Five Interesting Things About Standardized Tests in America
Well, state testing is over for many of my public school students, and this year things. got a little interesting. Katy ISD in Texas voted to eliminate high stakes state testing. At a Seattle school, all of the 11th graders decided to skip the test. And last month, a whopping 4% of Americans thought standardized tests were an excellent way of measuring student achievement--which, perhaps explain why President Obama sends his daughters to a school where these tests are not required. Well...let's look at some numbers.
#1. Seven years after the passage of No Child Left Behind, I slipped from 18th to 31st in math (in world rankings) and made no change in reading.
#2. In 2013, my national high school graduation rate of 81% was my highest rate ever.
#3. In 2011, half of my schools were failing according to testing and state standards.
#4. The average American kid will now take 113 standardized tests between Pre-K and 12th grade.
#5. In 2000 when TAKS started, Texas's contract with the testing company Pearson was worth $9.5 million. Now, Texas's contract with the company is worth nearly half a billion dollars.
DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com
#1. Seven years after the passage of No Child Left Behind, I slipped from 18th to 31st in math (in world rankings) and made no change in reading.
#2. In 2013, my national high school graduation rate of 81% was my highest rate ever.
#3. In 2011, half of my schools were failing according to testing and state standards.
#4. The average American kid will now take 113 standardized tests between Pre-K and 12th grade.
#5. In 2000 when TAKS started, Texas's contract with the testing company Pearson was worth $9.5 million. Now, Texas's contract with the company is worth nearly half a billion dollars.
DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com
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