Why do some parents dislike the SOLs so very much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SOLs aren't a "final exam" on the course the kid did that year, in that classroom, with that teacher. They often encompass several years at once (for instance, my kid will take the eighth grade science SOL soon; it covers science from sixth, seventh and eighth grades). And it's not a final for the year in all subjects, since kids do not take an SOL in every subject every year. (Thank heaven.)

OP, I have a middle schooler in an AAP center and the SOLs just mean more stress at a time of year when she already has final projects in some classes, the last unit tests on curriculum, and this year, two high-school-level final exams in two HS credit classes she's taking. I can only imagine the added stress and wasted study time for SOLs in high school when kids have finals in almost every class at around the same time as SOLs. Kids must pass SOLs in order to get credit for many HS classes -- even if the students have a final in that class, and even if they pass the class and the final exam, they still have to pass the SOL. Another test, one that's going to be less rigorous than any decent final exam, but the time has to be spent on it anyway.

Yes, the SOL should be a piece of cake if the kid knows enough pass the course final. The SOLs are going to be easier than the course final and SOLs could be looked on as something of a practice run for the course final. But the time spent on SOLs seems ridiculous when kids are going to take in final in what they were actually taught in that classroom, that year. I would love to be rid of them for HS at least, but Virginia insists on them and uses them to judge teachers and schools.

+1000

I also have a middle-schooler in an AAP Center. Part of the Science SOL prep was completion of a practice book (over 180 pages) covering three years of science. This SOL means nothing compared to the two SOLs for high school courses my DC also needs to take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former teacher here.

I get the impression that not all parents are upset about the tests themselves as much as they are upset about the amount of prep being done to get ready for the tests.
And, I also think that some teachers and schools go WAAAYYYY overboard on the prep.
Much more appropriate to prep little bits along the way from the start of the school year instead of spending months (yes, months) getting kids ready for this series of tests.
And, if done right, kids don’t even know it is test preparation. Just authentically assessing students.
It is a waste of instructional time and doing so much prep in March, April, and May tends to stress kids.

+1000. Way too much wasted class time. Wasted time to review. Wasted time to take the tests. Now they are pushing to retest kids who barely fail. And I hate that in ES my kids teachers basically stop teaching for the year after they are over (movie day, field trips, field day, planting the "teaching garden", etc). At that point they should just let the kids out to enjoy summer, because this is another lost 3 weeks. All in all, the years the kids take 4 SOLs, they lose at least 5-6 weeks of instructional time. Over the course of 3-8th grade, that's an extra year of school. Also, it feels like the tests don't benefit the kids much-- they are mostly used to rank schools and evaluate teachers. And I don't like my ES age kids taking high stakes tests (at least in their teachers' eyes). Sure-- that's a part of school at some point. But IMO, not necessary before MS and HS. And teachers shouldn't need a standardized test to tell the that a child is struggling & needs extra help. That should show up & be addressed long before SOLs.

BTW: VA does significantly more testing that required by NCLB.

This is OP, so the curriculum is over after the SOLs? If so, that seems silly. What are they going to do for the rest of the year? My son is in the AAP program and they really rushed through certain things. They could have added some extra days to the lessons and taken the SOLs the last week of school. I completely agree with that concern. About the prep, they did it for a week prior to each test. That seemed ok with me. Specially not having to do it at home. My son just wants to get home and play so I can only imagine how painful it would have been to do the prep at home.

Curriculum is not over in any class we've had. The last week or so is pretty loose, but it was when I was a kid too. I don't think what little dead time there is is a function of the tests.

At our school they are doing different things that might not be covered on the SOL but are part of the year's curriculum. My child is learning cursive and grammar finally and there are more in class projects. They also have some end of year tests to study for in different subjects from what the SOL covered.

[Anonymous]

The months of test prep at our school are insane. They have stopped most if not all of the resource classes for weeks now. 8 and 9 year olds should not be stuck at a computer in lock down conditions for over 3 hours at a time.

The end result is you know that upper middle class and wealthy kids do better than kids from poorer areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The months of test prep at our school are insane. They have stopped most if not all of the resource classes for weeks now. 8 and 9 year olds should not be stuck at a computer in lock down conditions for over 3 hours at a time.

The end result is you know that upper middle class and wealthy kids do better than kids from poorer areas.

I don't know about that... I'm pretty sure my DC (in a Vienna school) will be failing the SOLs this year due to a horrendous teacher who simply doesn't teach. I've had to supplement at home all year to make up for her complete disinterest in these kids.

[Anonymous]

^^^ Forgot to add that no amount of last minute test prep scramble can make up for a whole year of poor teaching. If these kids fail their SOLs, I hope it reflects poorly on the teachers and not the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They occur about a month before the school year ends, then there is a lot of wasted time for those last few weeks.

I would have less of an objection if they all occured the second from last week of school.

I actually like the timing since my kids' teachers have used that month after SOL to get to units on topics not emphasized by the SOLs, like science in 4th grade.

I think the SOLs are a good thing as done in our school -- there doesn't seem to be excessive time on "test prep." The kids are asked to do some review at home which is appropriate. It's not everything but is a valuable data point to see how your kid/school/district is doing. When my DS was going into 6th he had a bad day on the day of the math placement test and was not placed in higher level math for 6th, despite very high math SOLs and being ID'd as gifted in math for several years in ES. Having that score history helped make the case that they should overlook the bad placement test and he's handled Math 7 fine as I expected.

this right here is one of the major problems with the SOLs. A year's worth of science crammed into the last 4 weeks of school. Why? Because it's not tested in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

For a low-average student, I'm grateful for the SOLs. It assures that the student has received and mastered, at least, a basic level of HS education. At the end of Jr year in HS DS was able to say on his college aps that he had already passed all of the end-of-course tests (SOLs) required to graduate HS. He listed each test. I think it gave some assurance of his preparation to out of state colleges (publics)

[Anonymous]

It stresses my kid out. And it's not really a test about her and what she's learned. It's a test of the school and how they did. Why should she have to get all worried and worked up about it?

And, it's the govt trying to prove or disprove something. I'm not interested in helping them bean count. I'm interested in my kid's well being.

I haven't opted out yet but I'm thinking about it in the future.

[Anonymous]

it's not really a test about her and what she's learned. It's a test of the school and how they did

The school system will never see it that way. Never. I say that even though I agree with you.
Know that your child will be better off if she passes these things.
One way to care about her feelings is make it a certainty that she passes.
You say maybe you don't care if she passes. You will be made to care

[Anonymous]

For a low-average student, I'm grateful for the SOLs. It assures that the student has received and mastered, at least, a basic level of HS education. At the end of Jr year in HS DS was able to say on his college aps that he had already passed all of the end-of-course tests (SOLs) required to graduate HS. He listed each test. I think it gave some assurance of his preparation to out of state colleges (publics)

I think the colleges will be much more concerned about his SAT scores and his grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They occur about a month before the school year ends, then there is a lot of wasted time for those last few weeks.

I would have less of an objection if they all occured the second from last week of school.

I actually like the timing since my kids' teachers have used that month after SOL to get to units on topics not emphasized by the SOLs, like science in 4th grade.

I think the SOLs are a good thing as done in our school -- there doesn't seem to be excessive time on "test prep." The kids are asked to do some review at home which is appropriate. It's not everything but is a valuable data point to see how your kid/school/district is doing. When my DS was going into 6th he had a bad day on the day of the math placement test and was not placed in higher level math for 6th, despite very high math SOLs and being ID'd as gifted in math for several years in ES. Having that score history helped make the case that they should overlook the bad placement test and he's handled Math 7 fine as I expected.

this right here is one of the major problems with the SOLs. A year's worth of science crammed into the last 4 weeks of school. Why? Because it's not tested in 4th grade.

It's not a whole year, it's a unit or two. Yes, the focus in 4th grade is social studies. Then, the focus in 5th grade is science. I don't have a problem with that -- I think it's good to be able to have continuity throughout the year vs. in the younger grades where they fluctuate between social studies/science all year. Yes, it would be great if they could have continuity with both for the whole year but that's not happening unless they make the school day longer.

[Anonymous]

He's in, and actually almost through college. Who knows? But honestly, I think in his situation it helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It stresses my kid out. And it's not really a test about her and what she's learned. It's a test of the school and how they did. Why should she have to get all worried and worked up about it?

So if your child got passed advanced on every SOL test, it would only be due to the school and not your child, right? Would you tell her that she got passed advanced at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It stresses my kid out. And it's not really a test about her and what she's learned. It's a test of the school and how they did. Why should she have to get all worried and worked up about it?

So if your child got passed advanced on every SOL test, it would only be due to the school and not your child, right? Would you tell her that she got passed advanced at all?

My kids always pass advanced, they've never asked - I've never told them. They are of no value. I work with a 4th grader who will probably not pass his 4th grade test. Totally a product of his home life. His teacher tries, I fill in the blanks but it won't happen. His SOL test will test his mother and his home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It stresses my kid out. And it's not really a test about her and what she's learned. It's a test of the school and how they did. Why should she have to get all worried and worked up about it?

And, it's the govt trying to prove or disprove something. I'm not interested in helping them bean count. I'm interested in my kid's well being.

I haven't opted out yet but I'm thinking about it in the future.

+100