Reply to What does "teaching to the test" really mean?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]All of the schools do it.  They start each unit with a PARCC-like diagnostic test and then base lessons on the so-called skills. The "curriculum" is system-wide.  Mandated reading selections, according to a pacing chart.  Teach these lessons, at this time, using these strategies.[/quote]

That's...a curriculum. Do you think MCPS or FCPS doesn't teach according to a curriculum? [/quote]

That’s not a well rounded curriculum.  Come on.  That’s teaching to the test.  Diagnostic test given and then lessons are from the test and skills learned based on the test.  How clearer can that be if not teaching to the test?

[/quote]

No I’m sorry, you are talking about something else.

You mentioned a “PARCC-like diagnostic test.” Except PARCC is not diagnostic. The tests you are talking about are levels tests, and are necessary for educators to know where students are at do that they can provide them with appreciate coursework, and also get a sense for whether this student needs acceleration or is maybe above grade level and needs additional challenges.

The rest of what you describe has nothing to do with “teaching yo the test.” It has to do with being in a school or district with a rigid curriculum that does not offer teachers much leeway. DCPS is one such district— teachers are pretty limited in their ability to actually craft individualized curriculum here, and this is unsurprisingly one of the bigger complaints you will hear from teachers in DCPS. However, because DC has charters and school choice, this is a restriction for DCPS teachers but not for DC public school families. The idea is that if you don’t like the rigid DCPS curriculum, you can go to a charter, and all charters are free to develop their own curriculum.

None of this has anything to do with teaching to the test, because you aren’t even talking about PARCC testing. You’re talking about diagnostic assessments. They do those everywhere. Even in private schools.[/quote]

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