Readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic. Two out of three ain’t bad for us Illinoisans:
Illinois high school juniors no longer will be tested on writing skills during the state’s standardized tests every spring, eliminating the last Illinois writing exam and shaving about $2.4 million amid budgetary shortfalls…. “Good teachers, good schools, good principals don’t need a test,” said Barbara Kato, director of the Chicago Area Writing Project. “But the problem is, without the test, the focus on writing as a whole ends up taking a back seat.” [Source: Chicago Tribune]
R U thinking wht Im thinking?
Many (including me) have said that the NCLB writing test (and the preparation for it) stifled creative writing for better students. It was a very expensive test to grade because graders had to be trained and then transportation, etc., paid for the graders, etc. The English test will still be given–it tests grammatical skills, etc. Frankly, I don’t believe that ending this portion of the test will be a negative. Eventually, everyone will realize how much federal and state money has gone into NCLB testing–and that results have not been worth the money spent.
You can’t fatten a pig by weighing it.
Billy — True. And if they were getting rid of all testing and looking for a different evaluation method, I would be all for it. But the current system rewards teaching to the test. You can see it in D150 — the subjects that are tested get the lion’s share of teaching time. By keeping the testing system for reading and math, but eliminating writing, guess what’s going to happen? A lot of emphasis will continue to be put on reading and math, but writing will be put on the list of “other” subjects — you know, the ones not so important because they don’t get tested.
And then you have the administrators/teachers in Atlanta changing answers on their students’ testing to satisfy NCLB. When a high price tag comes with the testing, the government who demands it should not make the funds competitive. Race to the Top? Should be called Race to the Money, because until NCLB is properly funded, we will always get what we always got. Sure, teachers and staffs are working harder, but unless the funds are evenly distributed, you will have educators feeling the pressure and become desperate, as in Atlanta. It is blatantly wrong to change answers on tests…lets hope this is not a trend.
In business, our management consultants tell us that everything must be measurable and time bounded. Without those parameters achievement towards our goals wane. Written communications of the kids coming our of high schools and colleges is so bad as to be unintelligible. Even A students cannot write a simple narrative.
My understanding was that writing is not covered by No Child Left Behind (Sharon, I hope this is what NCLB means in your post) which is why it is being dropped from testing. Now I’m glad that grammar is not a lost art, but there is no incentive to learn grammar if there is no place to use it. And testing if someone knows the rules of grammar is different from applying them in a practical sense. If I could test writing or knowledge of grammar, I’d have them write.
Billy, quantum mechanics tells us that measuring something too carefully does indeed change the outcome. And so it is with students, testing something means they study it, and so they learn a little bit more. They also sell pork by the pound.
My own opinion is that we learn to write by reading–not by writing. I believe that reading good writing somehow gives students a feel for language which subconsciously they imitate. After all, we learn to speak by listening to others speak–why not the same for writing?
Kids who do not have language skills and reasoning skills won’t be good writers no matter how much “practice” they get by just writing. The problem with education is that getting or even asking children to read is a very, very difficult task. When I was young, I read because I was bored. With TV children rarely get that bored.
C.J. is, also, right. Many, many learning experiences from the old days have been set aside just to drill students to take the NCLB tests. I contend that this over emphasis on testing has not improved teaching or learning–it might be a great hindrance. Of course, as I continue to harp–discipline problems prevent both teaching and learning in many District 150 schools and/or classrooms.
Schools that would not teach writing without the tests will simply cheat on the tests. Schools where the parents demand quality educations do not need tests. A case can be made for dropping the tests and lets schools the demand excellence do so, and those where the parents do not give a damn can continue to do so.
Tests, tests, tests….and what does a child learn? How to prepare for the next set of tests? Memorize, memorize and memorize.
I agree that subjects which aren’t tested are pushed out of the curriculum. Science is tested in fourth grade, but the only scores looked at by the higher ups are math and reading. Go into an elementary classroom and try to find a science book. Granted, many teachers “sneak” in science lesson during reading which is the only exposure some students get to science until middle school.
Also, I agree with Sharon that good writers are good readers. By reading well written literature, students get a feel for how our language can and should be written. The problem is—way too many of our Peoria students can’t read or read very, very poorly. The majority are passed on to the next grade and each year it is a game of catch-up with small group work and interventions. If your school has no money to hire the interventionist, your school has so many students needing intervention that not all get chosen, and/or your classroom has several discipline issues, your students will be cheated out of a proper education. They will, however, be passed on again to repeat it all over in the next grade up.
Our schools in Peoria need a definitive discipline plan which is followed regardless of grade-level and school. Students in the lower socio-economic schools seem to have lowered expectations with regards to their behavior. This does NOTHING except cheat these students out of an extremely important lesson—-behaviors have consequences regardless of who you are.
I don’t think the elimination of the writing test will make too much of a difference for students of Peoria. Those who write well will continue to do so and others will struggle with reading and, in turn, struggle with writing. Just as Sharon has said for many moons, the first step to anything in 150 is getting a handle on discipline so the teachers have the ability to do what needs to be done—–teach.
I thinkin’ you’re putting too many letters in that word.
However, they will be graded on text messaging.
Would you believe that I have my students write an entire paragraph in “textese” only. We put it away for a couple of days then I hand them back randomly and the students have to decipher it correctly. This means that they have to actually know how to spell. After the paragraph has been deciphered completely, we use it as a building bridge for grammar and punctuation. The paragraph at the end of this lesson is profoundly different then what it started out as.
SIGH—- May not need to teach them that kind of stuff any more. Thanks State of Illinois.
http://centralillinoisproud.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=186617
Why would Lathan’s contract be kept secret? I smell a rat!
What has happened with Michelle’s contract? Is she still on leave but receiving full pay?
Michelle has another job, so I doubt she is receiving pay from both parties.
Where is she working? I hope she got a Supt. position.
Sumner County, Tennessee as a Chief Administrative Officer
will Brad Ungurait be leaving? District 150 paid for him to relocate and gave him a job.
I’m sure she isn’t going to Tennessee alone…..
Good for Michelle. I am sure she will be successful outside of District 150. Everyone that leaves is.
It wasn’t that long ago that Ms. Timmes bragged D150 couldn’t afford her. What happened? (Take heed.)
Doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. The writing test was a relatively new component of assessment in Illinois anyway. It’s been around for less than 10 years. Any free response component of a standardized test is going to be expensive due to the need to pay graders rather than use a scantron machine. I’d rather see schools get quick feedback with a completely computer graded tests so they can make adjustments for the upcoming year rather than how it works now (sometimes they don’t receive complete results until after the following school year starts–ridiculous in this day and age).
Many people in Peoria know this story- but wanted to make sure you got it straight from me. Brad was promised by Grenita a three year contract. He moved to Peoria in good faith. He did not sign his contract before coming- a lesson learned by both of us. He repeatedly asked HR for a copy of his contract to sign which he never had was given. He never was assigned tasks associated with the job he was recruited. In the spring, he was RIFed. He has since found another job.
We sincerely hope no over has to face the adversity that we have as a family. My advice- get it in writing.
Michelle Ungurait, you are not the only family to experience this situation in D150 regarding contracts. Best advice, if D150 wants to hire you, make sure you do some background checking on them. I was always taught that schools were about FAMILIES….not D150 administration, they are about how much money they can skim from the taxpayers before they get fired and run out of town on a rail.
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x633532886/District-150-School-Board-OKs-10-000-bonus-for-superintendent
Bonus approved for Lathan. The salaries that were approved tonight are insane.