High Stakes Testing used to Bully

I am beginning to think the NEA prints articles announcing certain other articles just to anger teachers. In Galveston County Daily News, an article entitled Teachers Forced to take TAKS, a principal was dissatisfied by student test scores on practice standardized tests scores and took it out on the teachers (as usual). He degradingly told them they had to take these practice tests themselves to prove they knew the material, insinuating the teachers were stupid and that they couldn't teach so it's their fault the kids aren't getting higher scores.

Everyone's stress levels are up right now because next week (after the 3-day weekend), are the real TAKS tests. (As opposed to all the practice ones they take over and over in order to keep anxiety levels high....) At least, I know the math TAKS are next Tuesday for 4th graders. The teachers at Rex's school are scared to death because the kids aren't doing very well on the practice ones, no matter how hard they try to teach it to them. Even the teacher (whom Rex likes) that Rex figured could do no wrong in the eyes of the administrator has said he thinks he's going to try for a GT (gifted and talented) position because he's so worn out from teaching TAKS every year, specifically the math one. (Did you catch that? Teaching the test, not teaching math. That's what school is all about.) Sadly, if he does leave his position, the school will be losing another fabulous teacher -- one who makes science incredibly fun. (But who cares about science? That's not tested until the next year! So it doesn't count.)

Why can't it be like it was when I was a kid? We took the standardized test once a year (back then known as CTBS in California to my recollection) and it didn't matter what score you got because it was only a way of measuring progress, not on evaluating the quality of people.