Excerpts from Rafe Esquith “Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire.”
The testing obsession that has swept our nation’s schools is detrimental to helping children reach their potential as students and human beings.
“This is your life on the line!” Mr. Intense is screaming at Lucy. “Your future depends on this! Sit down, shut up, and let’s be serious!” Lucy is nine years old and about to take a state math test.
I witnessed this. Lucy later told me that what frightened her most was the fact that her teacher was so out of control, he was actually spitting at her.
Standardized testing has become a nightmare in our schools. Teachers have become so overwhelmed by testing demands that they no longer have enough time to teach their students the subjects they are supposed to master. Students have become so burnt-out taking the tests that they no longer care how well they score on them. Among the situation’s many sad ironies, perhaps none is more profound than this: Despite the fact that standardized testing was conceived to help our children succeed, in practice it has only contributed to their failure.
I am not opposed to tests. We need to assess how the kids are doing. Accurate, fair, and reasonable examinations can help parents, teachers, and students see what skills are being mastered and what areas need strengthening. Having accurate data is a gift to all parties concerned.
But the current system of testing is broken. We are spending so much class time giving so many tests that the kids do not care anymore. The fact that they rarely see the results of their work only adds to their indifference. In April 2005, for example, my fifth-graders were given the all-important, end-of-the-year, this-goes-on-your-record Stanford 9 test from the state of California. The children did not get their results until October! ‘They never get to go over their answers to learn what they did right or wrong. They get percentile numbers that mean nothing to them. It’s ironic that the people most obsessed with testing children do such a poor rob of creating conditions in which the kids will perform well. In fact, many respected educators speculate that testing companies do not care if the students perform poorly. These testing services have capitalized on failing schools and made a ton of money exploiting our fear of failure. Consider the following:
Every week, my ten- and even-year-old students take a test in spelling and vocabulary.
They take a weekly state-dictated math test.
They take three state- dictated science tests a year. That’s four to six hours down the drain.
Many take English tests to prove to the district they are proficient in their new language.
They all take four district-sponsored literacy tests per year. These tests each take approximately ten hours of class time.
They take four district math tests every year. These tests consume between one and two hours each.
They write three essays for the district every year. Each essay can take up to an entire day to complete, and the children never see the results.
At the end of the year, the students spend two weeks taking the California State exams.
Allow me to do my best Edward R. Murrow impression: “These are the facts.” If you have come to the conclusion that our system of testing is insane, imagine how our children feel. The fact that more children are not running for their lives is a testament to their courage and ability to hold their position even when the enemy has turned their left flank.
Before I share some tips on helping our kids survive the war, let me make one more point: These “standardized” tests are anything but! At least once a year, newspapers print the results of “standardized” tests to show us how schools are doing. School officials nervously await the results. These test scores can play an important role in a school’s future. Failing schools can expect a loss of funding and/or probationary status. But time-out. These test scores are not accurate. They may highlight certain trends, but anybody on the front lines of education would do well to look at the facts.
State tests are not proctored. They are usually administered without oversight: a teacher and a class alone in a room. Students tell me about teachers who have stood behind them and subtly (by coughing), or not so subtly (by poking or whispering), indicated that certain answers were right or wrong. And on timed tests, some teachers simply give their students extra time.
When literacy coaches from our reading program meet with teachers before a reading exam, they do something so incredible it would make someone fluent in Orwellian Newspeak stutter. They actually hand out the reading tests to the teachers—a practice they call “previewing the test.” Teachers read through the tests and write down words their students will need to comprehend or define. Having seen the actual exam, teachers return to class, tell their students what is on the test and then administer it several days later.
Miraculously, the kids do better on their tests! This allows literacy coaches to brag that their system is working. I know many teachers who refuse to take part in “previewing the test.” But, incredible as it may seem, many teachers do take part. Apparently they have convinced themselves that telling their students the answers to a test before they administer it is acceptable. Let’s get real. It’s one thing to teach children to multiply and prepare them for an exam by announcing they will be tested on multiplication. It’s another thing to tell kids to remember that there will be a test tomorrow and the answer to number 1 is 432.
The Heart of the Matter
How crazy has testing become? Many teachers from other schools visit Room 56 to train, and they are nice enough to keep in touch with me. Just this year an entire school of teachers trained in our classroom sent me Christmas cards—with copies of their students’ test scores slipped inside, for God’s sake! (Yes, that is a bad pun.) It is beyond belief.
I always remind my students that life’s most important questions are never asked on standardized tests. No one asks them questions regarding character, honesty, morality, or generosity of spirit. In Room 56 these are the issues of true importance. Why have we lost sight of this? It’s probably because raising scores a little higher is easy. Teaching honor and ethics is not nearly as simple a task. But if we want to create extraordinary students, we must be the ones to keep this in perspective.
When I am on the road with the Hobart Shakespeareans, not an hour goes by when we are not stopped by an admirer. Some of these people recognize us, and some do not. They have one thing in common. No one asks about test scores or grade point averages. They stop the children because the kids possess superior deportment. People notice their manners, listening skills, and a quiet respect for others that young people so often lack. It’s wonderful that these students are good at taking tests, but even better is their sense of values— they know there are more important things than how they score on the SAT.
A few years ago, a letter appeared in the Los Angeles Times from a person who had witnessed something at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. A garbage truck had overturned and the trash had spilled all over the street. This person was astonished to see a group of teenagers cross the street, pick up all the garbage, and help the driver get his truck in order. The writer of the letter was inspired to see young people who were so kind and thoughtful. Today, many of those same students attend Cal, Northwestern, and Notre Dame. They were able to get there because they studied hard in school, made sacrifices with time more ordinary students would not, and did very well on tests. One of them even made a perfect score on the SAT. But I am prouder of the day they helped a stranger pick up trash in Oregon. In an era when “You are your test score” has become accepted in too many school hallways, we adults must work hard to make sure kids know that their test scores are actually a very small part of who they are.
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