A Look at Standardized Testing in New York

While many parents in New York don't agree with State testing, these same parents are absolutely determined to have their children participate anyway. While I do admit that their reasons for wanting to keep their children taking the test are understandable, I cannot help but think that with the test as it is now-there are other more beneficial ways to help students learn to enjoy learning or how to learn more efficiently. The article makes aware that parents put a lot of effort and money into making sure their child studies for the test.

They buy books, enter their children into after school programs, and one parent quote, “was nervous about the exams and had made her son do three practice tests at home in the past month.” It's clear that parents want their children to perform well. However, this seems to be a strain on the children. If the test itself already covers things that are not consistent with their school curriculum and, by many accounts, are poorly designed then all this does is cause stress on the child.

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This does not sway their parents though, who firmly state that their children will be taking the test no matter what. Some of these reasons are fair for wanting their child to take the test despite its flaws. Immigrant parents say that they took tests all the time and their children should learn to do so too. Other parents are resigned to the fact that it will help along their college admissions.

Still some others just believe that the process of studying all this new information is good for them. That it will encourage a love of learning new things.

I don't strictly agree with this last one, however, these are fair reasons for not wanting their children to opt out. If parents want their children to gain better time management skills or a love of learning, the material for this is already here without the state test. Many students struggle in high school, so instead of piling on more work parents should focus on helping their children deal with that. If they cannot actively participate in this themselves (due to work or other reasons), then they can send their children to workshops on time and stress management. When all is said and done, the test scores are only used for college applications. Whereas a workshop or program that teaches them anything from communication to time management can go on future resumes that will be seen by potential employers. In addition, many students will tell you that the more time they put into these tests the less they liked them. So this has the opposite reaction parents desire, which is a development of appreciating new information. There are many great mediums which teach new material in non-stressful ways, such a KhanAcademy.org or lectures provided by Great Courses.

There are better ways of providing your child with skills and knowledge, and none of them have to have anything to do with a test. In the end, this is the parent's choice and they know their child best. Yet if they learned more about the other ways they could give their children recreational education it would benefit everyone. One day the test itself may be improved and thus become a method of furthering education, for now though, it is largely a stress-inducing process that does not give New York City parents the results they want in their children.