I think a lot of teachers who had the opportunity to start from scratch and design their own school would tell you that they would absolutely, positively, tolerate no standardized testing of any kind. I am not one of those teachers. I do think that there is a lot of information to be gained through assessment. What I would not do, however, is tie a student’s graduation to her performance on a standardized test.
At my school, all students who enter are given a reading test to determine their lexile levels. Teachers of other subjects are also welcome to give diagnostic tests of their own design as they see fit (because we trust them to be cognizant of the needs of their kids and constantly honing their practice), but the only diagnostic that we give to the whole student body is a reading test. This information is distributed to teachers, and we have regular conversations in classrooms (not just English classrooms *gasp*) about the lexile level of texts that we assign. Giving students a clear idea of these levels allows them to see tangible growth in their learning, which is something that students in traditional high schools really struggle with in English class.
As a side note, I can’t tell you how many times I have had a student tell me “we learn the same thing in English every year” because I asked them to identify ethos, pathos, or logos in a text. I think that they would be able to see and understand their own growth so much better if I were able to say “yes, but last year, you were identifying these elements in a text with a lexile level of 750, and this text is at 1010!”
This testing informs teachers and students about where to start in order to get a baseline for the year. Everyone’s goal all year is to increase reading levels. This helps students (and teachers) in every other subject because many subjects rely on reading technical writing, which can get incredibly complex. Limiting literacy to the English classroom would put students at a disadvantage in these courses in and after high school, and also in whatever career they choose. Kids can see the purpose in this testing. I think this becomes difficult in a traditional school because of the necessity that kids endure 12 hours of testing as a rite of passage for graduation.
Oh, we can give the SAT and ACT to the juniors every year, too. We will make sure they feel prepared and have a good breakfast the morning of. I am also down for a pep rally leading into SAT and ACT season. That seems like an appropriate way to make kids feel like we are rooting for them, and not just torturing them with a No. 2 pencil.
