for attempting to prepare your students?
