“Kudzu is a climbing, deciduous vine capable of reaching lengths of over 100 ft. Preferred habitat includes open, disturbed areas such as roadsides, right-of-ways, forest edges and old fields. Kudzu often grows over, smothers and kills all other vegetation, including trees. Kudzu is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was widely planted throughout the eastern United States in an attempt to control erosion.” (Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, University of Georgia)
A few weeks ago in an English Department meeting we were examining the results of the first Periodic Assessment. This is an exam the district requires every quarter to track student progress through the district curriculum. We had detailed results broken down by question and by student. We explored the district website that offered a wealth of activities to teach or re-teach each of the concepts and skills on the test. We were encouraged to analyze our students’ results in great detail and to return to those things they didn’t learn, since they would all be on the California Standards Test in the spring.
All of this was very impressive, and before long I found myself thinking that there was such a wealth of available material that I could spend all of my class time preparing for the next test, reviewing the previous test, etc. I could dig into the questions that many students missed and call up some of the remediation activities. I could administer practice tests and review the answers with them and....
WHAT!!?? Am I out of my mind!? Spend all of my time reviewing past tests and previewing future tests!? Devote every class to test preparation!? No! No! A thousand times no!! What about writing? and literature? and class discussions? There are a lot of trees in the forest of education, and I can’t let the kudzu vine of standardized testing destroy them!
In Part Two: How did we get into this predicament? The political and social context for the rise of standardized testing.
Kudzu is non-toxic, so I don't think it makes as good an analogy for testing as would be, say, FIRE ANTS.
ReplyDeleteLike the simplistic multiple-choice tests that have spread throughout Education and completely infested it, fire ants spread rapidly, are tough to wipe out, and have toxic stings that can even KILL someone with an allergic sensitivity.
Now, there's your analogy for testing.