Educating our children to excite them about learning, and assessing them with diverse tools readily available to teachers, is best. The MCAS is a poor tool that doesn’t predict success beyond high school (this has been confirmed by studies). “Teaching to the test” makes for ill-paced and ineffective classroom instruction (“We have to get through all the chapters by June!”) that often progresses regardless of whether students have mastered the concepts just taught that they may need to learn the next concept. So, I rejoiced when Massachusetts voters did away with the MCAS high school graduation requirement, and I pray that this will lead to the MCAS fading away into disuse.
Now a state-wide committee is being formed to explore what new “test” could replace the MCAS as a graduation requirement. What gives, Gov. Maura Healey? Don’t you take the voters’ choice seriously? Frequent standardized testing (one test fits all) of student knowledge linked to state education funding is outmoded and creates more inequality. We need “authentic” teaching, learning and assessment in our schools. This word (authentic) is in danger of being overused, but for educators it means bringing real life situations into the classroom, tailored to students’ curiosity, interests and abilities, that combine reading, writing, math, social studies, science, the arts, and most importantly, the ability to work with fellow students. Think about it — when you want to know something, you are highly motivated to learn it, and it holds your attention.
Doug Selwyn’s Recorder column of Dec. 20 wonderfully illustrates situations where the curiosity of his students led to measuring out the size of a blue whale versus other mammals, looking into the politics and economics of trade policies, how and where and by whom soccer balls are made, homelessness, and far away disasters. The students gave back, making quilts for homeless children and collecting and sending essentials to the people of Japan after their huge earthquake.
It’s worth quoting a small part of Selwyn’s piece, that I hope inspires more of you to read it: “Authentic teaching begins with and is focused on the particular children in the room and what they need as learners. The teacher’s responsibility and challenge is to assess the children’s abilities and knowledge at the start of the year, to know the mandated state standards in each subject area and to design a course of study that helps the students meet those standards in ways that are engaging, involving, and effective, and that encourage the students to want to keep learning.”
Think about this: PH.D. students do not usually gain wide knowledge in their field of study – they take a deep dive into one particular topic and through becoming experts in that they contribute new knowledge to society.
Louise Doud lives in Warwick.