Teachers lie… and they hate doing it too

When will we begin again to let teachers just teach, and students to just learn?

Recently one of our administrative leaders shared with me this commentary (see below or click here) and while reading it a flood of frustration, rage and anger came over me. It gives such insight to what our students, teachers, families and schools face today. I truly encourage you to take a moment and read it to gain a better insight into what our teachers and students go through during state testing.  As I share about the terrible issue of high stakes testing (state test/assessments) and how it has overcome education I nearly always hear back sympathy for the students and teachers and calls for change.

Nothing is changing. Some wise and influential persons are pushing to make positive change, but they are not being heard either.  We share the mantra, “that all students are NOT college bound” and that “one test should not define a student’s pathway in life”… yet the truth is, our state’s laws for high school graduation require all students to be college eligible to graduate, and not passing one or two high stakes tests in high school (even if the student passes the course) are prohibiting a student’s pathway in life. We now have a very serious teaching shortage problem in our nation, state and community, which is further exacerbating the challenges our students have because less and less of these professionals are in the classrooms with their knowledge, expertise and strategies to teach our students.  Schools are then forced to purchase at high dollar expense virtual and digital intervention tools from publishers in hopes it will help improve learning for test scores.  We are told that “every student matters”, that every student should have “individualized instruction”, but when it comes to assessing these students they are expected to all perform the same, on the same tests, on the same day, and in the same way.  That is simple wrong!

While I do strongly believe every student matters and I am a supporter of individualized instruction, but I also believe that state tests should only be used for diagnostic non-punitive purposes and that the teachers and school should be the authority on determining achievement and not bureaucrats in our state capital.

Thank you to those on the front lines, our teachers and administrators, who every day provide learning opportunities and have to “lie” about these state tests, and who care for their students.  To our great students— as one of our Citrus County teachers so correctly and plainly said about his students before state testing, “regardless of the outcome, I’m proud of them”. We are proud of you all!

 

I lied to my students today.

You see, today was the first day of state testing. They showed up filled with anxiety. So I did what any good teacher would do. I lied.

I lied and told them that today was my favorite day of the year. I told them that I loved the smell of fresh tests in the morning. I sang them a song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I told them they had nothing to worry about.

The truth is, they had quite a bit to be worried about. You see, there is a dirty little secret that most people don’t know. But ask a Title 1 teacher about it, and they’ll nod. They know. Here it is:

If you’re a student from poverty, or an English Language Learner, or you have a learning disability, well, the test is stacked against you.

<Insert gasp here>

“No way!”, you might be thinking. “That sounds like an excuse a bad teacher might make for failing test scores.”

I’ve heard it before. But when you’ve been teaching for 11 years, you know.

Just hop online and take a math practice test. The first thing you’ll notice is, it’s 90% reading. They wouldn’t even think about simply asking a student to multiply 394 x 27. Proving that they had learned a math standard? Nah, that would be too easy. Instead, it’s hidden in a 5 paragraph word problem that’s actually testing problem solving instead of math. Many of the problems are difficult for me; a middle-class, college educated, English speaking, white woman. My Somalian refugee students who don’t hear a word of English at home? They don’t stand a chance.

The reading test might ask them about museum exhibits, or board games, or karate classes (of course, this is merely speculative as I wouldn’t DARE take a peek at the test we have been preparing all year for!). If they’re from a middle-class family, they’re probably familiar with these things. The stories make sense. They have a hook to hang their new knowledge on. However, when their parents are Mexican migrant workers working two jobs just to put food on the table; they’ve probably never experienced any of these things. When the choice is between paying rent or playing board games, I’m sure you know what choice they make. These students? They don’t stand a chance.

The social studies test might ask them to write a letter to the Department of Agriculture arguing the need for fresh, healthy food in their communities. If they’re a student from extreme poverty, their family is most likely more concerned with putting ANY food on the table. There’s a good chance that they haven’t sat around the family dinner table discussing the benefits of fruits and vegetables over processed foods and artificial food dyes. They don’t stand a chance.

What about the students who have learning disabilities? The students who have been evaluated by specialists and proven to have a more difficult time with learning than their peers? We spend the year teaching them where they are at and focus on making growth. They feel successful every single day. However, someone in an office somewhere decided that a learning disability = slower. Just give them a few extra minutes to take the test, that should do it! That evens the playing field, right?!? They don’t stand a chance.

Now, this isn’t true for ALL students. Some thrive. They wear their hardships like a suit of armor. They defy the odds. But most? They are crushed under unrealistic expectations. I see it year after year.

This year, it looked like a single tear running down the face of one of my sweetest students. When I asked her afterwards why she was crying, she told me that she worked so hard but she couldn’t figure out some of the answers. She was so, so sorry that she was letting me down. She worried that her family would be ashamed of her score.

What an awful burden to place on a ten year old.

And for what? So that some politician somewhere can scream, “Look at these awful teachers! We need to do something about this!” Or some big testing company can argue, “Look at all these failing schools! You simply MUST continue paying us millions of dollars every year to make these tests. How else will we know what schools to fix?!?” Or our Secretary of Education can swoop in claiming, “You know what will fix this? Vouchers! You get a voucher! And you get a voucher! Everybody gets a voucher!”

Every year I get angrier and angrier. Yet every year I give it again. I don’t let it defeat me; damper my spirit. And every year, when it’s finally all over and done with, I DON’T lie. I look my students in the eyes and tell them how proud I am of them. I tell them that even if they don’t get a perfect score, they gave me perfect effort, and that’s what matters. I hug my crying student and tell her that of course she didn’t let me down. I’ve never been more proud of her.

Then I go home and pray. Pray that next year will be different. Pray that next year they’ll stand a chance.

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Kelsey LaMar. http://www.lovewhatmatters.com/i-lied-to-my-students-today/

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