Public Schools - Reading Rant

This is my biggest heartbreak as a mom right now for our Ry(age 11) in public schools. As a 1st grader he was so excited about learning to read. He wanted to read everything. We bought several different series of books for him to explore, and also enjoyed visits to our local library. He was so proud of his new-found ability to read(like the big kids). This all changed when he moved into the 3rd grade. Our schools here are divided into K-2 and 3-5. Upon entering the 3rd grade in a new school, Ry started the Accelerated Reading program, which in and of itself is a good program, but because the teachers basically implemented it as the reading curriculum, Ry was punished(recess taken away) if he did not meet his goal(points received for reading a certain amount of books), so the choice to read became mandatory and the selection of books became very selective(based on his tested level of reading). There are two issues here, one being that recess should not be used as a leverage in learning(my opinion), and because children learn at all different levels and speeds, they should not be punished for trying. I have seen a decline in curriculum standards and an increase in teaching to test. Ry is the youngest of our 4 children, and I have have witnessed a huge gap in the quality of education between them(a span of 13 years). Ryan said it best to me at the beginning of this school year, "I wish my elementary grades would have been more fun." He spent 3rd grade not getting most of his recesses. I approached the teacher several times about my concerns. It would change for about a week, but that was all. He has absolutely no discipline problems, and his report cards are always tip top, it is only the issue of AR(accelerated reader), and the "goals" they set for Ryan that have been an issue. 4th grade was a little better, in that he would only miss a portion of his recesses. Now in 5th grade, he can go out to recess, but he must sit on a picnic bench and read, really?? As a parent this is SO VERY FRUSTRATING. I feel teachers are so stressed to produce numbers in testing, that the fun(quality) of learning has gone by the wayside. My Ryan has lost his zest for reading. It has become a chore. It is no longer fun. This angers me as a parent. So, when a friend forwarded me this article, I was excited to hear I was not the only one concerned with the direction our education system has been headed. I hope more people will become involved in making the necessary changes, "so that schools nurture creativity, exploration, and a love of literature from the first day of school through high school graduation." - YES!!

Top authors — including Maya Angelou — urge Obama to curb standardized testing

More than 120 authors and illustrators of books for children — including Maya Angelou, Judy Blume and Jane Yolen — urged President Obama in a letter sent Tuesday to curb policies that promote excessive standardized testing and said they are “alarmed” about the impact “on children’s love reading and literature.”

The letter, delivered to the White House, was organized by The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, known as FairTest, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized tests. It says in part: We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes. On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers on student test scores impose more standardized exams and crowd out exploration. Angelou is noteworthy on this list not only because of her position in the literary world but because she has been a big public supporter of Obama. Other signers include Jules Feiffer, Donald Crews, Alma Flor Ada, and National Book Award winners Kathryn Erskine and Phillip Hoose.

The mention of Obama’s education initiatives is in part a reference to Obama’s main ed program called Race to the Top. Critics say it has extended the high-stakes testing mandates on public schools that started during the No Child Left Behind era of former president George W. Bush by insisting that student test scores be used to judge teachers through ”value-added” methods that many experts say are unreliable and invalid.

Here’s the text of the letter:

President Barack Obama

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama, We the undersigned children’s book authors and illustrators write to express our concern for our readers, their parents and teachers. We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your Administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes. On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers based on student test scores impose more standardized exams and crowd out exploration. We call on you to support authentic performance assessments, not simply computerized versions of multiple-choice exams. We also urge you to reverse the narrowing of curriculum that has resulted from a fixation on high-stakes testing. Our public school students spend far too much time preparing for reading tests and too little time curling up with books that fire their imaginations. As Michael Morpurgo, author of the Tony Award Winner War Horse, put it, “It’s not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children.” Teachers, parents and students agree with British author Philip Pullman who said, “We are creating a generation that hates reading and feels nothing but hostility for literature.” Students spend time on test practice instead of perusing books. Too many schools devote their library budgets to test-prep materials, depriving students of access to real literature. Without this access, children also lack exposure to our country’s rich cultural range. This year has seen a growing national wave of protest against testing overuse and abuse. As the authors and illustrators of books for children, we feel a special responsibility to advocate for change. We offer our full support for a national campaign to change the way we assess learning so that schools nurture creativity, exploration, and a love of literature from the first day of school through high school graduation.

The link to the full article is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/22/top-authors-including-maya-angelou-urge-obama-to-curb-standardized-testing/