treestarfae Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 What skills are being overlooked now due to teaching to the test? I've seen a comment about essay skills being poor. What else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cara Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Cursive writing or handwriting in general is on the backburner. Science and Social Studies / History are being pushed aside because they don't count on the test. Music, art, pe, these are the main ones I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Cursive writing or handwriting in general is on the backburner. Science and Social Studies / History are being pushed aside because they don't count on the test. Music, art, pe, these are the main ones I see. Florida tests every few years on Science so that seems to get pushed pretty hard the year before and the year of the test. Of course, its the science that's on the test. I've noticed here they push critical thinking skills in math too early and when the kids get to middle school they struggle on basic math facts because it wasn't a priority. The three years she went to ps the only social studies/history she was taught was about Pilgrims and Black History Month. Every single year it was the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Science and social studies do count here, so they aren't completely left out. However, only what is directly on the list of standards and, thus, is likely to be on the test is taught. Basically, only material that can be "recalled" for a multiple choice test is taught. Florida tests every few years on Science so that seems to get pushed pretty hard the year before and the year of the test. Of course, its the science that's on the test. I've noticed here they push critical thinking skills in math too early and when the kids get to middle school they struggle on basic math facts because it wasn't a priority. The three years she went to ps the only social studies/history she was taught was about Pilgrims and Black History Month. Every single year it was the same thing. Unfortunately, I've also seen this happen among some homeschoolers, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Cursive State history Grammar is almost gone History is severly compromised and they just glean over it. They focus too much on social studies or community studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cara Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Science and History don't count in the elementary grades here so they are almost pushed out completely here. My friend teachers 5th grade, she has a grand total of 40 minutes to teach both subjects, 20 minutes of that is eaten up by announcements, packing to go home, and bus rider dismissal. So she basically has 20 minutes for both subjects each day. I agree with that they are pushing critical skills in math too soon and not dealing with the basics. As my friend told me, there is no time. Oh and recess is gone from a lot our schools also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Oh and recess is gone from a lot our schools also. Don't even get me started on this. I seriously want to cry when I think about it. When I last taught sixth grade (2007-2008 school year), the only break my kids had all day was lunch. Then people wondered why they had a hard time behaving and paying attention in class. The last two periods of the day were virtually useless because the kids were so exhausted. I found that if I'd stop during one of my classes and give the kids a 10-15 minute break, I'd get more out of them afterward. Of course, I was just lucky that an administrator didn't come in during that time and see my wild bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Here, in rural MN, I've seen science and art cut for sure. And the state trip that all 6th graders have taken to the state capitol, Ft. Snelling and MN Historical Society for generations has now been reduced to a trip to a MN Twins game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Here, they test on everything. High school students must pass tests in every core subject in order to graduate. They spread the tests out over the 4 years. There are great honors programs and gifted and talented programs; but, those programs emphasize creative writing (often with out instruction). They do not instruct in grammar or correct format. I had a dancer who had to write a play in her honors English class; they had not even read a play or analyzed it! I gave her a book from my masters and instructed her in what she needed to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Some of the things being posted are probably due more to budget issues (art, music, field trips) and a changing philosophy of education (grammar, spelling.) Here they have had to go back to teaching spelling, writing, grammar, math facts... all because it's on the test. That's the best-case scenario, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest momk2000 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I recently read an article in our local paper about Geography being dropped in the public schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Science and History don't count in the elementary grades here so they are almost pushed out completely here. My friend teachers 5th grade, she has a grand total of 40 minutes to teach both subjects, 20 minutes of that is eaten up by announcements, packing to go home, and bus rider dismissal. So she basically has 20 minutes for both subjects each day. I agree with that they are pushing critical skills in math too soon and not dealing with the basics. As my friend told me, there is no time. Oh and recess is gone from a lot our schools also. THIS is exactly the reason why we pulled Molly out in 2nd grade to homeschool her. Our district eliminated them completely from the curriculum. They did 2.5 hours of guided reading in the morning and 2.5 hours of math in the afternoon. THAT IS ALL. THAT is when we yanked her home. Best decision we ever made. astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) And the state trip that all 6th graders have taken to the state capitol, Ft. Snelling and MN Historical Society for generations has now been reduced to a trip to a MN Twins game. Hmmmm... Well they ARE virtually the same thing, right???? :glare: In northern Michigan, history is now social studies until 4th grade. 4th GRADE. Ack! I'm really hoping it doesn't take my kids 4 years to figure out how to be "good citizens." And history jumps all over the place. Who cares about context?? Recess is gone from a lot of our local schools. That pretty playground is for before or after school and a few minutes at lunch. Art is gone. Poof! Music has been gutted. Voila. Science is piecemeal and taught so that test questions can be answered. there are no butterflies in the classrooom. No hermit crabs. No turtles. Hopefully, you'll have a betta fish to gaze at... Sports is still going strong. Don't get me started on that either. Math seems to have developed schizophrenia and every district is using something new and different because if you could find that ONE perfect math curriculum, everyone would get math! And someday, we hope to catch the teachers up on the current curriculum. :001_huh: For the life of me, I just don't get why parents don't revolt. Edited July 12, 2011 by Jennifer3141 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 For the life of me, I just dont' get why parents don't revolt. Well, I think by homeschooling... we are revolting. ;) As far as PS parents go, I think a lot of it is lack of information between the school district, parents, and the teachers who are actually teaching. For example, parents actually have little to no idea of what is actually supposed to be taught (for solid life skills) as opposed to solid "academic" preparation. What do the parents see? The test scores. The project grades. Etc. Sadly, I think that the parents (and certain federal programs... >.> ) harassing the school districts are a main reason why the focus is drawing away from academics. I mean, the parents see the "results" of standardize testing-- often having little to no clue what those numbers mean! All it matters is where does their student fall on the little graph. Oh, and if you look at statistics, you will see that a large percentage of PS and Private School students have parents that are both working outside of the home, whereas Homeschool students primarily live in one-income households. Okay, so I make PS parents sound really uneducated, and I know that is not the case with everyone- so please dont' find offense. I am just saying it is something that falls through the cracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'd say world history, grammar, and art/music get shorted around here. The state testing is covers a lot--but 4th grade is kinda ridiculous with its emphasis on state history. There's a fifth grade writing test, too, which is extensive. It seems that, instead of a steady progression of skills from first to sixth grades, they have several years of intense instruction in some subjects, then get tested on those subject, kinda cramming it all in there. Not sure that's best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Remember that what is true in one district (or state) does not hold true for another district (or state). Not all public schools are horrible, teaching-to-the-test factories. Just like no two homeschools are alike, no two public schools are alike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 MIL is a retired elementary schoolteacher and most of her friends are retired or just-about-to-retire teachers. They all complain about how if they cannot map an activity or topic to something on the state standard for that particular grade level, they aren't allowed to do it no matter how educational it may be. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Where we used to live, they did block scheduling starting in 6th grade. They had each class for 90 minutes, every other day. During testing, the kids would tell me that some teachers went over the test and gave the kids the answers before starting the test, then handed the tests out for the last 45 minutes! What did they learn the rest of the year if they needed the answers for the test?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My friend was a public middle school science teacher. Years ago she would give her students essay tests, etc. expecting them to pull together their ability to write, make an argument, etc. into her class. When the NCLB situation took off, she was told she had to give multiple choice tests and could no longer give essay tests. That made a huge impression on me. Life is not multiple choice ;) FWIW, she later decided to stop teaching and HS her kids (after originally laughing at me for wanting to pursue HSing with my child who was a toddler at that point). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 K-8 in our local district is eliminating history and science teaching in favor of "worksheets" provided by the publishers of the MEAP tests in order to ensure higher scores. It's all vocabulary driven so a child may be able to see a scientific word and correctly fill in the bubble next to the definition for that word, or vice versa, but they will never be taught how that word is applied in real life. It is 100% vocabulary test only driven with no lab experiences. The teachers have been asked to eliminate the class pets (rabbits, guinea pigs, aquariums, turtles, etc.) because they are a distraction. At the high school level, the new decree is that labs can only constitute three class periods per semester. Every Friday must be vocabulary tests for preparing for MEAPS. AP classes are being eliminated due to funding cuts. Band, which 20 years ago began in 4th grade now begins in 7th grade. So, our high school band stinks. Choir does not begin until high school and there is only music in the elementary school right before Christmas to prepare a few carols for the Christmas program. There is no art teacher. P.E. is one day per week for elementary students. Afternoon recess has been eliminated as has morning and lunch is only 20 minutes. Some of the bus routes have been cut, so little children may get on the bus as early as 6 a.m. and having probably eaten at 5:30 a.m. , will not get food until 11:30-12:00. You can guess what low blood sugar and dehydration does to learning. My mil, a retired nurse, volunteered one day for the school when the school nurse had to be gone, nearly 35% of the children grades 1-3 were on ritalin or concerta. GEEEEEEEE, I WONDER WHY! Makes me enraged so I try not to think about. Of course, when the local elementary school principal sees me in the hardware (we've crossed paths there a couple of times) and asks, "When are you going to put your kids in my school?" I quote some of the stuff above and remind him that if an employer did it to his/her employee they'd be in hot water with the state labor board, but he routinely does it to children and gets away with it. He doesn't like to talk to me anymore. :D Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure what is budget cuts vs. testing vs. trends in education for a lot of things cut in our school system. For example, except for one teacher/classroom who adds it on her own there is no phonics instruction here. I don't know if that's because they are pushing kids to read (and write) at K and so "popcorn words" are easier and faster initially or because they have simply decided phonics is unnecessary. Many who can read can't spell. Something dropped here that's not yet mentioned are touch keyboarding skills. The kids in our school system get 6 weeks of "computers" in two middle school grades. That's a hodgepodge of instruction in computers and a little in keyboarding. It wouldn't be enough time to master the skill or anything close to it even if it were pure keyboarding. So virtually no one knows how to touch keyboard. Elementary has "too much to do" to include it in their curriculum as does high school. I was told there wasn't more time available in middle school because of testing. In our computer dependent society most of the kids in my community hunt and peck. Beyond that high school no longer provides the (majority of) kids who will either not attend or not graduate from post-secondary education with any marketable job skills. When I was in high school you could be trained in secretarial, building trades, drafting, etc. No longer. Everyone has to reach upper level math for testing. So kids that really need to be mastering basic math are expected, instead, to be on track for the upper level math that is really beyond them. They don't master the basic math and they are pushed onward toward Algebra. No time for remediation or basic math courses. Even if they were offered the math wouldn't count toward graduation. Many schools, ours included, are moving to every student having a laptop instead of textbooks. There will be no texts but teachers will be using resources online to create their lessons. That could be neat if the teacher uses it as a resource to create engaging in person lessons with lots of living books. I hope it is but instead I see a lot of push toward setting up courses in those online systems where a child works through the information at their pace, does the testing as it comes up, etc. So beyond the projected cost benefit to no more textbook adoption the thinking is partly individualized education. If that's true I think it would explain the desire for those work through at your own pace online courses. So I fear the way this will play out in a typical classroom with 30 kids and set objectives is not typically going to be quality. I hope I'm wrong because this is the future of education. Edited July 12, 2011 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 DH said he just heard that the SAT is dropping the essay portion. Anyone heard this? Just want to add that, before we start saying that this is evidence of the decline of educational standards and civilization as we know it (not that you were going there ;)), the essay portion was only added in 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Our local elementary schools no longer have a music program. :thumbdown: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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