Speech- Amelia Rogers

           Five hundred elementary school students sit, wide-eyed, criss-cross, no talking. The music plays, the principal stands, the students cheer. What are they celebrating? A holiday? A fun afternoon, a break from class?

            No.

            They are celebrating standardized state testing.

           

            “We’re counting on you,” the principal says. “We’re counting on you to reach our goal and to show that we’re the best school in the state of Kentucky!”

           

            I’d guess that many of you remember sitting in assemblies just like this. I remember them vividly. In third grade, my first year of state testing, I remember proudly representing my class in a parade of students, circling our cafeteria as “Olympic Fanfare” filled the air. I bought that testing glorification for all it was worth. I lived it. I breathed it. I received a distinguished in math and reading. I saw my name posted on the walls. I saw that some of my friends’ names were missing.

            In the fourth grade, I participated in my school’s assembly once again, perhaps with a little less enthusiasm. Again, I was told that I was distinguished in math and reading. However, I am ashamed to inform you that as a diligent and zealous 10 year old, I was only proficient in the area of Practical Living, which as you may recall, was one of the most unpractical tests ever created. Let me tell you, I cried.

            By fifth grade, I was already disillusioned, and I did not chant or cheer. I saw right through them. Yet, that little perfectionist inside me made me take those tests as seriously as ever. I scored distinguished.

            Standardized, state-mandated, state-regulated testing. One of the most hotly contested issues in the American education system. Hundreds of opinions circulate the issue from parents, teachers, school administrators, lawmakers, and even the President himself.

            One of the biggest problems with state testing is the misinformation surrounding it. As I searched for answers, I realized the truth about state testing is hard to find. The basics, however, are as follows: the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was actually the seventh reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed in 1965. No Child Left Behind encompassed numerous federal education programs besides testing; In fact the transcript of the act is over 1,000 pages, which, if you are wondering, I did not attempt to read, and I’m sure many parents and educators didn’t either. The primary focus of the act, however, is that it required schools to test students in grades 3-8 in reading and math annually, and once in science every three grades. President Obama made some changes to NCLB in 2010 through an executive order, but many of its components remain the same. You may be surprised to learn that that NCLB originally required every child in America to qualify as “proficient,” by 2014- this year. You’re probably not surprised, though, that here we are in 2014 and the all-proficient goal has proved unattainable. Almost every state has applied for a flexibility allowment from the federal government, which requires them to adopt “Common Core” initiatives in exchange for release from the 2014 deadline. Was NCLB well-intentioned? Of course. Has it been effective? No.

            Today, I’d like for us to examine two parts of the state-testing issue, particularly in elementary schools. First, why state testing doesn’t work, and second, what we can do about it.

            State testing divides students into two groups. The first group is full of kids that have that drive to do well. These kids take on the stress and responsibility of state testing that schools place on their shoulders. Some kids will just do well on the test. They’re smart. The system works for them. But then we have the second group. The kids that struggle with their reading or math. Who aren’t good test takers. Who have a hard time concentrating on answering so many questions in an hour. Or even, the kids that just don’t care.

            With the first group, elementary students should not have stress! They shouldn’t have to carry the responsibility of their school’s or their teacher’s success, yet that is what they’re being told. State testing is ruining this group’s drive to learn for the sake of learning, and teaching them that learning is only about passing a test.

            And with the second group, these kids are told that they are “apprentice” or “novice” level, and set up on the fast track to failure in a school system where test performance defines success. Many of these students quickly dislike school, and give up.

            For both groups, testing kills the imagination, creativity, and enthusiasm of childhood. If you asked an elementary school student what their favorite activity at school was in the last week, I could guarantee you that they won’t say taking a test! I remember my favorite school activities to this day- my Egyptian class play, science pudding soil models. Kids learn through hands-on activities, exploring, creating, and understanding in their own ways.

            Standardized testing doesn’t work for kids because kids aren’t standard! Not all kids learn the same way, and they don’t demonstrate what they’ve learned in the same way. Teaching geared toward state testing hurts kids because they miss that individual learning aspect.

            So what can we do about it?

            Recently, the education system in Finland has come to light as one of the best systems in the world. Why? Because their focus is not on standardized tests, but rather on individual students. Kari Louhivuori, a Finnish principal, when asked about American state testing said, “Americans like all these bars and graphs and colored charts…It’s nonsense. We know much more about the children than these tests can tell us” (Hancock, 1). With this mindset, Finland has placed among the top five in the last two Global Indexes of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment. The United States has placed seventeenth and fourteenth.

            Maybe the American education system can’t wipe out state testing entirely, but they can take the focus off of state testing and put it back on the students. Teachers should be free to teach in a way that relates to their students, spending more time outside, more time exploring and creating. By shifting the attention off of testing and onto students, it is very likely that students will end up performing better on standardized tests, as has proven to be the case with Finland.

            Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized leader in education, said, “Education under No Child Left Behind is based on not diversity but conformity…. The point is that education is not a mechanical system. It's a human system…. You take a school, you change the conditions, … you offer people the discretion to be creative in what they do, and schools that were once bereft spring to life.” Children have so much potential. We just have to unlock it.

            As a future elementary school teacher, my stake in this issue is high. I often think, “How will I manage to teach in and around the standardized system?” I’m not sure yet, but I know one thing: as long as I focus on the kids and help them truly learn, then I will be doing something right.

            You may be thinking, “Okay, but what does it matter to me?” It’s true that it’s a little too late for us. Our elementary school days have passed. Some of us will become lawmakers, even fewer educators. But there is one thing that will affect almost everyone in this room. Someday, we will be the parents of the next generation of students. And if you choose to put your kids through the American public school system, you will have to fight for your kids. Make sure they know that they are not defined by a state testing label. Show them how important real learning is. It may too late for us, but it’s not too late for them.

            An old Tibetan proverb goes like this: “A child without education is like a bird without wings.” Every kid deserves wings, beautiful, original, wings. Every kid deserves an education, beautiful and original.

            Not standard.

Works Cited

Hancock, LynNell. "Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?" Smithsonian. 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/#cBLcFjJ2dFSfr4xr.99>.

"Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment." Index. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/index/index-comparison>.

"No Child Left Behind Overview." Background & Analysis. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/no-child-left-behind-overview>.

"Reforming No Child Left Behind." The White House. The White House. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/reforming-no-child-left-behind>.

Robinson, Ken. "Transcript of "How to Escape Education's Death Valley"" Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley. 1 May 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley/transcript?language=en>.