Chelsea Needham - Blog #5

I found this weeks reading a little dryer then the past ones, but something that caught my attention the most was when the text was talking about standardized tests.  On page 136 it says "standardized testing is the process of giving the same curriculum-based test to all students at a particular level in a particular jurisdiction."  I have never been a fan of standardized testing, I personally think it is wrong to test everyone on the same thing, because everyone has different abilities and strengths.  All standardized testing proves is who is good at sitting down and writing something out.  How do we test the students who work better with hands on, or who need to move when the learn?  We need to cater to each one of our students needs, and we need to make each student feel as though they can succeed in school.  I don't believe standardized testing does that. 

The textbook also says how it is a reflection on the teacher.  "The results of such tests can arguably point to the most effective teaching practices" (142) I think this is very disrespectful towards teachers, people have no idea the situation that teachers may be in with their classrooms.  For instance the classroom I am in for my practicum has a very high rate of immigrated students, so they are further behind because they haven't been in Canada for very long.  If standardized testing was the case then my CT would be looked very down upon because her class wouldn't have the best scores, but in reality my CT is a very capable teacher who does the best she can with the students that she has. 

Something else that really stuck out to me is when it was talking about how parents can influence education.  It says "parents, unsurprisingly, often exert influence on the content of children's education" (131).  This doesn't surprise me at all, I coach volleyball and parents feel very inclined to try to tell me how to do my job, it makes sense that some of them want to impose that on the education system as well.  I definitely believe it is important for parents to be involved in the school, but I don't agree when they try to input their own ideas on what should be happening.  People need to trust that teachers know what they are doing, and that they can do their jobs to the best ability.

Discussion Question: Do you believe standardized testing is beneficial or not?  And is it more for the government or for the teachers?