Face Off
The nature of education is complex and involves many factors. The current trend touted as the solution to our education crisis is the institution of increased testing to measure and provide feedback on the effectiveness of our educational system. Unfortunately, the fear of holding anyone responsible for “failure” on these tests has resulted in the establishment of testing standards for high school students using eighth-grade proficiency standards. Why do we continue to strive for mediocrity in our society? If passing this test is a requirement for graduating from 12th grade, shouldn’t we be testing to 12th-grade standards? Perhaps we should greatly reduce costs by eliminating ninth through 12th grade entirely. If we expect students to learn anything during their high school years we should be testing them at grade level.
Additionally, classes are now being targeted to concentrate specifically on teaching those narrow pieces of information and skills covered by standardized testing. This leaves skills such as critical thinking or the ability to balance a checkbook and handle personal finances to fall by the wayside as we “teach to the test.” Perhaps the goal is that we raise a new generation dependent on others to tell them what to think because they haven’t been taught to question and reason things out for themselves. We need a broad education that is held accountable; narrowly focused testing does not do this. We need testing that accounts for ALL of the skills necessary for the future.
Chris Bryant has lived in Morgan Hill for more than 29 years and makes his living as a commercial realtor. He works on development of high-tech computer-based products. He’s a member of the board of directors of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce as well as the Knights of Columbus. He’s also a member of the Morgan Hill Times Editorial Board. Reach him at
ca******@****ic.com.
Teaching to the test may in fact be eroding our educational system and the overall quality of education. What’s worse, federal and state educational policies will require even more testing next year and in future years as academic targets (or test scores) will now nearly double for all grade levels. I don’t think, however, that we’ll be wasting our time if we develop testing for all skills necessary in the future.
We Americans like quick, easy, simple solutions to complex problems. The “No Child Left Behind” legislation, with its emphasis on test scores, is reflective of this attitude. This is why we, unashamed liberals, continue to believe that it truly does take a village to produce well educated, emotionally intelligent, caring people. Parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors are the most important school partners. They have to fill in the educational gaps. Parents with the financial means to pay for “extra” services and experiences for their kids are making a worthy investment. For those who do not have the financial means, we need to continue to support local community groups, like El Toro Youth Center, which provide the tutoring as well as opportunities for social, artistic, and other life skills enrichment for kids of all ages.
More and more testing will give students and teachers less opportunity to exchange ideas, less time to be reflective, less time to learn to challenge one another in a supportive environment, and yes, less time to learn to balance a checkbook. We don’t need to invent a more comprehensive test – we need to reinvent ourselves and our priorities.
Longtime Morgan Hill resident Laura Gonzalez-Escoto is a former Morgan Hill City employee with many years of service in the city government sector. She’s a member of the Morgan Hill Times Editorial Board. Reach her at la*****@*sn.com.
