Reply #4: Passing the test is more important than learning. [View All]

[LWolf]

It doesn't matter if it's the FCAT, or the CAT6, or the SAT9, or any other state's version.

This is what needs to sink in:

That these test scores don't equate to learning.

That they are not the only, or the most reliable or valid, measure of learning.

That the scores that are reported, AYPs, are not the scores on the test, but what you get when you apply a different formula to individual scores, and that both the formula and the test being scored has changed, often more than once, since the "baseline" was set.

That the legislation is not as much about test scores as it is about the "continual growth" business model, which is not sustainable in the long run without some sort of corruption. It's not the scores. It's how the scores change from year to year that "counts."

That standardized tests have a typical pattern; when the test is first introduced, either as a brand new policy or to replace a previous standardize test, the scores are low. After a couple of years, they go up. A few more years, and they've reached a plateau. This pattern was documented before all of the state level testing reforms began a decade ago, and the federal mess began 4 years ago. Here is one administrator from my state's perspective; he's talking about our state "API," rather than the federal "AYP," back in May of 2000 before GWB was first selected:

http://interversity.org/lists/ca-resisters/archives/may2000/msg00065.html

If there is still anyone out there who thinks all of the testing is about learning, it's time to wake up.

I salute this teacher for being courageous enough to tell parents the truth. I doubt that comments like that are looked on favorably by her administrators.