“Teaching to the Test” and School Assemblies

If you read this blog often you will know I listen to NPR a lot. Today was no exception. At lunchtime I was out to pick up a sandwich and got stuck listening to a pair of interviews on Fresh Air with Terry Gross that concerned education in the United States. The first was a fascinating interview with former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, explaining what changed her mind on No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools. 

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135142895/ravitch-standardized-testing-undermines-teaching

This was followed by another interview but this time with educational consultant Andrew Rotherham explaining why he supports the very issues that Ms. Ravitch now opposes.

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135802562/rotherham-dont-discount-charter-school-model

Both were really great interviews, and though their views were in opposition, it was obvious that both cared deeply about the state of education,
and the welfare of our children. I do not want to get involved in the debate over charter schools, mandatory testing and school vouchers, but I do recommend listening to both interviews!

What struck me, though, was a comment that came from Mr. Ravitch. Working with teachers and principals every day, I often hear about the stresses and strains they face because of mandatory testing and how it has increased so dramatically since the beginning of No Child Left Behind. The subject of “teaching to the test” sometimes arises. For those who do not know, this refers to the practice of some teachers, schools and school districts, worried about their test scores and the prospect of losing funding if their scores are bad, to spend most of their school day teaching only what kids will face on their tests. So if a subject is not tested, as for example, music, then music may be downplayed in the students weekly regimen or eliminated completely.

What caught my ear was a comment from mr. Ravitch. When asked about this practice, of “teaching to the test” he said basically said that studies have shown that it doesn’t necessarily help nor is it a good practice. His comment was that the schools that forgo concentrating only on tested material and instead present a “rich teaching curriculum” usually score the best on the tests in the end. Counter intuitive? Not really.

As we have observed before, children's minds, and, for that matter, the minds of adults, do not all learn the same way, nor are all of equally well equipped to learn different subjects. Where one may excel at reading but be shy in regard to personal relationships, another may see only lines on a page but make friends easily. The football star be be terrible at math while the math wizard may have no physical agility at all. Nonetheless, an adept teacher knows that by identifying and supporting a students strong suits, it is often possible to encourage improvement in other areas. In other words, a “rich” and varied field of instruction helps all kids because they learn in different ways and improvement in one area facilitates improvement in other areas. Simply beating on math and reading all day has the opposite (and unintended) result.

So here is where we come to my favorite topic - school assemblies. Every day we run across teachers and principals who refuse to schedule exciting and curriculum supporting educational assemblies because they want the kids to have “time on task”.  We hear it again and again. Time on task. Counter intuitive. Supporting a “rich teaching curriculum” by including regular exposure to non traditional learning through activities like school assemblies is exactly what will improve scores on testing the most. Counter intuitive, but correct.

Jim Felix, one of the wisest principals I ever met and who helmed the school where my kids attended elementary grades, once observed to me why he believed kids at his school did so well on testing. He said he believed it  was the number and variety of science and other forms of educational school assemblies to which the students there were exposed regularly. Wise man. Sage advice. 

So the next time you are faced with the prospect of increasing testing in math or reading, consider scheduling a live animal science assembly, or a portable planetarium, or a visit from Ben Franklin. You may be very pleasantly surprised at the results!