Back a few weeks ago I created a quick graphic for a post asking for examples of test prep and Common Core assignments using an online graphic generator.  This picture went viral as parents and teachers passed it on via social media.

I created this picture to gain a few laughs and make a statement about the amount of time that is lost to testing in our schools.  Detractors might say my creation is a piece of propaganda, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, or pretty darn close.  Schools in my state of New York will be starting their grueling two weeks of testing starting April 16.  So how much “real education” will take place from April 16 through May 1st?

Here is a look at what students in grades 3-8* will face:

*The kind folks at NYSED decided to reduce grades 3 & 4 testing to 70 minutes for this year.  More appropriate for 8 and 9 year olds? No.

How much time is lost for real learning opportunities?  After students are burned out from testing are they ready for instruction in the afternoon?  Should they be?  If a student has art, music, library, or physical education during the testing time frame, do they lose that subject for the day?

Grades preK-2?

Younger students are still impacted on testing days as well.  Children in the primary grades may not be allowed to go outside on a lovely spring day lest their shouts of joy from the playground disturb the students who are testing. Other rooms may be used for students who receive testing modifications, so the gym, library, and art rooms may be in use for the assessments and your child may lose out on those classes for the day.

In absentia

Students who miss one or more days of the assessments get a “double whammy” by being pulled from their classrooms to take the portions of the tests they missed. Students basically double their absences when they are sick during testing season.  In the past I have had students who have not seen me in a week due to testing and makeup days.

It ain’t over til…

The harm to our children’s classroom goes beyond the assessment days.  After the testing period ends your children’s teachers will need to grade the exams.  Some schools choose to pull a large group of teachers out of the classroom to score the exam and call in substitutes for your children.  Other districts, such as my employer, send students home early to save money on substitute teacher cost.  The teachers score the exams after the students leave.  In my district, middle school students are sent home at 10:30 twice in early May, not much of an education, but the cost of providing substitutes drives that decision. This shortened day also counts as a full attendance day as to not lose school funding.

So what do you think of my sign creation now?

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