Against standardized testing

[Anonymous]

I've noticed a lot of complaints about standardized testing here.

Yet you all seem to value test scores and Great Schools ratings pretty highly (which are based on test scores).

A bit hypocritical no?

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

If you want to see and use the data -- then you should have your kid sit for the test.

Wanting all kids to take the test doesn't mean I want kids to do even a day of explicit test prep. Fortunately my DC's schools haven't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to see and use the data -- then you should have your kid sit for the test.

Wanting all kids to take the test doesn't mean I want kids to do even a day of explicit test prep. Fortunately my DC's schools haven't.

Trust me all schools do test prep, there livelihood depends on it and this year even more so as the principal is now also rated on how well students do on PARCC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Did you say that? Children are either low quality or high quality? Children? You are racist AF & classist AF!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to see and use the data -- then you should have your kid sit for the test.

Wanting all kids to take the test doesn't mean I want kids to do even a day of explicit test prep. Fortunately my DC's schools haven't.

Trust me all schools do test prep, there livelihood depends on it and this year even more so as the principal is now also rated on how well students do on PARCC!

No they don't. My kids aren't at a DCPS, so IMPACT doesn't apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Quality of student?

I don't even know how to respond...

?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Did you say that? Children are either low quality or high quality? Children? You are racist AF & classist AF!

I'm a new poster and I think this is an over reaction. I thought the OP meant that some kids are just better students than others. Which is a completely reasonable statement, and in my opinion, obviously true as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Quality of student?

I don't even know how to respond...

?

There are good students and shitty students. Do you think that is not the case?

[Anonymous]

Or how about good test takers and poor test takers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Quality of student?

I don't even know how to respond...

?

There are good students and shitty students. Do you think that is not the case?

Well I'm a teacher so I have experience with these so called shitty students that you talk about. Do I have students that struggle? Of course. But to call them shitty students is gross. There's a reason why students struggle.

[Anonymous]

Of course there's a reason.

[Anonymous]

Eh, I'm not crazy about standardized testing, and I also don't place any weight on Great Schools rankings. I do look at test scores, along with other school data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

Did you say that? Children are either low quality or high quality? Children? You are racist AF & classist AF!

I'm a new poster and I think this is an over reaction. I thought the OP meant that some kids are just better students than others. Which is a completely reasonable statement, and in my opinion, obviously true as well.

Yes, thank you. I also realized after I posted that the way I said it might be taken the wrong way. I wasn't talking about the "quality" of the kids as human beings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's hypocritical not to want your own kid be taught to the test, yet look at test scores to estimate the percentage of high achieving kids, since it's the only data available to get some glimpse at academic performance of a student body. The only possible proxies for this data are SES and race, which are obviously problematic to use.

I wouldn't look at test scores as a measure of school quality, but as a rough indicator of the quality of the students. Minute differences are meaningless, like those between various WOTP elementaries, but it does give you the big picture regarding the peer group, FWIW.

None of what you said tracks logically.

1) Yes, it is absolutely hypocritically to object to testing for your kid but to rely on it as some sort of reliable arbiter of school quality. Absolutely. It's worse that hypocritical -- it'd deplorable.

2) Yes, SES and race are proxies for good schools. No, it's not "obviously problematic to use." God's honest truth is upper middle class white-majority schools tend to be better. Simple as that. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.