The government implemented educational reform program “Race to the Top Fund” has four main points of focus and rewards states for following them. It focuses on “Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy; building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and turning around our lowest-achieving schools.” This is raising the level of standardized testing, getting better instruction and instructors, and helping lower level schools raise their standards. This program is a step towards raising America to the level needed for international competition. While this program has some good aspects, such as the raising of standards in all schools, especially lower-achieving ones, it has the flaw of focusing on standardized testing. When there is a focus on standardized tests, school is taught to the test and based, sometimes entirely, on the passing of the test with as high of scores as possible, so the school and state look better. This sort of education plan does not teach students how to learn, but instead how to take tests and memorize information to recite back. Students must be taught how to learn and understand and think for themselves, especially in our modern society. The real world does not consist of standardized tests, which test the ability of a student to memorize and recite information and to sit through a testing session, but instead is full of the need for critical thinking and reasoning. To create a more learned population of students, there should be a greater focus on understanding and learning, instead of testing, especially since America is trying to race to the top in the world of education.
Blog Stage 8: Commentary on "Race to the Top"
ReplyDeleteWith the governments new approach in reforming education some minor successes have been achieved. Standardized tests remain to be a prominent feature in how schools will be measured but it won't be the only characteristic they will be rated on. There is a weighted scale for schools to be judged upon. The National Education Association is optimistic about the final revisions put forth by the government. NEA's current President says the programs will “put more emphasis on student growth, teacher practice and improving instruction".
Standardized tests can be both positive and negative. They give schools a general guideline to base a curriculum, allow students opportunities to deal with pressure, stress and critical thinking. They also create a baseline for measuring our nations education system. A few of the negative features of the test are that some schools are robbed of creating a rich learning environment because they find time to only teach elements the children will be tested on. Preparing for these tests also pressures teachers to eliminate recess time, which negatively impacts the well being of children. Lastly, without being revised some standardized tests are still inherently biased against handicaps, culture and gender.
With "Race to the top", schools are seeking new approaches in teaching to win national grants. One of the criteria for the awards are new standardized tests. President Obama wants to amend "No child left behind", but he has no plans to leave the tests behind, they too have merit in education.