Maybe it's time to put the test to the test.
Testing is a big part of a teachers job - it's how we keep track of student learning, it's how we report to parents on progress, it's how we report on national standards. My question is, how much testing is too much? And why do we test? The way I see it, there are two forms of testing: Testing for learning, and learning for testing. Learning for testing is where tests are completed in order to see what stage students are at so that we can report on it. This is where the ultimate goal for the student is to learn so they can get a better score on the test next time. This is where tests are running the students' school life and the idea of a successful student, is how well they do on tests. Testing for learning is where specific tests are completed in order to give the teacher a better view on what stage the student is at, and where the student needs to go next. I have seen teachers use PAT, STAR and Running records (to name a few) in this way. Cla...