Friday, July 30, 2010

Teaching to the test

Today's Fastrack has a student imagining a boss running in, saying "quick, solve this multiple choice problem!" because, obviously, we teach the skills they will need in the future.

The comic is perfect - I cannot figure out how to put it here, so please go read it.

It goes along so well with what Pissed Off is saying about testing in NY and what you will read here about our own version of math.

3 comments:

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

I am so depressed about this "teaching to the test" crap! A vast majority of the teachers at our school have bought into it. They have nightmares about low test scores. Every time we get together as a staff, they strategize ways to improve the scores. I'm sick of hearing about it. Life is more than a multiple choice test. Sometimes there are far more than four answers to the questions life poses. Sometimes there are none.

Ricochet said...

You were actually the person I thought of when I saw the cartoon. I hope you read it.

I am trying to make them think. If they would come along with me on this path, the test would take care of itself.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Those three panels of the comic strip are so on target, describing our obsession with multiple-choice tests. Ugh!

I agree with you completely: "I am trying to make them think. If they would come along with me on this path, the test would take care of itself."

Amen!