Longing for the Days of Paper Scantrons - Entrepreneur Generations

Hat tip to my colleague who posted similar comments on Facebook, because non-teaching friends might not know the extreme impact that testing -- with technology -- has on schools.

If you didn't know, PARCC testing on computer completely takes over a school.

Our school's small amount of computers were taken up every day from April 20th until May 17th. Then, on May 23rd, more testing (this time, the HSA) will begin taking over the technology.

Every day, students grouped by subject areas are taken into the computer labs for testing. Technology classes are moved to different areas. Teachers who want to sign out a computer lab for, say, research purposes cannot: the technology is devoted to testing.

And therein lies a huge problem with the current testing model: the IT has not caught up with the testing needs. This is a problem that was predicted back in 2014, but the O'Malley administration was assured that the challenge was the test, not the IT.

This isn't true.

Back in the days of paper tested HSA, the interruption was one week, in the mornings. Kids were tested and that was it.

Now, it's an interruption that takes over a school's limited technology resources for two months.

Testing on computer also doesn't help the students build the stamina for long paper tests such as the SAT, ACT, AP, and IB tests.

It's all unconscionable.

So whenever you hear about the Common Core or PARCC testing, or hear a politician or educational advocates who don't work in a school say that the testing isn't extreme, know this: it is, and it is tragic.

from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/1TlQPIM Longing for the Days of Paper Scantrons - Entrepreneur Generations

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