In 2020, I had the privilege of teaching Public School Finance at NWOSU. This was the perfect opportunity to educate future administrators and give them a base of knowledge for leading a school system. It was also a great refresher course for me after being a superintendent for ten years.
One of the things I discuss in my finance class for aspiring administrators is how electing a new President completely affects the revolving wheel of curriculum and standard changes. Each president brings in their own idea of how to disperse federal funds. Some want all funds to be competitive grants, and some want monies distributed by statistical information. All want control, and how better to control states but to put them to a test? In Oklahoma, the following are the number of tests taken every year just in elementary. My numbers do not include all the benchmark testing to get to the big test or testing for federal programs. In the 3rd through 8th grade, 16 official tests are taken in total.
3rd-2 tests
4th-2 tests
5th-4 tests
6th-2 tests
7th-2 tests
8th-4 tests
“A high school dropout earns about $260,000 less over a lifetime than a high school graduate and pays about $60,000 less in taxes. America loses $192 billion—1.6% of our GDP—in combined income and tax revenue with each cohort of 18-year-olds who never complete high school. The annual loss of federal and state income taxes associated with the 23 million U.S. high school dropouts (ages 18 – 67) is over $50 billion compared to what they would have paid if they had graduated”. (Teachers College Symposium on Educational Equity, Columbia University) Why Students Drop Out – National Dropout Prevention Center The last paragraph looks out of place; it’s not. It shows that testing children is more expensive than teaching children. There is a correlation between the stress of testing and dropout rates. According to research.com academic failure is in the top three reasons for dropping out of school. You will find that academic failure is on every list of reasons kids drop out. Schools teach ‘to’ a standardized test. Teachers are not allowed to teach ‘to’ a student’s strengths or abilities. They are instructed to teach to the state mandated standards. Therefore, if a student struggles with the testing standards, they receive failing grades. If you have failing grades, they are likely to fail the standardized test, because the curriculum is made up of state standards that are on the state test.
Academic failure is one of the top three reasons for dropping out of high school. Say it again loudly for the people in the back ‘there is a correlation between testing and dropout rates.’
Since I want to be a problem solving leader, I’ll share the answer to this problem. It is easy and clear: pre and post academic benchmarks in every grade. Understand that all students that are enrolled in a teacher’s class come in at so many different levels of academic readiness; therefore, it is like building an individual education plan for every child. No matter how hard you work, not every child is going to master the content for the next grade. It is just not realistic.
Reasons vary for the different readiness and abilities of all children and no matter the reason; it is a fact that they do not all develop or learn at the same rate. We are pushing information at children faster than they are developmentally ready to absorb.
All an educator can do is take a student where they are and use a proven curriculum to expand their knowledge and readiness as far as possible for the next year. Companies such as Alpha Plus have been researching for decades and have developed excellent benchmark testing that gives accurate information about a student’s beginning, mid-year, and end of year learning. That is what a teacher should be evaluated on, not a National or State test that means absolutely nothing to the student, but weighs heavily on educators and school systems.
When asked by students in my finance class why we are so immersed in testing, I tell them to follow the money and research who is the President of the United States. Those two factors will lead you to the answer of how we keep students and teachers in a cycle of frustration. Students drop out, teachers leave the profession.
Written by Donna Anderson
Donna Anderson just retired from thirty years of education. She lives on beautiful Lake Texoma with her husband Charles and their dog Shank. Her career included classroom teaching and administration. In 2009, she became a public school superintendent and ran for State Superintendent in the 2014 election cycle. She has four children and five grandchildren who call her Lovie. She plans to travel and write while deciding what to do when she grows up.
Dawn Corbett is a driven, self-motivated, elementary educator, and a molder of young minds. She has taught in public education for twenty plus years. Creating original content is something that she is passionate about and gets excited about. She knows the value of confidentiality, cooperation, and being a team player. Working as an editor and blog writer has given her a valuable opportunities to develop her own intellect and a different perspective on how to respectfully communicate with others in different styles.