Tag Archives: standardized tests

6 big changes in standardized tests – including less focus on grading students and more on learning

6 big changes in standardized tests – including less focus on grading students and more on learning

The standardized tests given to children in schools today are a lot different from those their parents might remember. For example, students today might take a standardized test at home on a laptop or other digital device. That test is more likely than before to incorporate content on diverse cultural heritages. And students taking a test may not […] … learn more→

Standardized test bubble to pop?

Standardized test bubble to pop?

“Fill in the bubble” tests have been a fact of life in our government-run school system for a generation or two now. I certainly remember taking them every few years, and then the biggie, the SAT, in my last year of high school. Like everything government-run (see also: vaccinations), the bureaucracy has imposed ever more […] … learn more→

Test scores are clear: US Higher Ed is weak

In our “public” school system, it’s all high stakes testing, all the time. To succeed as a teacher in that system, you need to be very good at teaching kids to take standardized tests, or so the teachers say. Even if this isn’t perfectly accurate, it’s still pretty clear that American children get plenty of […] … learn more→

Standardized tests are thermometers cooking turkeys

Standardized tests face much criticism from the public, and they should. Constantly stressing our kids with test after test after test after test is a bit much…neither parents nor kids like it much, and even the teachers don’t care for them beyond some minimal point. One of the most common criticisms is that teachers end […] … learn more→

Book Review: More than a Score

“Non-negotiable.” From Texas legislators adding new standardized tests to David Coleman defending his Common Core State Standards, that’s how education “reformers” present their changes. After all, they know better than we do. The problem with American education, they argue, is that too many constituencies have been involved in decision-making, from parents to teachers to school […] … learn more→