It turns out that it really IS that simple. The problem is the fact that it took me two inservice days and a district wide class (over 12 hours total) to figure that out. And I think the reason for that gets at the real core of the problem with using assessments the way we are using them today: we actually don't really know what we're doing with them.
One of the trends I see in education today - especially at the political level where the decisions are being made - is that we're often times looking for a silver bullet: a quick fix to our terrible situation in education. And in case you aren't aware, there is no quick fix. If we are treating education as a serious science, we need to stop assuming that one idea, or a new test, or a new way of teaching will have an enormous effect on education in just one year.
Science is the process of making observations, making a hypothesis, making more observations through controlled experiments, analyzing data, and then moving forward by communicating results. A lot of times, testing companies suggest that their tests are backed by statistics or don't even suggest that there is scientific research to back what they're doing. Even when testing companies say they have research and statistics to back what they're doing though, we rarely see what exactly the statistics and research are. However, departments are paying loads and loads of money for these tests simply because they're aligned to the national standards. Hold on, this sort of reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Gee, the lack of humility before nature that's being displayed here, uh... staggers me.
Donald Gennaro: Well thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little bit different then you and I had feared...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, I know. They're a lot worse.
Donald Gennaro: Now, wait a second now, we haven't even seen the park...
John Hammond: No, no, Donald, Donald, Donald... let him talk. There's no reason... I want to hear every viewpoint, I really do.
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet's ever seen, but you wield it like a kid that's found his dad's gun.
Donald Gennaro: It's hardly appropriate to start hurling generalizations...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: If I may... Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now
[bangs on the table]
Dr. Ian Malcolm: you're selling it, you wanna sell it. Well...
John Hammond: I don't think you're giving us our due credit. Our scientists have done things which nobody's ever done before...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
We have a long way to go in education when it comes to finding standardized testing that works. You see, I'm not totally against standardized testing; we have to have a way for keeping teachers accountable, and I don't see many other options for doing so. I am against bad standardized testing though, and that's what we have nationwide. I have hope that, eventually, someone will listen to what teachers, students, and parents are saying. I also hope we have things figured out before the velociraptors figure out how to open doors. That just wouldn't be a fun day.
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