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Tuesday, April 19, 2005
My Head Hurts Too, Chris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From a story today about the high stakes for the third- and fifth-graders taking the state curriculum test, aka the CRCT, comes this wisdom from Gwinnett County fifth-grader Chris Hearn:
“I know we have to take this test because some big people think we need to pass some tests to go to middle school. If you don’t pass, you have to go to summer school. And then if you don’t pass again, you have to stay in fifth grade. I don’t think it’s a very good rule…Thinking about it makes my head hurt.”
Sorry to revisit the same topic for at least the third time, but let’s face it, the testing frenzy has had an impact on schools, how they operate, how teachers teach etc.
Last year, third-graders had to pass the reading test to go onto fourth grade. This year, fifth-graders need to pass the reading and math tests to go to middle school. Passing this test is not a hurdle for most kids. The bar is low. (Last year, a severely dyslexic third-grader who relied on a bank of words he memorized to “read” passed the test.) Also, a kid who fails the test can get promoted anyway if everyone involved, teacher, principal etc. thinks it’s a good idea.
This state law raises questions, but I’m not sure exactly what they are. Here are some jumping off points: Is the added sting of promotion tainting the results of these tests? (Are we getting a true picture of how much each child knows?) Is the fear of getting held back creating unnecessary stress among kids who will definitely sail right through? Or, is this just what the students need to inspire them to learn reading and math?
