When the goal is to increase test scores, is it wrong to single out those who do well on tests for praise?
When it comes to taking a standardized test of any sort, who wouldn’t balk? For some, it’s the sea of empty ovals bobbing before their eyes that make them bite their fingernails. For others, it’s that they love the math portion of the test but loathe the English part. And for still others, it’s the stress of nailing that final score.
In any case, any teenage survivor of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exam will tell you that taking the test requires a marathon effort of concentration and long-term learning. Every Pennsylvania student in fifth, eighth and 11th grade is assessed in reading and math, and students in sixth, ninth and 11th grades are assessed in writing.
But clearly teens are not sweating out the results alone. School administrators and teachers have a vested interest in their district’s scores...
The critical factor here is motivation. Concerned administrators, parents and teachers are attempting to focus the students on the seriousness of the test...
The answer has been to build a better carrot rather than carry a bigger stick. Some schools provide special breakfasts on the days of the exam. Others celebrate the results with pizza parties or may give students special benefits like a better parking spot for the year.
But eyebrows were raised when officials at the Spring Grove Area Senior High School started indicating some students’ PSSA scores in the graduation program last spring. While the program only noted those students who achieved either an advanced or proficient level on the tests, those who scored at the basic or below basic levels weren’t too difficult to figure out.
Administrators believed that celebrating those individuals with the highest scores recognized the results of hard work and skills. Students, however, believe the practice needlessly embarrasses those without high scores on the day of their graduation. Students, teachers and administrators plan to meet this month to see if this all should change before the next graduation.
You know, I received a special award on the day of my high school graduation; an award that only four members of my graduating class received. I would have been rather upset if my school officials had chosen the option of not praising the four of us at the graduation ceremony, under the assumption that the remaining 436 members of the class, easily identified as not receiving the award, would have been embarrassed.
I mean, come on. If schools want students to take the exam seriously, then why not let the ones who do well take glory in the results? Removing the test score designations from the graduation booklet gives the clear message that the school is less concerned about praising those who achieve than about protecting those who don't. If that's the case, why should a student care about the test?
Posted by kswygert at November 17, 2003 12:00 PM