A majority of those who responded to the Argus-Courier’s online poll Sept. 18, 2008 say that the Standardized Testing and Reporting program is not a good way to measure student proficiency in subjects.
Some 58.3 percent said the STAR tests are not a good measure, while 37.5 percent said yes.
Two-thirds said that the accelerating targets that districts and schools are expected to reach are not reasonable. Nearly 80 percent said that the sanctions that districts and schools are given when they fail to meet specific targets are not fair.
More than 90 percent responded that they are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that increasingly more districts and schools might fail to meet targets as standards become higher.
Here are some of the comments by those who responded to the survey:
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“I think measurement is a useful tool for making adjustments as related to students, teachers, and schools. However, the sanctions force ‘teaching to the test’ and restrict flexibility and creative opportunities.”
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“Increased reliance on this ridiculous test is slowly but surely undermining our education system. It needs to be eliminated completely from our schools. And quickly.”
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“The best measure of a school is not test scores, but how it feels when you visit. Do students look happy and engaged? Is the office staff welcoming? Are the teachers energetic and happy to be there? A school is more than test scores!”
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“Schools are going away from teaching what needs to be taught to teaching only what is needed so their students can pass these tests. If this isn’t narrow-minded, I don’t know what is.”
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“Legislating education is and has always been a very bad idea. Who’s to say that with a transient community the school is testing the same children each year? Who gets to choose what is important in an education ” legislators, bureaucrats who haven’t been in a schoolroom for years if ever?”
And, what about that whole community who doesn’t speak the language? Are they to be vilified for their heritage? Good education is about creativity. Creativity is inherent in the good teacher and administrator. It’s time to find sterling examples in every field to find a unique way to impart knowledge to their very unique classes.”
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“When our ‘system’ has to teach students that have little English skills and are made to include children with learning disabilities and other handicaps, the schools and classes with the least amount of these children are going to do better than a school or class that doesn’t. Is that fair? Is that a standard of measurement of what the kids are learning? I think not! In school I had a very difficult time taking tests; I never did any good. However, that did not mean I did not learn the material, which I did. STAR: Stupid Tests Are Ridiculous.”
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“Two of the many points wrong with STAR testing are: 1. The test is given only in English. With so many ESL students who can barely read and write their own language, how can we expect them to succeed on the STAR tests? It they can’t succeed, then the schools’ scores won’t improve. 2. Due to the push for the schools to improve their scores, the teachers start to “teach to the test” the beginning of April, which effectively ends the academic school year. By the time the test is given, there is only a month left before summer vacation and it is very difficult to get the students back into a learning mode.”
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“We should not alter these scores to accommodate ESL students. They should acclimate to our standards as they are in our country. Thus they should learn to adjust to the standards we have had for years and not expect us to dumb down.”
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“The STAR test is really dumb.”
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“As long as we have immigrants that have limited English skills, test scores will go down.”