I
come from a family of teachers. My
mother has been a Kindergarten teacher for twenty-six years. My aunt recently retired after thirty years
as a 1st grade teacher. My sister currently teaches at a public high
school right here in Indianapolis, and I of course, teach here at AI. So I know first-hand what teachers go
through. My sister spends countless
unpaid hours grading papers, calling parents, buying her own supplies and attending
the games of her students. Whether is
coaching Science Olympiad, chaperoning prom or cheering her students on from
the sidelines, she’s a teacher that shows up.
We need more teachers like her – which is why it’s so sad that she’s
thinking about quitting her profession.
With students that can’t read or write at the grade level they’re in,
parents that don’t seem interested in their child’s learning, and an
administration that pressures her to teach only what’s on the standardize test,
she feels helpless. She’s not the only
one either. Recently, a life-long
educator posted this resignation letter, in which he comes to the realization
that his chosen profession may no longer exist: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/06/teachers-resignation-letter-my-profession-no-longer-exists/
Standardized tests are supposed to accurately measure increases
in student learning, and national standards are designed to make the United
States a leader in education – but are they working? Consider the following:
In
2009, the United States ranked #21 out of 26 developed countries for
high-school graduation rates. Just
twenty years prior, we were ranked #1.
85%
of foreign exchange students say their U.S. classes are easier than classes in
their native countries.
In
a standardized world assessment, given to students in 74 countries, the United
States ranked #31 in Math, #23 in Science and #17 in reading.
There
is no doubt that our education system is falling behind many other
countries. Some say more core, national
standards are the answer, while others say standardized tests don’t take into
account different learning styles.
Teachers now have bonuses and raises tied to how well their students
perform – some of which, they have no control over. Arts and music are being removed from curriculums
all across the country and many school systems no longer have the budget for
field trips and educational, hands-on experiences. Parents blame the teachers, teachers blame
the administrators and all the while our students suffer and fall farther and
farther behind their peers.
So
my question to you this week is, “What do you think should be done to fix our
education system? What kind of
environment do you think students learn best in? Do standardized tests help or hurt our
education system?” Answers are due no
later than Wednesday, May 8th, 2013.
P.S. Recently, I had a student
who specifically requested this topic – I won’t call you out by name, but you
know who you are – this one’s for you!
I don't see how standardized tests help students in any ways. Standardized tests are only for schools to send to the government to get money that they can put towards books or, like my school did, put it towards their football team. To fix our educational system, they'll stop focusing only on things that are on standardized tests and actually start teaching things that the students will need in life outside of school. I think the schoolroom environment is fine, it's just the subjects and the material being taught. Also, I feel like schools shouldn't put their sports team before everything else. They should spend equal amount of money on books, and their art programs as well.
ReplyDeleteTeaching to the test is absurd in my opinion. This leaves little to the imagination of children. The issue is that teachers are being forced to ensure that their students can pass a test instead of being knowledgable in a particular area. It seems that our education system is worried more about their "rank" than a quality education for our children. With having a child in school, I have discovered that some teachers are still holding their students education in their best interest, regardless of the curriculum set forth by the school.
ReplyDeleteIt would, however, be acceptable if the school systems encouraged children to learn on their own as well. This may sound a little far-fetched, but I think that the most important question a child can ask (and should never stop asking) is "why". If a student is always asking why, then they will be interested in pursuing the answer. In this era, the answer to any of the questions that our children may ask us can be found with the push of a button. Our answers should never be, "I don't know".
The education system is not the problem in this country. The problem is that our children have less of an interest to ask why. They do not have the curiosity to go and find the answer. Our children these days are more interested in personal entertainment then to pursue answers for the many questions in their head. Our parent's are too busy to encourage this curiosity and answer these questions imposed by their children. Instead of trying to increase our world rank on the issue, we should instead teach our children how to find the answers themselves.
than to**
Deleteparents**
Proofreading for the win.
First things first schools shouldn't be spending their money on useless crap. My high school spend a ton of cash on an auditorium and an indoor tack. Just to let everyone know we already had an outdoor track. Thanks to the spending my high school is in major debt and the students and teachers are suffer from it. The government should use be using our taxes to improve our education instead of spending our cash on war. Last year the US spend 1.6 billion dollars on just ammunition. The best environment that I learn is in the environment where people actually care and participate. When students participate it generates a lot of energy and gets us asking questions and by asking questions we learn a lot more. I learn a lot when a teacher is passionate about the subject they teach. I personally think standardized test hurts the students. I lot of students have potential to go beyond the standards but thanks to the standardized tests they don't. Lets say a teacher assigns a project and we have an entire month to work on it but the requirement was to work on it for at least a day. Most people will work on their project for 24 hours and stop because that that's the standard. If the teacher just said that the students had an entire month and try to make it as best as they can most of the student will spend more that just a day on it. That is what standardized test does to our education. It just crates a barrier for the students and most don't go beyond that barrier.
ReplyDeleteAs far as standardized tests are concerned, I think the purpose of what they were meant to do became lost due to government and cultural changes over the years. The world is not the same world it was 50 years ago, standardized tests need to be more reflective of what children today need to really know about like financial literacy and early sex education. I also agree with Matt in the context of children being encouraged to learn on their own. I firmly believe that always asking why and having that curiosity will definitely work to the child's advantage later on in life when they're faced with challenges in the workplace/real world.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my most passionate topics. When I was in school I absolutely hated it. I made good grades and did what I was supposed to do but I would constantly ask every teacher when I was going to use this in real life. My trig teacher was my favorite because before every class she would tell exactly how we could use this in our future and every day life. I don't see how a standardized test helps any student. Some kids aren't good test takers and some students could care less about a silly test that has nothing to do with them.When teachers have such strict guidelines its difficult for the teacher to make learning enjoyable and therefore kids don't want to learn. You can have topics that you must try to get through but it shouldn't be based on a test. Then whole year all we talked about what was gonna be on the test. It wasn't about learning it was grilling in our brains facts for the test. If you can look at statistics and see a problem why is nobody making changes. Granted were all art students so of course we care about the programs being cut but aside from that why are we stunting our childrens creativity. Taking those programs away and not allowing them to have some creative independence. To learn things on their own. Its important. I don't see where we have come to think its not. I think some education freedom is needed and testing should be revised
ReplyDeleteOne does not simply "fix" our country's education system. I think that step one would be to ask the students to answer in their own words if they are actually learning and retaining anything. Then, we should get rid of all this multiple choice/fill in the blank/true or false nonsense. I think that tests should exist, but that they should be practical. Why are we wasting time attempting to teach "standardized methods" that student will never apply in real life? Lessons need to adapt to the technology students are already using, and problem solving scenarios need to be useful, not hypothetical. I think that students learn best in any environment where their interest is easily held by a teacher they respect. I see the opposite of this every day I am at Ai. As an older student here (I'm 27) the concept of respect for teachers as well as other students is lost on the students coming right out of high school into college.
ReplyDeleteI very glad you picked this topic!
ReplyDeleteKids do not take those standardized tests seriously. That's one of the reasons it doesn't make any sense to have them. I remember the attitudes that everyone had when we took them, and it was either 'I don't care' or "I think this is stupid' or a combination of the two. When children (and people in general I think) do not feel engaged in what their learning, then they do not really learn anything. And you lose people when you assume that a certain form of teaching is best for everyone.
Assuming that everyone learns the same way is absurd. For instance, in high school I did not learn/understand math at the same level as the guy behind me did. I'm a B student in math at best and this kid made straight A's no matter what. But my pre-calculus teacher just taught the class as if everyone in the room was at his level and had the attitude that nothing was wrong with that. I saw that often actually.
There were always kids who couldn't understand what was going on (most of which were fairly intelligent people) and there were always teachers that were frustrated with how little of the material was being retained or understood. And in turn both student and teacher just gave up.
People are not the same. We are all unique, and that's what makes us individually special. Take that away in education and you're left with individuals that will eventually develop a seriously cynical attitude about the subject.
Students learn best in an environment were they can be creative and feel as though they are important and can learn at a level that best suits them.
Our education system is like the poverty problem in this country: you can't just fix part of it. You have to revamp the whole thing. A good place to start would be to do away with most of the standardization (not just tests) and really focus on teaching kids skills that they are going to need in the real world (like doing your taxes).
It can't all be solved over night, but when you stop treating students as if they are worthless if they do not learn the same way as the person next to them, then you've already gained back some of the respect for education that both student and teacher need to succeed.
Also, I agree with Matt and Lani about encouraging students to learn on their own outside of school. There's not enough of that going on either.
DeleteAnd changing the material to be relevant to students of this era is also important. Times and people change, shouldn't education do the same?
This isn't something that can be fixed easily. I believe a large portion of this problem is that kids don't care anymore. It's a sad reality that standardized testing is relied too heavily upon. There's a huge amount of kids who flake under pressure and are poor test takers--thus low results lead to review classes and an overall easier curriculum. Students then don't have the drive to try harder and the cycle continues over and over.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that teacher's pay increases/decreases and all that jazz isn't the best idea. Reiterating the above (and alluding to the fact teachers' pay would decrease) there's also the idea that teachers may focus solely on the test's curriculum so their pay goes up, therefore students only learn what teachers deem needed.
I think, overall, the bits that are focused on, shouldn't be. But then if that's the case, then the entire system needs reworked and, really, the government doesn't care enough to do that.
Side note: it's incredibly sad and stupid that the arts and music programs are shutting down.
When I was in school I really did not like most teachers teaching methods. I found it hard to concentrate and I did receive good grades but most of the stuff they taught I felt I couldn't use it in real life. Not every student learns the same way. These standardized tests are awful because some don't take tests very well and most do not take them seriously. Most teachers today teach them how to take those tests. Not all topics should be focused on standardized tests. They need to hold the students interests and respect everybody's different learning style. Also taking away students art and music programs makes it worse because students may not have anything to look forward to when going to school. Learning things on your own is important too but cramming useless information into a child's brain so they can pass a standardized test to make a school look good is just pointless.
ReplyDeleteIn my middle school, all of our art classes and home economics classes were pulled from our schools curriculum. At the the time, I found it was one less class to take to get to high school. But as I got older, building my schedule with art classes, I almost felt lost because I didn't have a style developed like others. It was difficult, but I found my passion for the arts.
ReplyDeleteWhen it came to standardized tests though, I also felt behind the curve. My teachers would give us these tests and it would seem like nothing was in our previous study guides. And it was very seldom that my teachers crafted their own tests.
Personally, I feel we should change our curriculum to fit our students, not just what the school wants us to learn. There should also be encouragement to seek outside the classroom for more whether its reading classic literature, to history outside the United States. We should question the knowledge we are being fed, and continue to teach this to our children.
Standardized testing is a blight upon the education system. Growing up, science and social studies classes were always the coolest ones because we were learning viable information that we could carry with us throughout our lives. Math and English on the other hand were boring as hell and I'm pretty sure every student, past or present, can agree to that. Not once have I been able to use trigonometry or transitive verbs to better my life or solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't used Algebra 2 today, that's 5 years and counting.
DeleteI think the entire school experience has gone downhill even since when I was in school only 3 years ago. The things that kids used to get excited about; school functions, sports teams, art, band, music, administrators are trying to get rid of because they don't have enough funding. Some parents are having to pay to use the bus. If they don't have the money and can't take there child every day, (work, etc.) that child is the one suffering. I know my mom in particular would have had trouble with this one as she has been working 12 hour days since I was 9. High school should be one of the most enjoyable times of a child's life and anymore school is about how much money we don't have and what we're going to cut next. I would be miserable if I was still in school. I'm scared to think about what its going to be like when I have to put my kid in school.
ReplyDelete(Cant' get my name to show up! This is Nicole Watkins.)
I think that teaching kids the realities of what they are learning, and how it fits with how they will live as adults would help. It seems that a lot has changed about how people learn today, than the past. Long ago, it was a privilege to be educated, in some cases in America, it was illegal for some people to learn to read and write. Today, everyone can learn from just about anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe school system is just one way of learning, and a failed one at that. Maybe it is what's taught in school that kids don't relate, or most think that it's just a bunch of lies (especially in History),and if there is one weak link in a school curriculum, then the whole system is a failure.
Don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, or just against America, but it seems the school system is not to teach, but to measure one's intelligence, and if you don't fit in, then there is the prison system as an alternative... Now that system isn't failing at all.
If you look at Sweden, who has the best education system in the world right now, they do things much differently than we do. They don't do standardized tests, pay teachers almost as much as doctors and give them nice long paid vacations. The exact opposite of what America does. I think for once we can learn something from Europe and its superior education system.
ReplyDeleteI think that one way to fix this is emphasize how important our education is. How can we progress if students aren't taking their education seriously.
ReplyDeletethey aren't being challenged, and students aren't progressing along with the the pace of the world. that doesn't mean that some students aren't taking it seriously but if they aren't being challenged enough either then how can they progress as well.
another thing is that our education is a mistake forbidden process. what i mean by this is that we learn more from our mistakes, and the education system makes it so that is only one truth and one way to do things which isn't the case.
i think a creative and more "one way free" environment is the best way to inspire and challenge students. it forces students to think outside the box and and even if they are wrong they are thinking in different ways.
standardized tests only prove one thing and that every part of our education is exactly the same and will diminish our creativity and the way we think.
Why did I learn about the American History so much in school? You'd think we'd be able to move on to world history after we were forced to act as child presidents in plays just to show our parents how well we could read. So much school material has become useless and forgotten. A lot of it just seems old fashioned and generic.
ReplyDeleteThe book should definitely be replaced. They took up so much space in my locker. It was the worst when you were assigned homework from every class and all of those books would barely fit in your book bag, the zipper wouldn't zip all the way, and it also weighed 50 lbs. All that we need are tablets and jump drives. Think about how much money books would be worth is they stopped printing them.
I think testings makes it worse. we are not really learning we are memorizing for the sake of passing a test. Also I think more money should be put in our education, that can help hire more teachers and whatever else they need to help supply the children with what they need.School in my view should be more about how to face the issues in the real world like taxes, financial things and more. I still have not used one mathematical forum.Each student learns in a different way, I have a learning disability and have been taught in many environments. Really it is about people who care about there students, not a person that goes there just to get a paycheck.
ReplyDeleteI believe our education system isn't challenging enough. Recently I went to mexico on vacation. There I visited the local school. I seen that they are obligated to take a English class every year starting a young grade. That made me realize that they are challenging their students. We as an american society should be challenged not only for grades but other areas as well. A caring enviorment is the best way to go. I actually think standardized tests help and hurt our educational system. The government focuses to much on perfecting that rather than makeing it better.
ReplyDeleteI think that when education is based on standardized tests its whack. You don't learn anything from them because honestly no one really studies countless information day in and day out. You might remember for a day or so to get passed a test, but give it about a month and your like "oh crap! I don't Remember how to do this!" You have to work in a fun creative environment not a dull one where people just daze out and fall asleep. I believe that teachers should have a right to teach the way they want because that's what makes the job fun, them being creative to teach the students the best way that they can. From my personally experience, I remember a whole lot more from teachers who have fun with the students and not from the ones who just want to throw in what they need to. The world is based off of creativity and if you take that away from a young age, then the world will keep falling.
ReplyDeleteI think that the schools are way too focused on these standardized test that it really all just gets in the way. the best form of teaching, to me at least, is for the teacher to be able to go from student to student and help them learn how to learn. My high school would keep their students from going into the library and keeping many from reading and learning. I went to the library on my first day there and the librarian looked at me like i was an idiot and asked if i was lost. That was the moment that I was worried about going to that school. The only times the students ever went to the library were for certain assignments. It was sad and the school is well hated among its students. The fact is that many schools are completely failing at teaching even the students that are fully wanting to learn by acting as though its a bad thing that a student is independent and trying to learn on his own. The students need to learn how to learn. after that they start becoming unstoppable. many students rely too much on being babied by the teachers and have their hands held through every class is sad. from the standardized test i believe that it is hurting the schools and the students. the school forgets about their students and sees them as statistics and the students feel the pressure of the tests from the whole school and many of them crumble from it. I think it can be easily fixed, but it will probably take a change on how the school systems are run and turned into a more accepting and self inspiring setting.
ReplyDeleteI have gone to a few different schools over my K-12 years, some private some public. I found it interesting to transition back and forth between schools with a lot of funding for technology or unnecessary material items and schools without. A method of learning that sticks out to me was in middle school. Each classroom had what were called smart boards, and teachers could write and type on their personal computer and their work would project onto the smart board. Students were assigned numbered clickers that corresponded with our names in the computer. Throughout the lesson, we would have quizzes or just simple questions to answer via clicker. I thought that this was an incredibly effective and interesting method. It was interactive, so we were always participating, and the hint of competition made us pay attention. I never slept in classes like I was able to in my high school classes. An interactive and positive environment is one I think students learn most effectively.
ReplyDeleteI feel that standardized tests are such a horrible, inaccurate gauge of knowledge. Some students truly need more time to process tests and for them the short time frame is just absolutely ridiculous. I found myself often racing and filling in random answers towards the end of the test portion just so I would complete it. I think the massive weight that is tied to the tests required for colleges often can make students perform even worse than they usually would.
One of my favorite quotes of all time is "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." -Albert Einstein.
ReplyDeleteUntil I became a student at the Art Institute, I have felt like a fish trying to climb trees in our public schools. I use the right side of my brain more that I use the left side- I am creative, not logical. I am a visual and tactile learner, which means that I learn best when I can see and touch things.
Standardized testing is better fitted for people who have great use of the left side of their brain- those who are good at memorizing and organizing information, and are able to repeat it back perfectly. I have gone through most of my life feeling like a complete failure because it was so difficult for me to get good grades in school, and I had to deal with being compared to my genius younger sisters who made it all look so easy. I know I'm not the only one who feels like that, and having an attitude like that will suck the drive to learn completely out of a student- No wonder so many students want to drop out.
As it turns out, I am not stupid, I am simply a fish who just needed to find a pool of water- And since I have joined the Art Institute, I have become an A student and earned several Honors, Dean's, and President's awards. So what changed? I am being graded on the creativity and hard work of my projects that I complete, instead of how many bubbles I filled in correctly. The downside is that I will most likely be in debt for the rest of my life, because the one school that I've found which has the major I need for my career and teaches with my learning styles happens to be an extremely expensive private school. But as long as I am able to have a career where I am paid to do what I love, I am perfectly okay with that.
I believe that in order to fix our educational system, teachers will have to be paid a higher amount in order to hold them to a binding of teaching at higher standards. With each community have it's own challenges that they face from one another, this proposal will attract teachers that are the best required for that class, while eliminating those aren't helping with school progress. It could be said that there are numerous teachers who are in terms coasting throughout their curriculum with little to no motivation. Which does not improve but rather turn the system back. One major goal that I suggest is that teachers whom are having an impact with these students and the course that they are teaching, should without a doubt receive a bonus for their tremendous progress.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the best learning environment through personal experience, I have found that one which instills initiative, self confidence, independence as well as the knowledge to work within a team should inspire students to be eager on learning and discovering different things. Such as numerous values that are being presented in this class and respect among peers and one's self.
As for test scores, I believe that these hurt the educational system. There has been days where I have taken a test and due to the prior fact of having a bad day my scores will least then expected. Many students have faced this outcome and as a result school receive lower test scores. These scores can not be based on just one day outcome.
I agree that our system of teaching is not working, obviously since the tests aren't getting any better. We need to get away from making everything about tests and remove online classes from the k-12 education system. I think is limits us as people because of the lack of interaction from other beings and makes us unsociable. Maybe if school had a test for all childern to take that determined their learning style and started to group the kids that way and teaching them in that style children would be better off. I'm a very hands on learner and trying to memorize things for tests, even for this class, is hard for me since my brain doesn't learn like that. Adjust schools through learning styles not testing and get rid of the computer only classes, it's only going to criple them more.
ReplyDeleteI believe to fix the education system we need to make it more about the students and teaching them rather than the test. We also need to have more teachers for the K-12 that would be more focused on teaching rather than teaching to test. I believe that having online classes in the K-12 education system is hurting the youth and creating a generation fully dependent on computers. I believe that it's best to have students with an instructor to explain everything to where students can understand what is going on. Standardized testing is hurting the youth because the teachers are teaching to the test not to educate.
ReplyDelete