Shaking up everything I've always known (Wayne Au: Racial Justice is Not a Choice)
All throughout school, I took all kinds of tests, both standardized and non. Either way, the tests were considered high-stakes, and there was a lot of pressure put on the students to do well, and on the teachers to help us do well. What's crazy is that even back then, when it wasn't my responsibility to teach or guide others to succeed, I knew the amount of pressure that the teachers were under. It was just something that everyone knew, and something that no one could really control.
"...high-stakes standardized tests do not serve students of color. They support white supremacy."
This is pretty mind boggling to me. I understand that there's injustice in most of what we do, but I truly never thought about testing this way. Maybe this is just me being ignorant, but I think that as students, there isn't much time to think about things like this. We're so focused on studying and remembering and working on this project, that test. I think I just didn't see it. Shame on me.
I'm not saying I didn't know they were unfair. I know standardized tests are crap. They don't measure nearly close to what they should, and aren't fair for all students, even if they are on the same level. Students learn differently, and at different paces. That's not to say that we all can't do the tests, it just might require different steps or a different process.
Au said at one point "tests offer narrow measures, miss most processes, experiences and relationships that define teaching and learning." This was interesting to me. I have always known that a part of teaching is prep for standardized testing. I don't agree with it, and don't think we should measure our student's success by these few tests, but I knew. After this quote, I was thinking about how the tests really don't measure all that they should, don't display the best examples of student's work, and aren't fair. Some students just aren't test takers. My sister is one of the smartest people I know, and is beyond intelligent in math. I suck at math. I scored better on the math portion of the SATs. Why? I'm better at test taking than she is. She gets overridden with anxiety, and stresses herself out to the point of a panic attack. She's recently (in college) started taking exams in special rooms, by herself, and this seems to help. She couldn't do that for her SATs, or at least couldn't back when we were taking them. So, for kids who struggle with test taking, these high-pressure and high-stake tests aren't the best thing for them, at all.
"miracle schools". I think THAT is a load of crap. I don't think a school improving scores has much to do with student learning, and Au agrees. "A rise in test scores is rarely connected to genuine improvements in student learning." I think it's just dumb luck. It's dumb luck that allows school teachers and officials to say "PHEW", and breathe for a few minutes, only until they have to start preparing for the next test. The pressure on teachers is insane. It's unfair. If students are scoring low on tests, that doesn't mean the teacher's aren't doing their jobs. It may be the case SOMEtimes, but not EVERY time. I recently have learned about how Pawtucket fired some teachers and school principals due to poor testing scores. PRINCIPALS. What do they have to do with test scores?? One of the principals fired was someone who had been there for a while, and who everyone loved. But, he's gone now because student's test scores were low. I don't get it.
When Au talks about how these test scores were once used to prove that whites were more intelligent than other races, and American's more than immigrants, it just frustrates me. I can't even think of how to describe the way I feel. What I do know is that this reading, and the list of standards really sends me into a tizzy. It's a lot of pressure, a lot to remember and take in, and while I know I'm meant to be a teacher, it makes me dread some of the parts of my job I know are to come.
"...high-stakes standardized tests do not serve students of color. They support white supremacy."
This is pretty mind boggling to me. I understand that there's injustice in most of what we do, but I truly never thought about testing this way. Maybe this is just me being ignorant, but I think that as students, there isn't much time to think about things like this. We're so focused on studying and remembering and working on this project, that test. I think I just didn't see it. Shame on me.
I'm not saying I didn't know they were unfair. I know standardized tests are crap. They don't measure nearly close to what they should, and aren't fair for all students, even if they are on the same level. Students learn differently, and at different paces. That's not to say that we all can't do the tests, it just might require different steps or a different process.
Au said at one point "tests offer narrow measures, miss most processes, experiences and relationships that define teaching and learning." This was interesting to me. I have always known that a part of teaching is prep for standardized testing. I don't agree with it, and don't think we should measure our student's success by these few tests, but I knew. After this quote, I was thinking about how the tests really don't measure all that they should, don't display the best examples of student's work, and aren't fair. Some students just aren't test takers. My sister is one of the smartest people I know, and is beyond intelligent in math. I suck at math. I scored better on the math portion of the SATs. Why? I'm better at test taking than she is. She gets overridden with anxiety, and stresses herself out to the point of a panic attack. She's recently (in college) started taking exams in special rooms, by herself, and this seems to help. She couldn't do that for her SATs, or at least couldn't back when we were taking them. So, for kids who struggle with test taking, these high-pressure and high-stake tests aren't the best thing for them, at all.
"miracle schools". I think THAT is a load of crap. I don't think a school improving scores has much to do with student learning, and Au agrees. "A rise in test scores is rarely connected to genuine improvements in student learning." I think it's just dumb luck. It's dumb luck that allows school teachers and officials to say "PHEW", and breathe for a few minutes, only until they have to start preparing for the next test. The pressure on teachers is insane. It's unfair. If students are scoring low on tests, that doesn't mean the teacher's aren't doing their jobs. It may be the case SOMEtimes, but not EVERY time. I recently have learned about how Pawtucket fired some teachers and school principals due to poor testing scores. PRINCIPALS. What do they have to do with test scores?? One of the principals fired was someone who had been there for a while, and who everyone loved. But, he's gone now because student's test scores were low. I don't get it.
When Au talks about how these test scores were once used to prove that whites were more intelligent than other races, and American's more than immigrants, it just frustrates me. I can't even think of how to describe the way I feel. What I do know is that this reading, and the list of standards really sends me into a tizzy. It's a lot of pressure, a lot to remember and take in, and while I know I'm meant to be a teacher, it makes me dread some of the parts of my job I know are to come.
You and I have one thing in common. I didn’t realize how much these tests are focused on white. I always thought it is all because of being Deaf, I have to work hard to pass the ‘hearing’ test and say, “well I worked hard to get where I am!” What I didn’t realize I am not only one who struggled to pass the standardized test while it was intentionally to be for the whites. It sickens my stomach to find out this way. Shame on me for telling myself that those who didn’t pass didn’t study hard enough. Ugh..
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately there are all kinds of factors that go into how students perform on these high stakes tests. Obviously the biggest thing is that the test is bias, but with the exception of Deba, the tests were made for us so personally that's a non-issue. Then when you jump down the ladder a little bit more there's the content and the anxiety that's reinforced by that system. I can't imagine how your sister must have felt when her math scores tanked. Particularly because she had you to compare her scores to. If I had had an older sibling or one close in age to me I probably would have felt even more shame about having to take the SAT twice. The whole process is unnecessarily grueling and barbaric. Something's got to give.
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