Where Hillcrest really feels the pressure of state legislation is in special education. Although special education students’ instruction is individualized within the classroom (meaning they may be the age of a 6th grader but are being taught at a 4th grade level), No Child Left Behind has them being tested at their age/grade level. In talking with an in-class support teacher, she said that unfortunately in these cases, students are taught to pass the test. These special education students factor into the school’s overall percentage of passing students, so the pressure is really on for them to succeed. This teacher said, “I understand accountability but we need to make it more realistic for the kids.” Certain adaptations are allowed for these students on tests, but they are limited—teachers can paraphrase/read directions and sometimes the students may have more time than allotted.
I was also surprised when one teacher told me that some districts will broadcast students’ scores, relating them back to the homeroom teacher. Teachers who have successful students are rewarded; a bonus may even depend on these scores. Thus, teachers feel an extreme pressure to push their students toward higher test scores; this is not even done for learning’s sake, but for personal (teacher) gain. I think this is one of the most fundamental flaws within legislation like No Child Left Behind. People take an idea like student learning, and make it about numbers and standardization. If we believe that each student is an individual within the classroom, this standardization isn’t valid. Of course we should set standards for our students (the highest possible) but we need to do this on an individualized basis--something legislation does not account for.
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hers can be given bonuses for how their students do on these standardized tests. There are so many things that I find wrong with that policy. What kind of message is this sending to young teachers? If I were to go into a situation like that, I It really is scary to me that teacknow that I would feel that if I really wanted to be able support myself financially , I would almost HAVE to start teaching to these standardized tests. This severely stunts the ability of teachers to actually TEACH anything. We talk in critical pedagogy about 'teachable moments' and paying attention to how to connect our material to the lives of our students. Making connections with our students will never happen if schools continue to reward teachers for mindlessly teaching to tests.
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