Is our current testing system achieving desired results?

Nick Anderson
"Rhee faces renewed scrutiny over depiction of students’ progress when she taught”
Washington Post
February 10, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/10/AR2011021007240.html

Topic: This is basically a piece that highlights the actions of a school system chancellor. It basically magnifies a hit piece on her which was blogged by a teacher unhappy with her actions to hold teachers accountable. Whether the information of the article is factual or whether the Post should be re-printing blog information is a topic for another day.

The interesting discussion to me is the way in which the testing results of students are used and manipulated.

On one hand, it is very hard to measure whether students are meeting some basic benchmarks without testing them. On the other, the temptation for teachers and administrators to falsify, manipulate or misuse the test results is great.

As a tax payer, I like to see my money being used wisely. Although I like the intention behind the standardized testing, my hope is that some kind of reasonable balance can be met. There is importance in a grasp of facts which can be tested, but things such as creativity and innovation are much harder to measure but I believe are just as important.

Intended audience: Voters who can be swayed in regard to the chancellor and her policies.

Relevance: The discussion on the effectiveness of the current student standardized testing is at the forefront of both teachers, administrators and government watch-dog groups.