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THE ABCs of TESTING SEASON
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| February 2007 -- This edition of the ABCs offers tools and ideas to help teachers and students get through the grueling and seemingly unrewarding weeks of mandated testing. |
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| by Jennifer Holladay |
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In many communities, springtime marks not just the blossoming of flowers or the melting of snow, but also the incursion of testing season in schools. This time of year, multicultural educators often cringe at the idea that students' knowledge can be measured, much less honored, by fill-in-the-bubble tests.
Yet, tests -- lots of them, thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) -- are a reality in today's public schools. So what, then, is a progressive educator to do?
Take heart. If you struggle to balance testing with students' broader educational needs, you're not alone. Kelley Dawson Salas shares how her "school in need of improvement" came to terms with testing, while Jeff Sapp reminds us that teaching sometimes is a subversive act.
Teach about the tests. Linda Christensen provides a 3-part lesson to encourage students to critique testing and help educators connect test prep to issues youths care about. Plus, Bill Bigelow offers a role play about testing's history.
Equalize testing environments. Subtle changes in test situations can improve standardized test scores among students of color and girls.
Think (and act) long-term. As public support for testing shifts, opportunities to enrich measures of performance emerge.
Many individuals made this issue of the ABCs (Anti-Bias Classroom) possible: Yelena Akopyan, Joshua Aronson, Bill Bigelow, Linda Christensen, Tafeni English, Camille Jackson, Tiffany Rogers, Kelley Dawson Salas, Jeff Sapp, Rhonda Thomason, Mike Trokan and Victoria Williams. Teaching Tolerance extends special thanks to Rethinking Schools and its editors for allowing us to reprint select materials.
Contact us for permission to reprint this article. Please reference its title in your request and provide the name and location of your organization or school.
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Learn how to offset their effects.
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Educators share their views and strategies.
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Lessons about testing, plus activities to fill the gap between tests
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Imagining a world with more meaningful assessment
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