by ALISTAIR BOMPHRAY
It’s that time of year again when the flowers bloom, the birds return to their summer homes, and the smell of newly printed standardized tests is in the air.
As I walked into school the other day, my nose caught the scent. Could it be? My heart practically leaped out of my chest at the thought. I ran to the office and joined the excited group of teachers outside the principal’s door. We all wanted to know. Are they here? Are they here?
The principal let the suspense hang for a moment. Then, like a gladiator of old, she raised both arms in a victory stance, a crisp new test booklet in each hand for all to see.
The room exploded into a frenzy of celebration.
Ahem. Sounds like some educational bureaucrat’s wet dream.
And that’s exactly the problem with standardized testing: not even the teachers are bought in. We hate it as much as the students do. Which means we are in the morally conflicted position of trying to convince students to care about something that we ourselves struggle to care about.
Not that our higher-ups aren’t trying to give us reasons to care about it. My own state of California uses standardized testing (along with attendance and graduation rates) to determine a school’s Academic Performance Index (API), a classification which can lead to monetary and incentive awards, if high, and state intervention, if low.
But you try telling an already apathetic teenager to care about his/her school’s API. Anytime you have to use an acronym to convince a student to try on a test, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
On my most cynical days, it feels like the only thing API really measures is how good a school is at brainwashing its student body into caring about a boring test.
And this brings me to the inspiration for this post. A colleague recently emailed me a link to a rap song written and performed by students from Oakland’s Military Institute about doing well on their CSTs. It’s called “800 API” in reference to the statewide API performance target.
My favorite line: I ain’t got no problem/ I’m the next Obama/ studying for this test can’t cause no drama/ if we don’t make 800 that’s on my mama.
Go here to listen to the whole song. You won’t regret it.
While I love the spirit of this song—it’s a hundred times more energetic and youth friendly than my own school’s pre-test “pep talk”—I have to confess when I played it for my students, they weren’t very impressed. Which I guess goes to show not even hip hop can make standardized testing palatable to independent young minds.
That said, I hope the video is forthcoming. ‘Cause the old ‘do it for your school’ argument sure ain’t working.
[And while we’re on the subject of educational hip hop, check out this gem I stumbled upon on YouTube. Say what you will about his spiky hair and constant bouncing, you've got to applaud Mr. Duey's brave enthusiasm. If your school blocks YouTube, you can watch the video here. Enjoy!]
When I taught in Oakland, a teacher raised his hand and asked why his particular students had to take standardized tests when they had already been subjected to so many tests just to be officially labeled and classified as Spec Ed. He argued that this would not benefit his students in any practical way whatsoever, and the time would much be better spent… teaching. This was the kind of teacher one wants to attract in the profession- young, enthusiastic, minority, concerned.
Instead of considering the merit of the question, the Supervisor of Education immediately turned the question on its head and went into full attack mode, lambasting the teacher for not caring about his kids enough to give them “the opportunity to succeed like all the rest.” The profession did not need his kind- those not truly “dedicated” to the cause.
Of course, it was one masterfully pernicious performance meant to completely sidestep the issue at hand and crush any thought of opposition by thoroughly humiliating said teacher.
Anytime they start talking about what they’re doing for the good of the kids…
Great song – I think my 5th graders will love it!
My favorite rationale from administrators when it comes to testing is that “students need to be held accountable for learning”. Yeah right – we know better than that; Testing does not demonstrate what students know.
What I have come to do with my students is teach them that it is part of the game – that it is a hoop they will have to jump through, that it is meant to weed people out, but that I (as a person of color) didn’t let that stop me. I decided to master test taking so that I could push it to the side and get on with my real business.
The week before testing, we practice and discuss smart test taking strategies. During testing week, we learn chants: “I learned, I know it, and now I’m gonna show it” and (sung to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands”) “I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic…. I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic…. I’m alive, awake, alert… I’m alive, awake, alert… I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!” We eat breakfast together in the morning in my classroom (healthy brain food that I bring in). I let them chew gum during the test… and we make the best of it. What I don’t want is for them to feel pressured and stressed at the age of 11.
Honestly, I don’t know why we haven’t all united -teachers, students, parents, administrators, etc.. and just dumped these tests in the recycling bin and hit the streets…
I love your strategies for making The Test a little more bearable for kids. Also inspiring to hear your realistic take on testing. As much as we may disagree with the philosophy behind standardized testing, we still have to prepare our kids to be successful. I like your last point too—teachers routinely strike for higher pay (a just cause to be sure), but why haven’t we also united against some of the more insidious pressures placed upon our students by educational bureaucrats?