QUOTE: Overemphasizing the test often leads teachers to abandon a balanced approach to instruction.
COMMENT: I definitely agree with this statement. I think that though test are necessary and helpful in some respects, the way that teachers are forced to teach to the tests is just so wrong to me. I have always believed that tests should be opportunities for students to prove what they know and to review what they have learned. I hate the idea of writing tests to trip up the students or having so much pressure associated with them that they become the main focus of all the teaching. Tests should compliment the content. The content should not have to be adapted to fit the tests.
QUESTION: How can you, as a teacher, still teach students so they are prepared for the tests without abandoning a balanced approach to instruction?
This question is probably one of my main concerns in teaching because I hate the idea that students have so much dependent on a test even though they do so much work in the class besides the test. I really loved Sister Wimmer's approach to tell students "Today we're going to think like test takers," to get them prepared for the tests that they will eventually have to take throughout their educational experience.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also important for kids to feel like a test isn't that big of a deal. Obviously they should try their hardest on it, but they should really know that they already know all of the information on the test, its simply a time to formally show what they know. As long as you set up that type of relationship with your students, they will be able to view tests like that.