"This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you"

It's a sad week for teachers and students alike this week, it's PSSA week. The first three day installment of standardized tests, that last from 7:50-11:30. As a passionate educator I nearly get sick at the sight of 20 kids dead silent, filling in bubbles that will determine their school's state ranking, future classes, state funding and perhaps even their teacher's job. These tests are somewhat of a necessary evil; they are here and they are not going away, so we might as well just take them. They are just hoops we need to jump through. But it's not that simple. These tests are poisoning our education system. They are meant to suck creativity out of schools so that all kids get the same education and learn the same thing, the same way.

This goes back to the McDonalds post I had a couple weeks ago. Anyone who has been in a school can tell you that "standardized" anything is a joke. If you approach period 1 the same as period 6 your losing kids;it's that simple. So it goes with out saying that if thats the case, we also cannot expect that kids in Lancaster need the same things as kids in Philly and none of them need what kids in Texas need. In fact, what would a world of standardized learners look like? A concrete curriculum for every grade in every state? So every 11th grader takes pre-calculus and reads The Crucible? When you align yourself with a standardized anything, your ruining diversity that fuels learning.

The worst part about these tests is that they are not effective. They are impossible for some students and not nearly challenging enough for others. They only work for one learning type, they are way too long and they do not encompass any life long learning skills that I would actually value. No culture; no critical thinking; no building or problem solving; no collaboration and no research. These tests are nothing more than a wealthy politicians solution to a problem he knows nothing about. They are also a way for that same politician to make money. Standardized testing is a billion dollar industry, monopolized by a few companies, creating tests that determine the education of millions of students and jobs of teachers and administrators nationwide. All of this dictated by passing a test that is mathematically designed for 50% to fail. The House always wins.