Tests, Tests, Tests

This past week my students in grades 3-8 and all over New York State sat for the English Language Arts exams. I realize that these tests are secure documents and I cannot discuss what was on the test or reveal the texts.



I read every exam and handled letters about who was refusing to take the test and phone calls from worried parents about a particular child's test day anxiety. We had large print tests, tests in several other languages, tests given with explicit modifications for our special education students, and the test that was scribed for the student who broke her arm the day before (this seems to happen every year).

I thought the test was difficult, especially the third grade test. Difficult does not scare me. I have a great respect for rigor and welcome this into our curriculum. My concern was about what was tested. It is easy to add rigor to the curriculum. You can go so deep into a subject that you lose sight of the big picture.

I was reminded of one of my favorite stories. It is called The Seven Blind Mice by Ed. Young. It is about a group of seven blind mice who bump into a large object living near their pond. One mouse only examines the bottom of the object and thinks it is a pillar. One mouse only examines the top of the object and thinks it is a fan. One mouse only examines the front of the object and thinks it is a snake. It is only when one mouse examines the entire object that they realize this is an elephant.

This week I don't think my third graders were able to see the elephant. Many of them are still eight years old. They have spent this year reading and learning about characters, setting, and sequences of events. They had lessons on point of view and genre and I think their teachers did a great job. Questions on the test this year asked about the structure of the story. Generally, the narrative structure of a text contains a plot, theme, and resolution. Should third graders know this? Is this important for comprehension? Theme is far more difficult than main idea. Isn't that what they need to concentrate on? I know my high school students study structure and knowledge of structure leads to a deep understanding of text. Developmentally, though, should third graders learn about structure?

I think it is important to assess our students. I would like to know how each child is reading and writing. We have started a new writing program in fourth and fifth grade this year. I would like to know how effective it is. But are we measuring what needs to be measured? I would like to know if there are weaknesses in my program, across all grades. I would like to look at different groups of students and see how they are faring. Somehow, the tests that are being mandated for our students have turned into a billion dollar industry. Something is very wrong here.