Standardized Testing

First, just let me say my 50th High School Class Reunion is coming up next month. That statement should set the timeframe for this story.

Believe it or not, we had testing back in the old days. I am pretty sure we took them in the odd years, like 3, 5, etc. I don’t remember there being any pressure placed on us kids. My only pressure was to color those little dots neatly. Maybe because I was pretty good at testing and a pretty good student. (Note: Maybe if I had had to take a real writing SOL, I wouldn’t write in fragments but complete sentences.) The tests were never talked about during school until time to take them. They certainly were not of the importance they have been for my kids, their teachers, and their schools. Lord, we could discuss that topic for days.

I remember the scores were a part of our permanent school record. Now there was something that caused pressure. We all lived in fear of something bad going in our permanent school record. Do you ever wonder where that permanent school record, all paper, is today? If I decided to go into public service, could someone dig it up and find something I don’t even know is there? Oh my! I don’t think I ever had a job interview where it was pulled out and discussed with me. I have probably lived past the time where it could affect my life much.

When this popped up in my memories on facebook this morning, I had two thoughts. One, even if I had a brilliant and intelligent mind, which my test scores might have indicated, a good day is when I spend all day in my chicken clothes, pondering why there is a flock of black birds in the yard and how I am going to trap a ground hog and get him out of the chicken yard. Two, which Gene ponders more than me. The only thing I remember about those old test scores was I only scored low on one item, very consistently. I always scored low on Mechanical Reasoning. I can remember one score of 43 and my Mother’s reaction. How on earth can you do this well on every other item and score a 43 on this. And I remember my answer, “I don’t care which way the cogs turn”. Poor Gene, after all these years of marriage and watching me and the children I have produced, wants to go back and protest the score. He feels it was way too high. I probably did get extra credit because of how neatly my circles were colored.

Disclaimer, this is not an attempt to speak badly about current testing. I had children who did very well and I had some that didn’t. The child with none of my genes, is the mechanically minded child. I am so impressed and Gene is so appreciative. I bet he would have beat my 43 score. Maybe current testing is not looking at the whole child and where their abilities lie.