Continuing my rant on standardized testing… I started reading this article from the Sun Chronicle in Mass. The title of the article is “Attleboro parents get a taste of MCAS testing”. I was hoping that all the parents of the third and fourth graders would get a dose of what their children went through when that had to sit for hours at a time taking these pointless tests. Except the catch is, these tests are far from pointless in good ol’ Massachusetts. The students have to get a 240 OR BETTER to qualify for a high school diploma! If I went to this school I would still be in the third grade taking these test at 21.
Anyways, what the article was really about was parents taking a MCAS 101 class so they could see how they could better prepare their young ones for success on these tests. The principal showed the parents sample questions and gave them ideas on how to make their child less stressed out when coming to school on a test day. Here are those wonderful ideas:
“In a handout to students and parents, Porter included several tips to help students get ready to take the MCAS:
Get a good night’s sleep.
Get up early enough on test days to have a relaxed morning.
Eat a good breakfast.
Arrive at school on time.
Come to class with a positive attitude.
A word of praise from parents always helps.
Parents should advise their children to listen to directions and read instructions carefully before answering questions. Tests are not timed, so extra care can easily yield better scores.
Students should be encouraged not to be the first to complete their work and should always check it over to see that it is correct.”
I remember that is what they told me and my classmates when we took the MEAP test and GUESS WHAT! I never got a dime of scholarship money because I was so sick of taking tests that I did not even care how I did. Good thing my graduating wasn’t based on those tests!
I just don’t think it is fair to tell parents: this is how to handle these situations with the standardized tests that are going to be the basis of your child’s future. I think, if they have to give the test at all, the standards should not be so high as to stop someone from graduating because of a test they took in the third grade. I just think that some school and state officials don’t take into effect the things that could be going on in a students life, but we’ll leave that subject for my next rant! Good day all!
The Sun Chronicle
Attleboro parents get a taste of MCAS testing
mandy777 said
This is ridiculous! I can’t believe we have to send out handouts telling parents how to keep the stress level of their eight and nine year olds down. It is absurd to have these kids stressing out about a test needed to graduate at such a young age! Whatever happened to being a kid? I think we are putting way to much pressure on kids these days and we are robbing them of their childhood, and the worst part of it is that it is not even for a good reason. Does it really matter how a kid does on a standardized test in the third grade in terms of graduating? Do test results of standardize tests mean anything anyway? I do not think so. My fiancé is a mechanical engineer for Kimberly-Clark and graduated on the Dean’s list at Michigan Tech University. He is obviously brilliant but he only got a 19 on the ACT. Obviously these tests are not telling us much. It was so frustrating to me as a high school student and it is still frustrating as a college student but I can’t imagine being told, at eight years old, if you do not get a 240 you will not graduate ten years from now! It just makes me sick.
picketca said
This is the entire problem with these tests– Third and Forth graders should not have to worry about going to school and take tests, they shouldn’t have to be stressed. I remember being in fifth grade and taking the MEAP test, it was so long that we would get a chocolate milk and an apple halfway through. Towards the end of the test I would make designs in the bubblesheets because
1. I was a slow test taker
2. I could not focus for such a long period of time
3. I would get in trouble if I did badly
Later, taking the MEAPs in high of course I tried hard and was able to pull some scholarship money from the state–this being the only positive thing I took from the testing. I guess I went off on a bit of a tangent but my main point is I don’t think students so young should have to “stress” about school–this is when learning goes from fun to frustrating.
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