As test scores come back for area schools, parents and teachers alike are inspecting them, looking at what schools passed and what school did not pass. More and more schools are passing the state tests, with more and more students in each category testing at a proficient level.
What do these test scores actually tell us? Are teachers doing their jobs better? Are students getting smarter?
The only thing these scores tell us is that students are getting better at passing a specific test. This would indicate that students are learning the basic skills required by these tests and that teachers are doing a better job teaching these skills.
The better question to ask is: are these state tests looking at the right thing? Are these tests measuring the skills that our students need to learn?
Related posts:
