There are test-taking strategies that help students score higher on tests, rote drills on the kinds of things likely to be on the exams. But as a parent, I would rather my children learn to think critically and participate in lively discussions that delve deep into subject matter. I want them to learn why, not just how. Like most parents, I do not want my child’s value as a student measured only by a standardized test. I want my children to have their curiosity heightened, to feel an insatiable desire to know more. While teaching, I frequently ask myself, “Would I want my child to be in my classroom right now? Is it engaging? Are the kids excited about what we are studying? Are they developing inquiry that will drive them to want to know more?” Test preparation tends not to be that kind of teaching.
The one of the many real teachers being given a # as part of the “Value added” debate! This is important to read!
One teacher’s view of ‘value added’ evaluations - latimes.com
(via adventuresinlearning)
I’m afraid I haven’t clicked through yet, but I think there’s a little bit of bewitchment by means of language, here. Of course you don’t want the only thing people learn to be how to take tests. On the other hand, teaching/learning isn’t as cut/dry as ‘Now I’m learning how to take tests. Next I will learn Calc 2. Finally, I will learn Moby Dick.’ Test taking is a skill, like how to evade tacklers in football or how to make a passable Béarnaise sauce. Students can acquire a lot of knowledge from browsing on Wikipedia all day, too. I know standardized tests have a bad rap, and they definitely favor certain sets of people. I also know that I scored in the 99th percentile on GRE verbal, and I studied the test for about a year. Did I merely learn test taking strategies? Or did my entire educational existence contribute to my having a reasonably high verbal facility? I don’t think education is as results-oriented as the OP seems to imply in the quote, which, ironically seems also to be the point.
