On 1/04/09, Jo wrote:
> I'm not sure that is teaching to the test, testing.
>
> Think about it. Apparently, the students reading strategies were
> weak and their writing was weak. Learning new methods and
> strategies can help them become better writers by using different
> techniques or learning reading strategies to comprehend the text
> better are all methods to help the students improve skills.
>
> Here is an example of teaching to the test. The MS writing test
> expect so see specific types of writing used in the student's
> writing to the prompt. So, the teacher works with each student to
> find a word such as however, therefore, of course and teaches the
> student how to use this word in almost any essay. The teacher
> then finds a list of things the student can put in a series
> separated by commas. The teacher then teaches the student how to
> use a compound sentence that can appear in almost any writing or
> how to join any two sentences with and. Knowing the state writing
> assessors need to see these specific things, the teacher has the
> student write multiple essays using these specific examples. The
> rest of the essay is very simplistic, but the high-powered verb
> that was learned is there, the list is there, the introductory
> word followed by a comma is there. The three adjectives they know
> are there and so is the one adverb. This is how a group of
> students passed the state writing test (barely).
>
> Reading, teach process of elimination of answers and how to look
> back to find information by matching common phrases. The majority
> of the time using these strategies, a student can pass a reading
> state test in my state.
>
> I would rather teach a student to read the text and understand it
> rather than how to go back to find the right answer. Most of
> life's reading does not come with a multiple choice test following
> the text.
>

Amen. Jo is exactly right. We spend 2 days taking a benchmark test,
then another 3 days reviewing it (what should you have done to get
the right answer: eliminate responses, skim, look for key vocab).
That's a whole week devoted to taking and reviewing a test, and we do
that 6 times a year. That's six weeks blown for pure testing
purposes. And we have more testing beyond that. And this is only
first grade. Poor little 6 year old babes. But we have to because
we're on our 4th or 5th year of not making AYP, and they're about to
shut us down and make us a charter or do whatever it is they do even
though we're an A (and before that a B) school for over 10 years. But
AYP is all that matters to them.

This is also why they cut recess to 1 day a week K-3 and none in 4-5.
It's sick.

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