Heard through the local grapevine over the long weekend...as EOGs wind down and EOCs prep up, GSW hears that a 5th grade student fainted during last week's administration of a Science EOG exam at one local school. At another, we also learn that students are forced to do the first retakes after missing the cutoff for a "3" by only a couple of points.These are the stories GSW is hearing and it is profoundly ridiculous what we're putting our children through. This is not No Child Left Behind...this is not accountability. This is game-playing, and people are playing with the lives of children and it is wrong.
The term "waterboarding" has been in the news a lot lately. Well, long-time readers of this blog know that I'm a fan of "exam-boarding." What's that? That's when we have an opportunity to lock the Raleigh bureaucrats and the legislators in a room (literally) and give them these same exams under "live testing conditions"...yep, the same ones that your children (and mine) are being prepped since August to take. Let these idiots in Raleigh take these same tests...let them fail it, and let them have to take it two more times...and watch if things don't change in our schools...quickly.
I'm for responsible accountability...these tests are neither responsive nor accountable. They're criminal. And someone needs to be prosecuted.
E.C. :)
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4 comments:
I remember someone fainted in my class in 5th grade. We were not even taking a test. Are you seriously going to assume it's directly related? For most children these tests are very simple. They cover the basics of each subject. Honestly, most kids could pass the test at the beginning of the year. It's not a big deal. If a child is stressing that's sad, but for the most part, kids take the test and do fine. To compare it to water-boarding is a bit ridiculous. Give the kids a little more credit.
When these kids have "the test" drilled in their brains in August, there's a problem somewhere. When the test is the focus of the curriculum, not quality learning, this is a problem, and it needs to be exposed.
The entire "accountability"aka "ABCs of education" has been a sham from the start. These tests have NEVER been about the children, but, rather, about money and power and who controls both!
I agree, Billy. BTW, thank you for what you do for our children each day.
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