Testing, Testing...

1, 2, 3...

This June my daughter participated in the standardized testing process, a requirement made by the state where we reside. The pressures surrounding the test are confusing to me.

As a homeschooling family, I feel more pressure to perform well than if we were participating in the public school system, where I already felt enormous pressure to be "top of the class".  I am trying not to put that kind of pressure onto my kids.

These tests and how the schools teach to the test are among some of the main reasons we have chosen to homeschool. I no longer believe the tests are worthy of finding the brightest or most well rounded kids. More and more, I believe it is an archaic system of the Industrial Age that no longer works for the Information Age. But, just because I don't believe in the methods anymore, doesn't mean other people aren't still holding onto the old ideas. So, we must partake in the standardized tests. And, to prove to the "nay-sayers" of our lifestyle, I feel we must perform well. It's odd to want to do well at something I think is invalid. So, I wouldn't be surprised if my kids are getting mixed messages.

We try to downplay any pressure surrounding the test. But the word "test" inherently brings our family stress. Through thoughtful discussions, we talk about how we feel about these tests and how best to approach them. We could spend time doing practice tests and studying the art of test taking. Or, we could just do our best, knowing the tests won't cover everything we studied and will cover things we haven't studied, therefore, our scores may be lower than those who attend public schools. In addition, taking note that some questions are written ambiguously with more than one answer, putting the student into a debate of, "Do I answer what I think is right," or "What the test writer is looking for?" We have found several of these kinds of questions on sample tests, where, depending on how you interpret the question, there are two good answers. Usually one answer is more straight forward and one is more thoughtful (in my opinion) and the correct one is usually the more straight forward answer (in my opinion). Another reason I think standardized tests are wonky and I try to make this point of view clear to my children. I hope these discussions allow my kids to come to the conclusion that however they perform on these tests is NOT a good indicator of how they will succeed in life. I hope my kids forgive me that, while I currently believe this to be true, I am still deschooling myself and it's taking longer than I imagined.

After all the hubbub, my daughter did just fine. She's happy to take the next three years off until her next state required test. Now onto next year when my son will be required to participate and we'll do it all over again.