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>"Teaching to the test" generally doesn't mean covering the material that the test is intended to cover in theory, it means drilling the exact format of questio

>"Teaching to the test" generally doesn't mean covering the material that the test is intended to cover in theory, it means drilling the exact format of questions... Sure, if you're an incompetent teacher. But then maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be teaching at all.

Natanael_L 11y ago
Or you're a good teacher with students learning what they should, but the other classes got higher numbers despite not knowing the topic as well, so now you're under pressure to copy them.
cjslep 11y ago
> Sure, if you're an incompetent teacher. But then maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be teaching at all. But the teacher that does this will have students with higher scores, so by all metrics they are not the incompetent ones. Like in software engineering, metrics lose meaning once they are used to justify rewards and punishments.
themartorana 11y ago
Says someone with I'm guessing no teaching experience, and no background in education. Teach the test, get better scores... Better teacher? Not likely.
acdha 11y ago
You're making a number of bad assumptions: 1. The test actually covers what's important 2. The teacher has the time, resources and support needed to fully convey the material to every student 3. The teacher and the school are receiving students who are realistically capable of reaching the expected level 4. The test results will be interpreted in good faith and used only to help students and teachers perform better In the U.S. public education system, years of simplistic fixes have largely ensured that none of those are true. Instead there are vicious feedback loops: unprepared students will do worse on tests, which is held against the teachers and school no matter how hard they were trying, which leads the most motivated parents to take their kids elsewhere and the best teachers to leave teaching or find another school or district where their efforts are appreciated. After a few iterations, the district may close the “failing” school and make life even harder for kids who now have the same problems plus a more of their day commuting to a school where they'll probably bear the stigma of having come from a bad school/neighborhood.

Natanael_L 11y ago

Or you're a good teacher with students learning what they should, but the other classes got higher numbers despite not knowing the topic as well, so now you're under pressure to copy them.

cjslep 11y ago

> Sure, if you're an incompetent teacher. But then maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be teaching at all. But the teacher that does this will have students with higher scores, so by all metrics they are not the incompetent ones. Like in software engineering, metrics lose meaning once they are used to justify rewards and punishments.

themartorana 11y ago

Says someone with I'm guessing no teaching experience, and no background in education. Teach the test, get better scores... Better teacher? Not likely.

acdha 11y ago

You're making a number of bad assumptions: 1. The test actually covers what's important 2. The teacher has the time, resources and support needed to fully convey the material to every student 3. The teacher and the school are receiving students who are realistically capable of reaching the expected level 4. The test results will be interpreted in good faith and used only to help students and teachers perform better In the U.S. public education system, years of simplistic fixes have largely ensured that none of those are true. Instead there are vicious feedback loops: unprepared students will do worse on tests, which is held against the teachers and school no matter how hard they were trying, which leads the most motivated parents to take their kids elsewhere and the best teachers to leave teaching or find another school or district where their efforts are appreciated. After a few iterations, the district may close the “failing” school and make life even harder for kids who now have the same problems plus a more of their day commuting to a school where they'll probably bear the stigma of having come from a bad school/neighborhood.