Testing

When we signed the children up to go through IA we were told that voided our homeschooling status and they would be considered publicly enrolled even though they never set foot in a PS. We weren't thrilled about that, mostly because that required Seri to take the WASL, the standardized test in this area.
Well, we recieved a call last week stating that she was the only fifth grader from IA taking it and would we mind if they just tested her with the fourth graders. I asked why she was the only one as I know there must be more fifth graders participating in IA. They replied that the others had a letter of intent filed and so could not be made to take the test, hold up! Waite, she is not required to be tested? "technically no, but it would be beneficial if she was, then you could see how she ranks with other fifth graders in the state and in what areas she may be weak." Now let's put aside what the Govt. and PS schools would like us to believe and see if this makes any sense.
First of all, we could see how she ranks against other fifth graders in the state. What would that benefit? Do I really care? I have seen a lot of those PS fifth grade kids and could tell you right off the bat where my daughter ranks! Especially since I know from teaching third grade in a PS that they teach to the test, no matter how they try to cover it up by saying they don't. Ranks in what, ability to regurgitate information? Information that has been forced fed? Will it show me what I really want for my daughter to accomplish? That being, having a work ethic, how to properly communicate with others, empathy, responsibility, loyalty, pride in the knowledge that she has succeeded, a passion about learning and discovering, logical thinking, problem solving in real life situations, how to contribute towards a common good.....the list goes on. No, the test does not cover any of this, therefore they do not teach any of this.
For a little background info. I started teaching a third grade class in early Jan of 2003. One of the first things they did was hand me a list that contained all of the subjects and areas that would be on the standardized test. When I questioned whether this was teaching to the test they told me "no, because we do not have the exact questions that will be asked". However, in addition to this list that tells me exactly what to teach them so they will get the scores, is a practice test booklet which does contain a lot of the questions that will "probably be on the test". I am told to skip parts of the curriculum that do not relate to these topics in order to have time to teach all those that will be covered. But, nope we don't teach to the test, definetly not. We cover test taking strategies such as eliminating answers you know can not be possible and then choosing the one that looks probable, trying to figure out how the question is tricking you in it's wording. I even know of a few teachers that told their kids, "remember, the people who write these tests are trying to trick you".
Before testing I am told to supply the school with a list of those children whom I do not think are prepared for the test. Some get excluded from test taking because they are ESL, others becasue they supposedly have issues documented in their IEP's (individualized education plan) that will prevent an accurate assessment even if they took the test, the others have parents that recieve notes asking them to exclude their children on the basis that it is war time and they have parents who are deployed so they are under unusual stress and taking the test would not benefit them. Allrighty, well now that you have eliminated all of those children whom we know probably wont score well, let me rejoice with you when the test comes in and we have one of the highest scores in the school district.
Come test time a huge deal is made. Among other preperations turning this whole thing into a circus, notes are sent home telling parents to make sure their children get enough rest, eat decent meals and how to help them deal with the stress of test taking. the counselor een comes in and gives them a pep talk.
When the actual testing commences, these children are placed in their rooms with one or two teachers overseeing and have to reamin quiet and still while they endure an average of three hours a day for one week of filling in little dots. Oh, but it is OK because we let them have snack breaks every forty-five minutes. Why is this whole scenario accepted and even encouraged? Some will say they need it to teach them test taking skills in college, that's all fine and dandy but they start on kids who are about 8-9! Who thinks that at this age they are going to get an accurate assessment in this situation?
Secondly, if my daughter is weak in an area, I probably already know this and do not need a test to tell me. See, I spend enough time with my child to know how she best learns information, what she wants to learn and what she has trouble with. I am her parent. There is probably nothing that an outsider "professional" or a contrived test could tell me about her that I do not already know.
Yes, the test would show she is behind in Social studies (at least the parts they would test her on). She can not name all the states or their capitals, she can not name all the presidents, I don't think she even knows very much about the thirteen original colonies, but you know what, neither can I and I went through school with a B average. What does that tell you? However, she knows a ton about World War 1 and World war II. She knows about incidents that really tell you about our history, that tend to be watered down or not mentioned in text books. She knows intimately about the USS Indianapolis, the greatest Naval disaster ever, she knows about the depression and immigrants and the Orphan train. She knows what she wants to know about history and I truly think that matters more than whether she can name the states and their capitals, or whether she knows about ancient civilizations when she has no desire to learn about them.
It would reveal that she is behind in writing. So, she can't write worth a dang. She is not a writer. No matter how much they want to force writing on her, she will not enjoy it unless she discovers the joy of writing on her own. That could be tommorrow, that could be ten years from now. I could force her so that it would look good on a test, would she want to write for enjoyment later, odds are probably not. So, let's force her to write so that she "passes" in this area and in the process give up any chance she may ever have of writing for the sheer enjoyment of it. Yes, that would be so much better..... What kind of convoluted crud is that?
The test would also tell me that she is a great reader with good comprehension skills, it would reveal that she has a mathmatical mind and is excelling in science.
But, you see, the joke is on them. I already know all of this information and much more. More than that test would ever be able to tell me about the beautiful girl I am raising.