Teaching or testing?

Teaching or testing? Teaching to the test and excessive test preparation invalidates inferences that can be drawn from the scores – yet they are the inevitable response to pressure to produce good test scores. Classroom time is devoured by not only the tests themselves but also practice tests, pre- and post-tests, field tests for the tests, benchmark tests, teacher tests, district tests, and state or provincial tests. Because testing is not teaching, this ultimately leads to a loss of opportunities for students to have a broad range of educational experiences, and the first things to go usually end up being the arts and physical activity – which do not lend themselves to be easily tested.

Best. Testing Comic. Ever.

Best. Bubble Sheet. Ever.

When I grow up I want to be an ad for Red Bull!

There is a big difference between encouraging children to grow into creative, critical thinkers and consumers. 

What won't we do for high scores?

Put enough pressure on teachers to get high scores...

Convince parents that high test scores are the ultimate achievement...

Push children to grade grub their way to high scores...

... and you can be assured that many people will achieve these high scores, but you won't want to know how they did it.

This is Campbell's Law.

This is but one more reason why standardized test scores are like a broken clock. The costs of standardized testing is strangling the intellectual life out of our classrooms.

Education Reform as a comic

This was created by Adam Bessie and Dan Archer. The comic first appeared here and here at Truth-Out. The full comic can be seen here.

by Adam Bessie and Dan Archer

Jumping through hoops

This is precisely what test-based accountability looks like in the classroom.