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IF YOU CAN READ THE SIGN ABOVE, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR INTELLIGENCE?
Do you need to stress over whether you're the smartest crook in the classroom?
Should you pray for that elementary school teacher who slapped you or broke a cane over your back or caused you to urinate on the floor because you didn't provide the right answer?
What does the APS scandal say about performance-base/pay for performance income and the future of educational bonuses tied to test scores for teachers and administrators?
Are we hearing all sides and not just the major media hype surrounding this fiasco? What responsibility does the Georgia Department of Education have in all this??? Do the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta have a point in pulling the race card, saying the AJC is carrying on a witch hunt today against APS akin to its promotion of a non-desegregation stance in the 1960s?
According to Edublox, intelligence or IQ tests began in France around 1904 and were used to determine who was "normal" and who was "inferior." In my mind's eye, modern day testing should be used to help teachers figure out what needs to be re-taught or who needs special instruction to learn certain concepts. And this should be done in a compassionate, non-stressful environment.
No breaking pencils over fingers, and no need to repeat a grade. Let teachers teach and students learn, and let all be judged like Daniel in the Lion's Den.
With the way lesson plans, schedules, and curricula are geared today, there is no time to "re-teach" concepts that have not been "learned," even after the test results are in. Often, those who do not pass standardized tests are ridiculed as dumb and stupid, and their progress to move forward impeded.
People can and do cheat on academic achievement and assessment tests. Folks do cheat on certified exams, too. Test security is also a joke. While a supply reading teacher in a metro Atlanta middle school, I witnessed the assistant principal's frantic search for a copy of the CRCT which was left in a classroom by the test administrator. It was not found for four days.
At another school, I was able to sit in a testing room and monitored what went on but was not allowed to sit in the room for the remainder of the week. People "outside the system" or even parents who could monitor non-ethical practices should be involved in what is happening in testing arenas.
And to add insult to injury, teachers who take tests to become certified are often given copies of the exam to practice on and answers before going into the "secured" testing room. These types of practices do not proficiently gauge aptitude or teaching skills. Many a student has led a lackluster life because he/she could not "PASS" a multiple choice test. The same holds true for professional licensing exams for other occupations.
How do we know that the results are true? We now know the results have been falsified on many occasions, leaving us to laugh at the joke education plays on the misguided.
If you have the money, you can pay to take a class to prepare you to pass a test! Testing is a limited way to figure out who knows what. Your test results could depend on who you know or if you can get a practice copy.
I pride myself on reporting the truth, and having grown up on a college campus have always admired the teaching profession, but often administration is the system monster. If you look at the credentials of folks running school systems nationwide, check out how many are lawyers instead of exemplary teachers, scholars, and Milken award winners. It appears that politics has taken its place in higher learning, and the crooks are still racing to the top!
I am a former educational television producer, supply teacher, substitute, and paraprofessional educator who is a FAIR test taker but have trouble landing a good paying job! Does that mean I'm stupid? I passed the PMI ethics portion of the PMP exam. I wonder how Hall, Few and the others implicated in the APS cheating scandal would fair on an ethics exam. Do they know all the right answers?
I know for a fact that HR Director Millicent Few is from an upstanding family, and it hurts my heart that this tragedy will put into question morals and ethics held by black families.
My best teachers didn't teach me what could be bubbled in on a test. They taught me that I am "special" and can succeed if I try hard enough and the right stars line up, and that success not only depends on what you know, but who you know and your attitude.
The best things I learned in school were, "Honey draws flies better than vinegar," and "Good always wins over evil." At home, my parents taught me to pay for everything in cash, but after listening to a financial adviser who is now an APS board member, I started believing that I couldn't run a successful business without obtaining bank financing.
I am still learning. I am looking forward to being quizzed on ethics on my next exam. May my bubbles go unaltered.
©2011 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.
Do you need to stress over whether you're the smartest crook in the classroom?
Should you pray for that elementary school teacher who slapped you or broke a cane over your back or caused you to urinate on the floor because you didn't provide the right answer?
What does the APS scandal say about performance-base/pay for performance income and the future of educational bonuses tied to test scores for teachers and administrators?
Are we hearing all sides and not just the major media hype surrounding this fiasco? What responsibility does the Georgia Department of Education have in all this??? Do the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta have a point in pulling the race card, saying the AJC is carrying on a witch hunt today against APS akin to its promotion of a non-desegregation stance in the 1960s?
According to Edublox, intelligence or IQ tests began in France around 1904 and were used to determine who was "normal" and who was "inferior." In my mind's eye, modern day testing should be used to help teachers figure out what needs to be re-taught or who needs special instruction to learn certain concepts. And this should be done in a compassionate, non-stressful environment.
No breaking pencils over fingers, and no need to repeat a grade. Let teachers teach and students learn, and let all be judged like Daniel in the Lion's Den.
With the way lesson plans, schedules, and curricula are geared today, there is no time to "re-teach" concepts that have not been "learned," even after the test results are in. Often, those who do not pass standardized tests are ridiculed as dumb and stupid, and their progress to move forward impeded.
People can and do cheat on academic achievement and assessment tests. Folks do cheat on certified exams, too. Test security is also a joke. While a supply reading teacher in a metro Atlanta middle school, I witnessed the assistant principal's frantic search for a copy of the CRCT which was left in a classroom by the test administrator. It was not found for four days.
At another school, I was able to sit in a testing room and monitored what went on but was not allowed to sit in the room for the remainder of the week. People "outside the system" or even parents who could monitor non-ethical practices should be involved in what is happening in testing arenas.
And to add insult to injury, teachers who take tests to become certified are often given copies of the exam to practice on and answers before going into the "secured" testing room. These types of practices do not proficiently gauge aptitude or teaching skills. Many a student has led a lackluster life because he/she could not "PASS" a multiple choice test. The same holds true for professional licensing exams for other occupations.
How do we know that the results are true? We now know the results have been falsified on many occasions, leaving us to laugh at the joke education plays on the misguided.
If you have the money, you can pay to take a class to prepare you to pass a test! Testing is a limited way to figure out who knows what. Your test results could depend on who you know or if you can get a practice copy.
I pride myself on reporting the truth, and having grown up on a college campus have always admired the teaching profession, but often administration is the system monster. If you look at the credentials of folks running school systems nationwide, check out how many are lawyers instead of exemplary teachers, scholars, and Milken award winners. It appears that politics has taken its place in higher learning, and the crooks are still racing to the top!
I am a former educational television producer, supply teacher, substitute, and paraprofessional educator who is a FAIR test taker but have trouble landing a good paying job! Does that mean I'm stupid? I passed the PMI ethics portion of the PMP exam. I wonder how Hall, Few and the others implicated in the APS cheating scandal would fair on an ethics exam. Do they know all the right answers?
Millicent Few, 2nd from right, with family. Photo by Kurk Johnson.
I know for a fact that HR Director Millicent Few is from an upstanding family, and it hurts my heart that this tragedy will put into question morals and ethics held by black families.
My best teachers didn't teach me what could be bubbled in on a test. They taught me that I am "special" and can succeed if I try hard enough and the right stars line up, and that success not only depends on what you know, but who you know and your attitude.
The best things I learned in school were, "Honey draws flies better than vinegar," and "Good always wins over evil." At home, my parents taught me to pay for everything in cash, but after listening to a financial adviser who is now an APS board member, I started believing that I couldn't run a successful business without obtaining bank financing.
I am still learning. I am looking forward to being quizzed on ethics on my next exam. May my bubbles go unaltered.
©2011 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.
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