Hi, Nicole
I was enjoying reading your post for this week. High-stakes testing is one of the biggest stressors in the education field. It’s a huge weight we bear every day. Although I am not full time in a single classroom, high-stakes testing worries me greatly. It is not fair to teachers or students to constantly stress about teaching or learning to the test. We try to fit all of our students into this box knowing for sure that our students’ abilities range vastly. The opt-out option has brought so much controversy to our schools. Last year our district had over 70% of our students’ opt-out of the Common Core Math and ELA tests. Teachers were urging parents to opt their children out to take a stand against these high-stake tests and it may
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Every test score is a direct reflection of not only the student but their teacher(s) and the school district. With these tests, we’re forcing students inside this box even though we know each student’s skill differs from the next. We eliminate the opportunity to track student’s progress as individuals because we have to group them as wholes. This one size fits all mold hurts those who have special needs or are English language learners more than it helps the general population of students. State funding is a big issue in my eyes. School districts with higher passing rates are rewarded with awards and increased financial subsides while districts with lower passing rates are punished with fines and such. I understand why schools with higher passing rates are rewarded but there are few reasons why schools with lower rates are punished. Schools with lower passing rates obviously need more help than schools with higher passing rates so what sense does it make to take away money they could use to help their students? This is a major flaw of high-stakes testing that should be taken into consideration. I believe there are far better and more efficient ways to spend time