Let's talk testing, a non-religious topic

This past weekend I attended a conference at Boise State University called "Tell Me a Story." Along with topics on writing, plot structure, and what publishers don't tell you, I heard Kelly Gallagher speak about reading, common core, and testing in our schools. Kelly is the author of Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. He contends that because schools spend so much time on testing and teaching to the tests, students lack strategies for deep understanding of reading, do not enjoy reading, are failing at reading and are therefore less creative thinkers.

For the most part, Kelly supports common core. From what I've seen with my children this school year, I think common core can be an avenue for deeper understanding and thinking. Testing is no longer multiple choice. Students submit short answer or essays in a text box. Our foreign exchange daughter had not seen a multiple choice test until she attended the high school here. In Switzerland her tests were all short answer or essay. I think this promotes deeper thinking and as teachers teach at a deeper level, students will be successful in learning. My children are discouraged because the teaching is different, but I think it will be better for them in the long run.  However, I do not support the increased testing. My daughter who is a junior this year was told last year that she wouldn't be testing anymore if she passed the ISAT. But because the state wants to establish a baseline for measuring growth, all juniors are taking the SBAC. The juniors are very unhappy. One student used the text box to create a map of Idaho out of capital letter "I's." They are missing a lot of class time to prepare for tests and to take tests.

I agree whole-heartedly with Kelly that students should do more recreational reading. That is one of my deep loves, reading. Students should be reading for fun. They should be reading for information. They should be reading to learn and to connect with their world. That's why I read. That means students should read books that are easy for them and books that are challenging. Kelly offers suggestions and examples for scaffolding reading in school so students can succeed with difficult novels and articles. During my oldest daughter's junior English class, she did not read one single novel all the way through. They read excerpts and watched movies. In my high school students' classes this year, the teachers read out loud which is a good way to begin, but the students need to read the book themselves. And re-read and discuss. They should not be stopped every few pages to analyze. This disrupts the reading flow, as Kelly calls it.

I do not know how to change the system. I appreciate the teachers who weave what is expected with what they know is best for students. As a parent, I will do my part by taking my children to the library, reading to them when they are young, discussing books and articles, and letting them see me read (often).