Not On The Test

From previous posts you know my views about high-stakes testing, but I just ran across this song titled "Not on the Test" performed by Tom Chapin and hosted on the National Public Radio web site. Share it with others if you agree with its message.

The February edition of the neaToday journal mentions accounts by National Board Certified teachers who are more and more being forced into a lockstep one-teaching-method-fits-all curriculum. These teachers know that creating and challenging learning activities can work wonders with students, but these are being eliminated so that objectives are "covered".

In a related vein, take a look at what Dan McDowell, a history teacher, is doing with his poetry unit on World War One. The student products made for this unit probably won't be evaluated on a standardized test, but learning activities like this make young people think! Take a look at Dan's blog for insightful ideas by one in the trenches (no pun intended).