This is EOG (End of Grade) testing week at the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Esbee writes of her son asking where his healthy breakfast is because his teacher exhorted his class to make sure they have a healthy breakfast in preparation for the tests.  My kids have been exhorted to eat healthy breakfasts during every EOG week since they’ve been in the school system.  Erin, my lovely straight-A daughter, asked me to show her how to fry eggs on Monday so that she could make them for herself each morning this week.  She’d been informed by one of her teachers that eggs were the best form of protein and that it was essential that she eat them this week so that she could perform at peak level on the tests.  If I’d known they were going to give this advice I’d have invested in some hens last month so that I could corner the EOG egg market.

All of this begs the question of why the teachers aren’t concerned about our kids’ protein consumption the other 30-odd weeks (or whatever it is) of the school year?  Is it not important that our kids have proper nutrition to learn those mundane daily reading, writing and ‘rithmetic lessons?  Are they implying that learning isn’t as important as performing? 

Esbee also writes that she thinks the EOGs put an inordinate amount of pressure on the kids. As you might have guessed I’m in total agreement with her.  I wonder if the teachers and administrators are actually shooting themselves in the foot by putting such an emphasis on the tests.  How many kids do poorly on the tests because they freeze under pressure?  I knew a lot of kids who were much better students than me who did much worse on standardized tests than I did because they tested poorly, and they tested poorly because they stressed way too much about the tests.  In other words I benefited greatly from my laissez faire attitude towards education and my friends who were diligent students often suffered from caring so much.  But in the long run who’s better off?   Let me just say this: my SAT scores were better than my wife’s but she was an honor student while I was a mediocre student.  There’s one person in this house who knows how to apply algebra to every day situations and it’s not me.  She learned, I performed.

While I’m all for measuring students’ progress and holding our educators accountable for their work I think that standardized testing is a hammer being used for a screwdriver’s job.  We’re talking about teaching children, not programming computers.  These are little people trying to learn how to make their way in the world.  Is it fair to judge a teacher who has 30 kids, 20 of whom are from broken homes or have parents working three jobs to make ends meet, with the same yardstick you’re using to measure a teacher who has 30 kids, most of whom come from stable homes with parents that have the time to read to them at bed time and take them to the library?  Is it fair to quantify a year’s learning simply by using test results? Wouldn’t it be better to somehow measure a child’s learning relative to their unique situation and the teacher’s performance relative to their circumstance?  Wouldn’t it be better to somehow reform our education system so that we emphasize continual growth and learning and the practical application of that knowledge in building a better life?  Maybe then we’ll make education relevant enough that 1/3 of our kids don’t drop out of school.

But, I’m a realist so I think I’ll start building a hen house out back.  Anyone know how to figure the area I’ll need?  Everything I "learned" about geometry I forgot as soon as I put down the #2 pencil.