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Opinion Across The Fence Testing monopoly hurts education Now that spring break is officially over in most of the Panhandle school districts, the push is on for the last chance to cram before students and teachers face the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Test scheduled to begin in late April.
Like it or not, there's a lot riding on TAKS scores. Teachers, students, principals and administrators will all feel the pressure. Testing in our public schools is nothing new; standardized tests have been administered to several generations of kids. The early "achievement" tests were assessed in broad terms. They provided an overview of how students compared to other students and didn't actually focus on individual performance in specific subjects. Today the tests focus in-depth on individual proficiency in reading, math, writing, science and social studies. Our teachers have been provided with a state-mandated curriculum, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. TEKS provides some assurance that students in the same grade, all across the state, will be learning the same subject matter. School administrators in Texas are caught between the state's testing requirements and those attached to the federal No Child Left Behind program. One example is that the state initially made provisions for children with special needs, but NCLB required all students to be tested at grade level. The grossly unreasonable expectations attached to those testing requirements frustrated teachers, students and parents. Currently, some changes have been made to more fairly assess the educational progress of special-needs students. While the premise that standardized testing is a key step toward improving schools may have some merit, the inherent problems attached to testing continue to generate questions and controversy. Critics fear the tests have actually become a mandatory curriculum designed by lawmakers rather than educators and forced upon schools without any public debate. Control over education has been removed from the local level and shifted to higher levels of government. How does that mesh with bureaucratic and political rhetoric about providing parents and students with more choice? But the bigger issue shouldn't be a tug of war between local school districts and the big boys and girls in Austin and Washington, D.C. The focus should be providing students with a broad-based educational experience that not only provides mastery of subject matter, but puts it into the context of the dynamic world in which we live. My fear is that so much effort is spent on "test" items and test-taking skills and practice that students are missing out on creative exploration, discussion and critical thinking. No one disagrees that a solid background in U.S. history would help American students understand the current conflict in Iraq. But if subject matter is limited to what test-creators determine will be covered on the TAKS, are we truly promoting an informed democracy? Worse yet, are we opening doors that could lead to a distortion of history for partisan political superiority? My research on TAKS tests, and how they are created and produced, has increased my concerns about the impact of testing on our educational system and in the marketplace. Educational Testing Service (ETS) is identified by Wikipedia as "the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization, operating on an annual budget of approximately $1.1 billion on a proforma basis in 2007." But here's the kicker: ETS is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating internationally. Due to its nonprofit status, ETS doesn't have to pay federal income tax or report financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. ETS is a subcontractor to Pearson, Inc., another ally in the business of educational testing, and affiliated with the National Computer System (NCS) that provides all of the testing forms and materials used by Amarillo Independent School District. Huge sums of tax-free money are being made from TAKS and the standardized tests developed by other states as a result of NCLB. The state is writing the check to pay for the tests and materials, but our tax money covers the check. From what I remember of high school history, monopolies hurt more than they help. And based on my experience with nonprofits, I'm not sure how ETS qualifies for that distinction. How much more would our kids learn if we took all the money spent on testing and applied it to classroom technology, textbooks and teacher salaries? I wonder how well our local high-school students could discuss this issue. Maybe there will be a chance to find out -- after they take their TAKS tests. Kathie Greer: Columnist and consultant for the Amarillo Independent. She can be reached at kathie@amarilloindy.com. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: March 27, 2008
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