There was a time when policymakers appeared to believe that the best way to solve the problem of public education was to “throw money at it.” Not any more. Now public officials f
There was a time when policymakers appeared to believe that the best way to solve the problem of public education was to “throw money at it.” Not any more. Now public officials from the president on down appear to believe that the best remedy for the nation’s ailing urban school systems is to implement widespread, standardized testing. Instead of throwing money, the schools are throwing tests.
The expectation is that testing will provide a uniform standard for measuring the success not only of students, but also of their teachers. President Bush has made standardized testing the centerpiece of his national education policy.
But teachers, the UFT and administrators are not about to climb aboard the testing bandwagon. They have seen what happens when test scores become the ultimate measure of a school’s or a teacher’s success. And they have seen that many teachers now focus class plans on preparing children for standardized tests. This is far different than teaching children how to think or giving them a taste for the excitement of learning.
Each year the Disney Channel honors educators who have found creative ways to capture the minds and hearts of young students. We cannot remember a teacher being honored because her students get really good scores on standardized tests.
At a forum sponsored by the American Jewish Congress, former Queens school board member Carol Gresser raised serious questions about the frenzied drive toward standardized testing. Gresser argues that teachers have found themselves in a “terrible position.” They are forced to spend most of their time preparing the children for tests “because that’s how they’re going to be evaluated”
What about children who may grasp the material but don’t test well, she asked. What about immigrant children? In Queens, nearly 35 percent of the children are new immigrants or first-generation Americans.
The intentions of President Bush and other advocates of standardized testing are noble. They know that in cities such as New York children have gone through 13 years of public education without learning how to read. They realize that the work force is filled with young men and women who can’t read simple instructions or fill out a job application. They argue that without standardized testing there is no concrete way of measuring whether or not our schools are failing our children.
But real solutions to the crisis in public education are more difficult to come by. First, Bush and others, including the Albany legislators, must realize that children cannot succeed in dreary, dilapidated schools, studying from out-of-date textbooks. They must also realize that the flight of teachers to wealthy suburbs is not just a union ploy. If the city cannot offer competitive salaries, the best and the brightest teachers will not work in our schools.
It is time for the chest thumping to subside. It is too simple to say that, based solely on test scores, if a school doesn’t succeed, it should be closed. In most cases, such schools are drawing from dysfunctional families living at or below the poverty level. It is a fantasy to think that vouchers or charter schools alone will fill this void.
We are pleased that our new president has made education a priority. And we agree with the chancellor that testing must be done to ensure that New York City children are learning the basics. But testing and getting tough on teachers and students will not solve the crisis of public education in New York City.
