I think that NCLB, tests, presidential administration (past and present) have become easy scapegoats instead of looking at the real issue…..

For me, the real issue is What Kind of Teacher am I? Not what kind of teacher does my admin expect, my politicians support, my peers applaud — but what kind of teacher am I — to and for my students.

Though testing has become a hurdle and a hindrance…..though funding has become scarce…though administration is not always proactive at praising their teachers….though, though though…..

the bottom line is….that is my decision each day what kind of teacher I am going to be. If I fail, I have no one to blame but myself…..if I succeed, then I remember tomorrow is another day — with another decision to make on what kind of day it will be in my classroom.

Just my thoughts on your post.
Jen

If a mistake is made in a standardized test, there is no partial credit. If a mistake is made on a project or a problem, there should be a way to make it better.

I think this line of argument predates NCLB — I remember hearing it when I first started teaching, long before NCLB or much in the way of standardized testing.

The problem as you say, lies in ourselves. We have content responsibilities, yes, but we also have the responsibility to help students think and to become independent thinkers.

And who is to say that learning what is tested can’t be interesting, challenging, or fun in the first place?

Does it have to be taught in a boring fashion because it is “on the test” ? Does rigor = boring teaching? I don’t think it has to.

So my question is, since this excuse/reasoning has floated around for a long long time, how do we shift it?

How do we help our individual teachers and entire schools shift it?

Well, there are a lot of teachers posting here and, since US education is apparently in such a perilous state, I assume the people posting here are at least partly responsible. So, teachers: why are you so boring? Why don’t you ‘get it’? Why don’t you change everything so that it’s all better? Can’t you be more passionate? What are you waiting for?

Many teachers still find engaging “21st century” work for their students to do that addresses standards and provide them with alternative means of assessing their knowledge and skills.

Educational leaders needs to get this too. If our administrators are mired in an archaic model (or, to be kinder, the model they grew up with), thngs aren’t going to change in their schools very quickly.

I think it is really important to teach test taking strategies/skills, but not to teach to “the test” or base everything on testing standards. Students are always going to have tests and if we teach them how to take them, then I think there is less anxiety, etc.

On the other hand teachers/education really does need to change. I always have a hard time understanding why educators have a hard time with change if they truly like learning. Isn’t learning about change?

I believe that teachers need more support and time to actually plan innovative lessons. They are not only trying to educate our future, but often times are being students’ parents, mentors, etc.

Maybe if more teachers would create “tribes”, there would be more change.