Teaching to the test in the Bay Area

[KamaAina]

Two different incidents in one day's paper.

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_24183649/san-jose-teacher-helped-second-graders-cheat-star

A teacher at the Berryessa Union School District's highest-scoring school in the spring helped second-graders cheat on the STAR test by erasing errors, causing the school's test results to be invalidated and incurring state and federal sanctions....

Berryessa was one of 27 districts with self-reported testing irregularities serious enough for the state to strip the schools of their API rankings. The sanctions include losing eligibility for state awards. Without an API, the school failed to meet federal requirements, which could eventually lead to outside intervention in the school. But because Ruskin has a high-scoring record, that appears to be unlikely....

The cheating came to light when a student told another teacher that his own teacher walked around the classroom during the STAR test and asked students to check their work, helped them erase answers and told them they had "another chance." Berryessa administers the statewide STAR test in April.

According to the district's investigation, all 23 students taking the test had multiple erasure marks on their test sheets. The teacher told district officials that she did tell students to check their work, asked if they were sure about particular answers and helped them erase marks.

Meanwhile, about 60 miles to the north...

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_24183649/san-jose-teacher-helped-second-graders-cheat-star

Vallejo High School has been stripped of its Academic Performance Index score this year due to a teacher's violation of a standardized test security affidavit, according to documents that surfaced earlier this week.

The API is the state's measure of academic achievement and is based primarily on state standardized tests.

During the science portion of the exam earlier this year at Vallejo High, the teacher administering the test asked students to use a testing strategy in which, on a separate piece of paper, students jotted down the number of the questions into three categories: those they knew, those they might know, and those they did not know, according to the irregularity report.

After finishing the test, the students were taught to go back and check the answers on the second category and try to use elimination to pick the best answer in the third category. This was a standard strategy used by the teacher during classroom tests, the report said.

Those who can, teach. Those who can't, cheat.

[msongs]

1. the article is about alleged cheating on tests, not teaching to tests nt

[KamaAina]

3. The point is that test scores are more important than actual learning

This is what Race To The Bottom is all about.

[Dr. Strange]

2. Here's a link to the second case.

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24187860/teachers-api-act-at-vallejo-high-leads-state

It seems like nothing serious.

[DGeorge]

4. Not to defend standardized tests, because they suck, but process of elimination is best.

When I took the GRE (graduate record exam), I got 800 on both of the verbal tests (top score) and essentially just used process of elimination. I did well in the analytic category as well, but didn't quite hit 800, close, no cigar.

"Teach to test" is perhaps the stupidest thing ever to infect our education system, other than religion. It degrades teachers and their cridentials and does nothing more than turn children into drones.

Question 1: "When someone asks for fries, your answer should be..."

1) "Do you want to supersize that?"
2) "Do you want to supersize that?"
3) "Do you want to supersize that?
4) "Do you want more rancid food with those fries?"
5) "Do you want me to get you a gallon cup of soda?"
6) "Do you want extra lard with your glop?"

Yeah, that's what the education system has become, raising kids to fail in the service economy the Republicans have created. Standardized tests are and always have been bullshit to make the testing companies shitloads of money and waste childrens' days that could otherwise be used for ACTUAL education. TTT, brought to you by the paid-off GOP.

In case you can't tell, I'm pissed. My wife has to (on her own) make cardboard testing stations for KINDERGARTEN children to take standardized tests without "cheating". Oh, and filling in the oval is a problem. Most of them just circle or check the answer in the "Which one is correct?" section and completely ignore the ovals. They're freakin' five years old!!! Statistically there is no possible valid result from these tests, but the testing companies still rake in millions for doing nothing.

I wasn't subjected to these abusive tests until 7th grade, the Iowa tests. Many of the kids just made patterns, X, alternating diagonals, straight vertical lines, etc. I actually tried to answer the questions. The results were always bullshit because everyone knew that at least half of the class didn't give a shit. My mom was always thrilled with my high scores but I knew damn well that it was a joke.

And now Texas is forcing the textbook companies to rewrite them to eliminate actual solid science and replace it with the young-earth and creation bullshit. Why the hell would we want our children to grow up ignorant? Obviously they do, because only the ignorant and stupid vote for the GOP. It's their only hope to have any lasting power. I seriously hope that the young know well enough to research reality on their own and not worry about giving the "correct" answer on tests, just the real answer. To hell with the artificial scores.