7 ms·

Funny that I had very nearly the same experience in Texas. I had even been moved into a "Gifted and Talented" program which segregated us from the regular kids.

Funny that I had very nearly the same experience in Texas. I had even been moved into a "Gifted and Talented" program which segregated us from the regular kids. While we did occasionally get to do something above and beyond the vast majority of the time was spent in a prison like setting where all we did was focus on standardized testing. I remember literally spending weeks of schooling in primary school learning how to bubble in a multiple choice answer sheet. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for weeks on end having the fact we need a #2 pencil and that you shouldn't fill outside the bubble when answering the scantron on the TAAS test.

dvdhnt 10y ago
This. I grew up in Texas, first in a small suburb that had its own school system (elementary through 7th) and then as a part of the greater Dallas school system, in another city (8th through graduation). My original school system was always trying to push me forward; they placed me in gifted programs, encouraged me to compete in academic competitions (you know the ones I'm talking about), and often recommended to my parents that I should be allowed to skip a couple of grades. Conversely, my latter school system, in an attempt to meet standards and retain order (I assume), simply taught down to the lowest denominator. As a result, I lost a lot of the drive and motivation previously impressed upon me. It's only after growing up that I've gotten some of that back, however, I doubt it will ever reach its previous high. So, as unemotional as it may seem, there should be a mechanism for either removing those at the bottom in order to accelerate their learning and return them back to the general population, or a similar mechanism to allow the higher levels to avoid decline.
chrisabrams 10y ago
Oh the TAAS...I spent 10 years being told I would finish that crap in the 10th grade...only to find out in the 10th grade that TAAS II was coming out and we were the lucky candidates to take it...in the 11th grade. The #2 pencil is spot on. I carried an entire box of pencils and would trade them for a slice of pizza at lunch.
- Pulcinella 10y ago
  heh TAAS. For those not from Texas or too young to have experienced it, TAAS was horrible even compared to other standardized tests. Other standardized tests at least pretend to assess a student's learning. TAAS assessed a students ability to parse octuple negatives and poorly typeset mathematics.
  - amyjess 10y ago
    Oh god, the TAAS. So, there were three portions: reading comprehension, math, grammar, and persuasive writing. The maximum score for any of the TAAS portions is a 4, with 3 as the minimum passing grade. The first three were ridiculously easy, but the writing portion was a nightmare. I don't remember all the details anymore, but IIRC you were expected to include a statistic and a quote from an expert in your paper. The kicker? You weren't allowed any outside materials, and you were expected to make up the statistic and the quote. That's right: the assignment was to write something that would be considered fake news nowadays. I got a 2. I only passed because I got a 4 on the grammar portion, because for some reason the persuasive writing portion and the grammar portion were averaged together to form what they called the "writing" portion. My year (10th grade 2000-2001) was the second-last to take the TAAS, and we were the last to take only the TAAS, as it was being phased out in favor of the TAKS. The year behind me took both the TAAS and the TAKS, with only the TAAS counting for graduation requirements (they only had to take the TAKS because the state wanted to do a dry run before switching over), and the people two years behind me only took the TAKS. The timeline went like: * 2000-2001: 10th grade takes the TAAS (my class) * 2001-2002: 10th grade takes the TAAS * 2002-2003: 11th grade takes the TAKS (dry run, same class as above) * 2003-2004: 11th grade takes the TAKS (for real)
kodablah 10y ago
I had an opposite experience in Texas (semi-rural Texas no less). The gifted and talented programs (i.e. things sometimes referred to in other districts as "Quest", "Omega", etc...not AP as occurs in later grades) did the exact opposite of focusing on standardized testing. The vast majority of time was spent on "above and beyond" and critical thinking. Granted you tested into it and all of your time was not spent there, but even times in standard classes were not heavily focused on standardized testing. This goes to show that the problem is more localized than state level, it is a municipal and district-level choice so long as you meet minimum testing requirements. Now when students don't meet minimum testing requirements, most districts unfortunately fall into the trap of teaching to test as opposed to teach.
squeaky-clean 10y ago
> Funny that I had very nearly the same experience in Texas. I had even been moved into a "Gifted and Talented" program which segregated us from the regular kids. While we did occasionally get to do something above and beyond the vast majority of the time was spent in a prison like setting where all we did was focus on standardized testing. Exact same situation here, but Florida. Elementary school was alright, but middle school became pure FCAT preparation and nothing else. My parents withdrew me from them at that point and put me back into regular classes. They also used a "block schedule", where each day, you would only attend half your classes, but for twice as long, alternating which classes on which days, and then rotating the order of the classes. (So of your 6 classes, you attended daily: 1,3,5 then 2,4,6, then 3,5,1, then 4,6,2, then 5,3,1...). Here's an calendar I found of a school currently doing this, tell me this isn't confusing as hell: http://ponce.dadeschools.net/blockschedule.asp http://ponce.dadeschools.net/blockschedule.asp
hydrogen18 10y ago
Ah, bubbling in the correct little bounded area. My experience was about the same. Maybe no one thought to stop that the kids who couldn't fill in a little area didn't know the answer to the questions in the first place? In any case, I'll share another funny anecdote: I took a reading comprehension test in 3rd grade. It said I was reading a college level. I'm not really sure what that meant then, but in any case it was as high as the system went. Not only did I have to take the same test in 4th grade again, my parents were sent a letter with a very concerned tone. It said I was not making progress on my reading skills and that soon I would fall behind the other children. It recommended I be placed in a remedial comprehension course so I could catch up.

dvdhnt 10y ago

This. I grew up in Texas, first in a small suburb that had its own school system (elementary through 7th) and then as a part of the greater Dallas school system, in another city (8th through graduation). My original school system was always trying to push me forward; they placed me in gifted programs, encouraged me to compete in academic competitions (you know the ones I'm talking about), and often recommended to my parents that I should be allowed to skip a couple of grades. Conversely, my latter school system, in an attempt to meet standards and retain order (I assume), simply taught down to the lowest denominator. As a result, I lost a lot of the drive and motivation previously impressed upon me. It's only after growing up that I've gotten some of that back, however, I doubt it will ever reach its previous high. So, as unemotional as it may seem, there should be a mechanism for either removing those at the bottom in order to accelerate their learning and return them back to the general population, or a similar mechanism to allow the higher levels to avoid decline.

chrisabrams 10y ago

Oh the TAAS...I spent 10 years being told I would finish that crap in the 10th grade...only to find out in the 10th grade that TAAS II was coming out and we were the lucky candidates to take it...in the 11th grade. The #2 pencil is spot on. I carried an entire box of pencils and would trade them for a slice of pizza at lunch.

Pulcinella 10y ago
heh TAAS. For those not from Texas or too young to have experienced it, TAAS was horrible even compared to other standardized tests. Other standardized tests at least pretend to assess a student's learning. TAAS assessed a students ability to parse octuple negatives and poorly typeset mathematics.
- amyjess 10y ago
  Oh god, the TAAS. So, there were three portions: reading comprehension, math, grammar, and persuasive writing. The maximum score for any of the TAAS portions is a 4, with 3 as the minimum passing grade. The first three were ridiculously easy, but the writing portion was a nightmare. I don't remember all the details anymore, but IIRC you were expected to include a statistic and a quote from an expert in your paper. The kicker? You weren't allowed any outside materials, and you were expected to make up the statistic and the quote. That's right: the assignment was to write something that would be considered fake news nowadays. I got a 2. I only passed because I got a 4 on the grammar portion, because for some reason the persuasive writing portion and the grammar portion were averaged together to form what they called the "writing" portion. My year (10th grade 2000-2001) was the second-last to take the TAAS, and we were the last to take only the TAAS, as it was being phased out in favor of the TAKS. The year behind me took both the TAAS and the TAKS, with only the TAAS counting for graduation requirements (they only had to take the TAKS because the state wanted to do a dry run before switching over), and the people two years behind me only took the TAKS. The timeline went like: * 2000-2001: 10th grade takes the TAAS (my class) * 2001-2002: 10th grade takes the TAAS * 2002-2003: 11th grade takes the TAKS (dry run, same class as above) * 2003-2004: 11th grade takes the TAKS (for real)

kodablah 10y ago

I had an opposite experience in Texas (semi-rural Texas no less). The gifted and talented programs (i.e. things sometimes referred to in other districts as "Quest", "Omega", etc...not AP as occurs in later grades) did the exact opposite of focusing on standardized testing. The vast majority of time was spent on "above and beyond" and critical thinking. Granted you tested into it and all of your time was not spent there, but even times in standard classes were not heavily focused on standardized testing. This goes to show that the problem is more localized than state level, it is a municipal and district-level choice so long as you meet minimum testing requirements. Now when students don't meet minimum testing requirements, most districts unfortunately fall into the trap of teaching to test as opposed to teach.

squeaky-clean 10y ago

> Funny that I had very nearly the same experience in Texas. I had even been moved into a "Gifted and Talented" program which segregated us from the regular kids. While we did occasionally get to do something above and beyond the vast majority of the time was spent in a prison like setting where all we did was focus on standardized testing. Exact same situation here, but Florida. Elementary school was alright, but middle school became pure FCAT preparation and nothing else. My parents withdrew me from them at that point and put me back into regular classes. They also used a "block schedule", where each day, you would only attend half your classes, but for twice as long, alternating which classes on which days, and then rotating the order of the classes. (So of your 6 classes, you attended daily: 1,3,5 then 2,4,6, then 3,5,1, then 4,6,2, then 5,3,1...). Here's an calendar I found of a school currently doing this, tell me this isn't confusing as hell: http://ponce.dadeschools.net/blockschedule.asp http://ponce.dadeschools.net/blockschedule.asp

hydrogen18 10y ago

Ah, bubbling in the correct little bounded area. My experience was about the same. Maybe no one thought to stop that the kids who couldn't fill in a little area didn't know the answer to the questions in the first place? In any case, I'll share another funny anecdote: I took a reading comprehension test in 3rd grade. It said I was reading a college level. I'm not really sure what that meant then, but in any case it was as high as the system went. Not only did I have to take the same test in 4th grade again, my parents were sent a letter with a very concerned tone. It said I was not making progress on my reading skills and that soon I would fall behind the other children. It recommended I be placed in a remedial comprehension course so I could catch up.