The Wrong Way to Measure Education

City Hall trumpets that test scores show New York City's 1.1 million school children are making vast strides in learning. But there are serious doubts that this is what's really happening.

It hasn't been widely publicized, but a new study of the school system by a group of scholars, teachers, parents and advocates shows that the great test results aren't what they're cracked up to be. Indeed, one wonders what's really going on.

The new study, titled "NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers and Policymakers Need to Know," raises serious questions. At question as these educational experts see it, is what value does testing have in furthering education?

Cited in the report is the warning by sociologist Donald Campbell that the higher the stakes, the more likely behavior contrary to the original intent of the measurement system will result. Campbell warned that the more testing is relied upon to make important social decisions "the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor." This became known as Campbell's Law.

Thus, when children are promoted on the basis of testing, when teachers are rewarded for training kids to pass tests with high grades, when principals are rewarded for having higher and higher test scores, corruption of the system may well occur. Indeed, the other day, Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the State's Board of Regents, told me that too many young people are graduating high school without basic skills. She asked: ''Are the tests really telling us how well the educational system is doing?''

So the state's top educator, while praising Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for trying, is still skeptical of the testing process. When three-fourths of the young people who reach college need remedial work to qualify for courses, she believes, there's something wrong.

Steve Koss, a contributor to the study and former high school math teacher, says: "With such intense focus on standarized exam scores, it is increasingly difficult for public school teachers in New York City to keep in view the larger goals of developing their students' critical and creative thinking skills. Rather, the system operates on a politicized platform that serves the interest of adults, from the mayor and chancellor to principals and teachers.''

Koss, in his essay, quotes from Tom Chapin's song "Not on the Test" to describe what's happened to the public school system:

"Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine.
The test is tomorrow but you'll do just fine.
It's reading and math, forget all the rest.
You don't need to know what is not on the test."

Gabe Pressman originally wrote this article for NBC New York.

Comments

[roissy]

We should make education decisions based on brain/mind principles and empirical evidence. The curriculum has been pushed down so much that we are requiring students to learn concepts their brains arent developed enough to understand. For example, when reviewing a math curriculum I noticed they wanted 5, 6, 7 year olds to understand math concepts that require the student to have conservation of quantity, mass and volume. According to Piaget a child doesnt understand conservation until they are around 7 years old! We set the student's up to struggle or fail. Fixing American Education is very simple. Make k - 3rd grade developmental, meaning the student doesnt move onto the next level until mastery of previous objectives. 3rd grade is the last grade emphasis is on learning to read. In 4th grade the paradigm shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. If you can't read by 4th grade you are set up to fail. The developmental approach eliminates social promotion in the early years and guarantees more success for more students. Also, make classes no larger than 20 students when students with disabilities are included. The solutions to edcuation are not that complicated. If you want to know how to make our education system better ask the teachers not the administration or the legislature..

[neutrinoflux]

I agree completely.
My two cents:
1) What gets measured, gets done - A quote from a friend of mine from 30 years ago. The test results have become much more important than the actual education students receive. In the rush to look good in the no-child-l­eft-behind metrics, the NY regents have abandoned their responsibility to ensure that children actually get educated.

2) Testing in NY has been so dumbed down that a student can get a good passing grade and only get 30% of the answers on tests correct - I know it sounds like old-person griping - but there is no way that should be anything except a failing grade - ever!

Sadly, you can see the result of the lousy educational system everyday: For just 1 example -- How many times do you hear the singular "is" used when it should be plural? Everywhere - spoken words, interviews, newspaper articles (where have decent editors gone?), advertisements on TV and radio (and in this forum, too!).

3) Use of technology has replaced learning and understanding about subject matter. Does anyone actually learn biology better if they have to make a power point presentation about cells? Does it help students learn to have cutesy, animated whizbangs dancing around on a power point slide the teacher is showing? I do not think so.

Kids don't know how to solve simple, elementary arithmetic problems without a calculator, for crying out loud.

Very, very sad - I worry about our children and