The Tyranny of Tests

My tech team is working on redesigning our curriculum with an eye to innovation. I met yesterday with the K-12 tech specialists that are on our team to discuss our current courses and what they see as important areas to pursue in graduate teacher education. We had a lively conversation and enjoyed talking about the "state of education," as we are experiencing it. What is clear: we are all under what I would like to call the Tyranny of the Test.

Our task for the evening was to review the graduate students' (current K-12 teachers) scores on the state tech test and determine what type of curricular changes might be made to ensure higher  scores on the test. The conundrum? THEY ALL PASSED ON THEIR FIRST ATTEMPT! Yes, there are areas where they might have scored higher, and we had a good talk about what that might mean for our course content and delivery...but, really, how important is a higher score? As we examined test items, we also confirmed that best answers on the multiple choice items were sometimes difficult to identify. We also know, as master test givers ourselves, that some errors are accidental in test-taking. And, there is the element of test phobia, which impacts some students in their abilities to complete such a test accurately. Bottom line: we want more from our students than test prowess.

As we also discussed the K-12 schools and their use of digital technologies for teaching and learning, the Tyranny of the Test was also evident. One tech director noted that their social studies teachers were more innovative when integrating digital technologies possibly because they didn't have a state test looming over their heads. They felt freer to challenge students with active learning activities, and encouraging a diverse use of digital technologies to explore, create and converse.

I strongly believe that if you provide students with challenging learning situations (many using digital technologies) that they will develop into critical thinkers, effective communicators, and magnificent creators. This type of student will also be able to pass the tests we throw at them, but they will not be beaten down with a curriculum that is test-centric. I will continue to teach my students in this manner, and hope that the practice will spread.