News From SWW

June 18, 2002: Article in the Buffalo News

To: Dan Drmacich , Sue Novinger
From: Peter Veronesi
Subject: article

Here is my article in the buffalo news. Don't laugh at the photo!

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20020620/1043005.asp

pv

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High-stakes exams stifle creativity, true learning

By PETER VERONESI
6/20/2002

A few days ago, I was reminded of one of those "B" westerns made in the '50s. You remember, the movies that often showed people being forced to "dance" at gunpoint. The cigar-smoking, bearded captors would smile and shout "dance," and shoot at the feet of their hapless, terrified victims. I heard the same thing the other day when a plea came down in the Buffalo area regarding a "media blitz for high school seniors to seek tutoring so they will pass the Regents exams."

Am I the only one who sees an oxymoron here? Does it not seem strange to anyone that a few very powerful people, not educators by the way, have mandated that students pass high-stakes exams without providing anywhere near the necessary support? Are they making teachers and students dance to the tune from Albany?

An absurd, unfunded mandate is once again being placed on the backs of teachers. The media will blame teachers, and uninformed people will believe those claims if resulting Regents scores are low.

Forget the fact that there was just a tad bit of stress this past year regarding budget shortfalls. And that more than a few teacher jobs are in jeopardy in Buffalo. And that those teachers who remain are certainly looking at an increase in their class sizes for next year. But not to worry, teachers are superhuman and can force more students to learn - excuse me, drill and memorize - for state-mandated tests.

As a supervisor of student teachers, I am in a different high school classroom every week. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a teacher say, "you have to write this down because it's going to be on the Regents," I would be financially set. When teaching and learning are focused on test-prep and "drill and kill," we have lost the meaning of education.

Lost is the creativity in teaching. Lost is the creativity in the student who would be the next Pulitzer Prize winner or who would discover the next cancer breakthrough. And lost are those professional decision-makers we call teachers. Teachers have the responsibility to nurture critically thinking minds. With that, they also have the right to an atmosphere that supports this end. Next year, if teachers are let go due to budget cuts, and class size increases, what will happen to those precious test scores? Moreover, how does that test score describe the incredible relationships teachers develop with their students? How can a number describe the happenings in the diverse classrooms of today?

Here's my suggestion. Have a media blitz detailing the ridiculous nature of these high-stakes exams. Have it detail the incredible stresses placed on teachers and students. Educate the public by describing what the plethora of research studies show about high-stakes tests: The more test scores go up, the more test-prep exists in a classroom, and the less focus on thinking and learning occurs.

Your government is making you dance, but you do have the voice to stop it. I trust teachers, parents and schools to take the professional steps to make their own diplomas and graduate their own students in the best way they know how. Until funding sources provide equitable resources for all students, a high-stakes exam score will continue to chase students away from a love of learning.

Teachers need to regain their hard-fought professionalism and get together with parents to put teaching and learning back in the schools. This "dance" is harming our kids.

PETER VERONESI teaches science education at Brockport State College. For submission guidelines on columns in this space, click on The Buffalo News logo at the Buffalo.com Web site, then click on Opinions and My View, then scroll down to Contact Us and click on that; or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Opinion Pages Guidelines, The Buffalo News, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, N.Y. 14240.

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Peter Veronesi
284 Faculty Office Building
State University of New York, College at Brockport
Brockport, NY 14420

Office: (716) 395-5544
Fax: (716) 395-2172

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