Online Assignment

2.             The cost of living in New Jersey is incredibly high; from rent, to taxes, food, health care, transportation expenses, childcare, and etc. The families in Unequal Childhoods, especially the working-class/poor families would all experience a tremendously lower standard of living if they moved to/lived in New Jersey. It would be especially hard on the Taylor, McAllister, and Brindle families because all of the households are run by a single female parent and have very limited funds coming in. Tyrec Taylor’s mother works as a secretary and only earns $20,000 a year, which according to the Self Sufficiency Standard for Essex County, would barely accommodate one adult ($20,732), nevermind a family consisting of one adult, a ten year old, a thirteen year old, and an eighteen year old. The “providers” of the two other families, the McAllister’s and the Brindles, are both unemployed and receive food stamps and cash stipends, along with public assistance. The rent alone for the Brindle family is hard to sustain at $650 and compared to the rent costs in New Jersey, which are the highest in the nation, they would not be able to afford livable housing conditions for that amount of money. Their living conditions now are subjected to leaky ceilings, roaches, and broken washers and dryers. The McAllister family doesn’t have enough food to go around especially with all of the extra people that live there; the eleven members of extended family that sleep and eat in the McAllister home on a weekly basis. The children have to ask permission before eating food. When there is food, there is often not enough for second helpings. The cost of food in Essex County for one adult, an infant, a preschooler, and a schoolage child is $639. Ms. McAllister certainly would not be able to feed eleven family members in Essex County New Jersey on food stamps at this cost. The Driver family, although run by Ms. Driver and her boyfriend earn only between $15,000-$25,000 a year. In order to live in Essex County, they would need to bring in near $50,716 to live according to the efficiency standards.

 

3.             According to the Legal Services of New Jersey, both the McAllister and Brindle families would be categorized with the poverty level of New Jersey. Both are single parents and the LSNJ states that the poverty rates are higher for single parent mothers.

Although both families receive financial assistance, the quality of life, the struggle to make ends met would be far greater in New Jersey. Ms. Brindle doesn’t work because of the expense incurred on providing childcare for Melmel. Essentially, if she did work, nearly all of the funds earned would go to the cost of childcare, which is extremely expensive. In Cresskill, New Jersey, for a 9am to 3pm program, early childcare costs around $1100 per month. Ms. McAllister, with schoolaged children and being a minority, has a larger disadvantage due to her race as the LSNJ states that poverty is much higher for minorities. In the McAllister home the financial burden of providing for the extended family as well would make food even scarcer and much harder to provide for the necessities such as food and clean clothing in New Jersey.

 

4.             I feel that learning about the different the families, how they function, survive, their influences, and struggles has been an eye opener for me. Before reading Unequal Childhoods, I had never made a genuine connection to life outside of school and school. What each family (student) faces outside of school truly influences everything they do in school. I think as an educator, I should know about the community and the families who live there to better understand my students. Although this information has been very interesting and at times disturbing, I don’t feel that my overall teaching objectives will change. However, I will be more aware of my community and how my students live, which will provide me with an open-mind to adjust my teaching style to my students’ needs. It is hard to come from a different way of life, or mind set, without bringing the stereotypes that are ingrained in us, to a place that has true hardship and poverty to say that you understand what a student or the students may be living through. I think my hardest challenge is going to be able to relate to my students on that level, but I know I will try my best…that is all I can do. 

Chart to be continued...

	Tallinger	Taylor	Brindle	Williams
Race/ Ethnicity	White	Black	White	Black
Language	English	English	English	English
Religion	Catholic or Protestant	Catholic or Protestant	Catholic or Protestant	Catholic or Protestant
Economics/ Employ.	Each is a consultant – Mr. T works in fundraising & Mrs. T in personnel Combined annual income $175,000 – flexible hours but work evenings & weekends; also includes often traveling. Money never mentioned in front of the kids. Experiencing financial problems – firm not paying out on time leads to $7000 penalties in mortgage	- Mr. T currently unemployed – formally worked for social services including counseling for drug related issues. - he doesn’t pay child support Ms. T works as a secretary - has a car that works  occasionally - annual income $20,000 - money is an issue and spoken about in this household often	- Currently Unemployed and hopes to return to work once Melmel starts school (18 months old) - collects food stamps and cash stipends - Mr. B pays the Dept. of Human Services child support to offset the public assistance payment to the family - money is often spoken about in front of the children	- Mrs. W is a high-level manager in a major corporation: overnight trip at least once a month - Mr. W is a trial lawyer in a small firm handling medical malpractice cases -  preparing the cases keeps him busy from 5am to midnight for two weeks each month; otherwise he works until 6pm - combined annual income is over $200,000 - they rarely discuss money with Alexander
Housing	42 yr. Old two story house on a cul-de-sac/ Big green lawns – swimming pool	Rented 4 bedroom, three story house	- Small rundown 3 bedroom apt - not well maintained: leaky ceiling and many roaches - often the washers and dryers don’t work	- A 6 bedroom, large, old stone house with an expansive porch  and a sweeping  lawn - it is immaculately kept and expensively furnished
Geography	Quiet suburb near major northeastern city	Pretty quiet neighborhood with crime everywhere – father lives in an apt. in the city “the ghetto”	White working-class neighborhood that is dominated by small houses	Quiet street in a middle-class white neighborhood in a major northeastern city
Food	Often eat out at fast food restaurants like Taco Bell after practices –meals together determined by the boy’s activ.	Weekly go out for fast food and once a month go to a restaurant such as Sizzler	Nearest grocery store is a 20 min bus ride away - relies on food stamps: food is in short supply	- Spend most of their time in the kitchen - eats pretty well: fruits and vegetables - food is not an issue
Norms/ Values	Concerted Cultivation plays a huge role in development – Garrett’s scheduled  activities define  the families pace of life – extended family members not a large part of this family’s organization except for holidays.	Natural Development – mother & father separated - append Miss to all female adult names - sister Anisha (13) cares for Tyrec after school while the mother is still working - plays with children of all ages outside of the house and develops skills in mediation, conflict management, personal responsibility, and strategizing	Natural Development – don’t feel that the kids’ leisure time is of any real importance - Katie’s father is inconsistently involved in her life -All of her siblings are of different fathers - very independent: fixes herself soup after school and joined a school choir - is concerned she is fat – she isn’t - was sexually molested in the first grade - cousin is Katie’s best friend - extended family is very much a part of Katie’s life and often stays with her grandmother	Concerted Cultivation plays a huge role in development – Especially language and its use towards entitlement - By the time weekends come the family is exhausted but continue for the benefits to Alexander - Alexander is bored without structured activities – interacts with boys his age only through activities - considered themselves close to extended family (live far away) by talking via telephone and visiting 3 to 4 times a year
Politics	N/A	Mr. T has opinions on many issues, including the state of the world, which he offers freely to anyone who will listen	N/A	- Concerned about the impact of race on Alexander: “it isn’t going to define who he is.”
Relationship w/ Local Geography	N/A	- Where Mr. T lives is the “ghetto” - utilizes the shops in the white neighborhood close by	- Katie takes the bus to Grandma’s by herself (20 min ride)	-the only black family in the white neighborhood in which they live
Formal Education – Level + Type	Both hold bachelor’s degrees from same Ivy League College & were involved in sports	Mr. T dropped out of school when he was young + reading is difficult for him. Ms. T is a high school graduate	Ms. B earned her GED	- Mrs. W has a master’s degree in liberal arts from an elite college - Mr. W earned his J.D. degree from a well-regarded private university
Structures/ Institutions	Baseball, Piano lesson, International Soccer, Forest Soccer, Swim Team, Saxophone, Cub Scouts + tryouts and tournaments.	Summer day camp, Sunday School, + Vacation bible School for the summer + football	After school choir	School activities, church life, soccer games, choir, piano,  + baseball
Class	Middle-Class	Working-Class	Working-Class/Poor	Middle-Class

Group Intro

Introduction

 

“When will I ever use this in my life?” and “Why do I have to learn this?” are two very common questions that school aged children ask everyday.  These questions can easily be answered by telling them that they need to do well on their next test and if they do well in school that they will get into a good college. From a very early age students are encouraged to take their schooling seriously and obtain an education, for one’s future success is almost always inextricably linked to a sound formal education. History has taught us that the ideal situation for an individual involves obtaining a formal education, being successful at exams, graduating with honors and finding a stable job or building a prosperous career. However, some students, especially in urban areas like Newark, New Jersey are not getting the education needed to become competent and successful members of society. The matter of changing school and curriculum (educational reform) to compensate for the rapidly changing world in which these schools and it student’s exist has been an ongoing battle of both failure and success in particularly urban areas. For instance, most of the students in and around the Hawthorne Avenue area in Newark come from lower income, working class families that are just barely making ends meet. Many of the parent(s) in these families have low educational backgrounds and this lower education is correlated to the lower income status that they presently possess.

 

President George Bush, in an effort to raise failing schools (classified by students who are falling behind), in primarily urban areas, proposed No Child Left Behind (NCLB); a series of standardized tests and guidelines for meeting an Annual Yearly Percentage (AYP) for various subject areas or the school in concern receives less funding or ultimately is closed down. There are a number of perceived inherent problems of the NCLB act and its implementation which currently dictates and drives the focus of teaching at both public and private schools across the country. Numerous reports have emerged showing the achievement gaps which exist between different components of society, be it against racial, cultural, religious or social divides. However, the fundamental underlying common denominator remains what is taught in schools. What is the role of the curriculum in future success? The reality remains that the focus of those standardized tests as currently employed may very well serve as a contributing factor to performance gaps which exist.

 

Students are very different and each will take very different paths in their lives. Thus, each student will need very different tools for their lives.  At a young age students learn all sorts of different tools that will be useful.  They learn basic math skills, geography, reading and writing, how to paint and play music.  These are most certainly skills that will be useful in their later schooling.  They are building blocks that are necessary to their future learning.   The problem seems to arise in later grades when the focus is much more on Math and English.  In order to see what the students are learning we must take a look at the curriculum that is being taught.  It does not take long to see that curriculum in our schools are driven by standardized tests.  These standardized tests are what we use to measure the students, teachers, schools and school districts.  The focus of school is now on finding ways to raise test scores rather than the practicality of what the students are learning.  In fact, we believe this idea of standardizing curriculum and learning goes against nature; fundamentally, it defies our societal structure. There needs to be more than one solution to assessing schools and its students and this concept of more than one answer is a vital component educators should be instilling in students today. The current policies in place assume that teachers can be led to perform better if they are made much more accountable for test score gains. Standardized testing seems to be the “solve-all” solution and there is evidence to support its prosperity and its failure. Both prosperity and failure are limited to the view of test scores. Students are not being assessed in the many ways they learn limiting the validity in the assessment of the student’s learned knowledge. In addition, the curriculum and teaching styles of educators is changing due to high-stakes testing. Educators are now teaching to the test, which in turn invalidates their reliability and validity. A major issue that we want to take a look at is how the standardized tests in New Jersey change as students advance through school.  In elementary school students take the NJ Ask, where they are tested in seven different content areas.  Later when students prepare for the HSPA, which they take junior year of high school in order to graduate, they are only tested on two content areas.  Narrowing down our focus to two major areas, Math and English, has a great impact on their curriculum. As a result, students are being assessed on how much test content and information they can memorize in regard to passing the test instead of assessing the depth of understanding and reasoning, along with the critical thinking that goes into making the decisions. 

Introduction

How much of what students are learning in school today applies to everyday life skills for future success?

 

Students, especially in urban areas like Newark, are not getting the education needed to become competent and successful members of society. The matter of changing school and curriculum (educational reform) to compensate for the rapidly changing world in which these schools and it student’s exist has been an ongoing battle of both failure and success in particularly urban areas. Most of the students in and around the area of Hawthorne Avenue in Newark come from lower income, working class families that are just barely making ends meet. Many of the parent(s) in these families have low educational backgrounds and this lower education is correlated to the lower income status that they presently possess. President George Bush, in an effort to raise failing schools classified by students who are falling behind, in primarily urban areas, proposed No Child Left Behind; a series of standardized tests and guidelines for meeting an Annual Yearly Percentage (AYP) or the school in concern receives less funding or ultimately is closed down. President Bush did not account for the diversity in which students and their families come from. Diversity in many contexts such as: locale, socio-economic class, race, ethnicity, gender, family structure, disabilities, etc. and most importantly, that all students learn, retain, and recall information differently. This idea of standardizing curriculum and learning goes against nature; fundamentally, it defies our societal structure. There needs to be more than one solution to assessing schools and its students and this concept of more than one answer is a vital component educators should be instilling in students today.

Standardized testing seems to be the “solve-all” solution and there is evidence to support its prosperity and its failure. Both prosperity and failure are limited to the view of test scores. Students are not being assessed in the many ways they learn limiting the validity in the assessment of the student’s learned knowledge. In addition, the curriculum and teaching styles of educators is changing due to high-stakes testing. Educators are now teaching to the test, which in turn invalidates their reliability and validity. As a result, students are being assessed on how much test content and information they can memorize in regard to passing the test instead of assessing the depth of understanding and reasoning, along with the critical thinking that goes into making the decisions (their answers). School shouldn’t be solely about passing tests, they should concentrate, enhance, and order the knowledge that the students have learned and can use sufficiently in the world to contribute to society and use for the next steps in life. With the curriculum emphasized on teaching towards the test, these critical life skills of reasoning, decision making, critical thinking, life long learning, and etc. either aren’t being taught at all or in very limited doses. Standardized tests aren’t providing the students with the skills needed, not only for school but also, after graduation, in the work place, and in life. Many of the students coming from urban areas do not pursue further education and join the work force directly after graduation. The Secretary’s Commission of Necessary Skills released a set of competencies and foundations that are needed of schools for use in the workforce. These skills are the foundation of a competent and successful member of society. Skills such as literacy, mathematical reasoning, collaboration, critical thinking, lifelong learning, and many more will help a student to success in any facet of life. In a world that is undergoing many rapid changes of globalization, it is important for one to understand how to work with others and make intelligent decisions. It also requires more cognitive demand on students who need to be able to think creatively, out side of the box, and understand the choices they make ultimately create a path. Students are not being taught how to think, they are being taught what to think due to standardized tests that only have one correct answer. Teaching our students that there is always more than one solution and how to learn building upon their strengths will help them more in future ventures than filling in the correct bubble in number 2 pencil; a method proven to be forgotten of regurgitated useless information not connected to real life use and experiences.                                        Unfortunately, educators are not preparing students with these necessary skills due to the pressures of teaching to the test. It is these students in the low income, low performing schools that are ultimately being set up for failure and the continuance of this connection of low education leading to low socio-economic status. The concept of standardized testing is not only found within the United States. The techniques of teaching curriculum and providing assessment in countries such as Belgium and Sweden are much different. Students in these countries out perform the United States on Math and Science high-stakes tests and have higher success rates. The curriculum across seas is much more specialized, leaving out forgettable details and focusing on the truly important issues. Also, assessment is much broader than in the United States. Across seas, standardized testing is not the only means of assessment. Other countries use portfolio and performance based testing, (along with others) that can be used in juncture with standardized testing, but gives students the ability to show what they are capable of, how they reason, make decisions, and grow based on their natural talents and interests. School reform is not a new issue; it has been talked about for years and slowly little steps are being taken. There will never be one answer that fits all; education and the world are rapidly ever changing.

 

Life Skills & Assessment

Question Posed in Depth and My Concentration in This Study

 

 

How much of what students are learning in school today applies to everyday life skills for future success?

 

What our group would like to explore in this study is if the students, especially in urban areas like Newark, are getting the education needed to become competent and successful members of society. The issue of changing school and curriculum (educational reform) to compensate for the rapidly changing world in which these schools and it student’s exist has been an ongoing battle of both failure and success in particularly urban areas. Most of the students in the area we will be looking at, Newark, come from the lower income, working class families that are just barely making ends meet. The parent(s) in these families have low educational backgrounds and this lower education is linked to the lower income status they possess. President George Bush, in an effort to raise the failing schools and students in all areas, rural, urban, and suburban, proposed No Child Left Behind; a series of standardized tests and guidelines for meeting AYP or the school receives less funding or is closed down. What President Bush did not account for is that the students and families in all areas are different; some come to school hungry; some schools simply do not have the funding for necessities such as paper; and most importantly, all students learn differently. He did not leave room for other remedies and solutions to each area’s different social class make-up, ethnicities, poverty and etc. This idea of standardizing, everything goes against nature; there needs to be more than one solution to assessing schools and students.

What is happening due to the standardized testing is educators are teaching to the test, which right off the bat makes them invalid. The students are then being assessed on how much test content and information they can memorize to pass instead of assessing the depth, reasoning, and critical thinking that goes into making decisions of what they really know and understand. What our group strives to find is if these tests are giving the students the skills and tools needed, not only for school but, after graduation and in the work place, and in life. Many of the students coming from urban areas do not pursue further education and join the work force after graduation. The Secretary’s Commission of Necessary Skills released a set of competencies and foundations that are needed in the workforce. These skills are the foundation of a competent and successful member of society. Skills such as reasoning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning, etc. will help a student to success in any facet of life. In a world that is undergoing many changes of globalization it is important for one to understand how to work with others and make intelligent decisions, also part of SCANS. Unfortunately, educators are not preparing students with these necessary skills due to the pressures of “teaching to the test.” It is these students in the low income, low performing schools that are ultimately being set up for failure and the continuance of this concept of low education leading to low socio-economic status. We will also be exploring across seas and comparing techniques; curriculum and assessment of other countries such as Belgium and Sweden, where students out perform the United States on Math and Science tests and have higher success rates.

My part in this study really dives into the issues of “teaching to the test” and how all students learn, retain, and recall information differently. Also, how this rapidly changing world requires more cognitive demand on its students who need to be able to think creatively, out side of the box, and be able to reason intelligently. Students are not being taught how to think, they are being taught what to think because these standardized tests only have one right answer. We need to teach our students that there is always more than one solution and teach them how to learn and think critically building upon their strengths. If you want to see a student involved and interested, relate the content to something they care about and answer the question that students inevitably ask, “Why do I have to learn this stuff?” My other issue has to do with passing test after test – for what? Just to pass? School shouldn’t be solely about passing, it should be about what the students have learned and can use sufficiently in the world to contribute to society and use for the next steps in life. I will pose alternative forms of assessment, such as portfolio based and performance based, that can be used in juncture with standardized testing, but gives students the ability to show what they are capable of, how they reason, make decisions, and grow on their natural talents and interests. School reform is not a new issue; it has been talked about for years and slowly little steps are being taken. 

Research Topic

Topic:

How much of what students are learning in school today applies to everyday life skills for future success?

 

Data Type:

Qualitative

            Interview

                        a. Students- Current, Dropouts, Graduates

                        b. Teachers

                        c. Administration- Superintendent/Principal (+20 years exp.)

                        d. Janitors

            Observation

                        a.  Facility- Inside and Out

                        b. Area/People Around the Facility- Few Block Radius

                        c. Student/Teacher Interaction- During and Outside of Class

                        d. Student/Student Interaction- During and Outside of Class

                        e. Teacher/Teacher Interaction

 

Interview Questions:

            Teachers

                        1. Are you required to

                                    a. Show or submit lesson plans of your curriculum?

b. Prove by documentation the use of the NJCCS within your curriculum plans?

c. If yes, how is the proof documented; on the lesson plans themselves or written on the board during the lesson.

d. If no, why is there lack of connection between the teachers, state curriculum and the school? Do you think that this connection is beneficial to the students and the school?

 

2. Do you feel that through your curriculum you are teaching your students the necessary life skills they need for future success post schooling? ie- Critical thinking skills, collaborative skills, reasoning skills, lifelong learning skills?

 

3. Have the standardized tests changed anything specifically about your curriculum and/or teaching style? If so, what has changed?

 

4. How important are standardized testing to you? Do you think it is beneficial to the students learning?

 

5. Have content area class been cut as a result of standardized testing? If so, what classes? Do you feel that these classes are important to the student’s well-rounded development?

 

6. What skills besides literacy and mathematical competence do you feel your students will need after graduation?

 

Administration-Superintendent 

            7. How has the budget been affected, if at all, by standardized testing?

 

8. Do you find yourself in Trenton trying to collect funding for your schools?

 

9. How important do you feel standardized testing is for the success of your schools and students?

 

10. Have you felt a true change in your schools, perhaps more pressure or stresses on yourself or the faculty due to standardized testing?

 

            11.What steps are you taking to ensure that your schools meet their AYP?

 

            Students

                        12. What is a standardized test?

 

                        13. How important are the tests to you?

 

14. How do the tests make you feel? Do you like them? Do you think that they will help you for your future? If so, in what ways?

 

15. Have you had any other experiences with tests? If so, what type of tests? Do you like those tests better?

 

16. Do you think that standardized testing really tests your true abilities and strengths?

 

17. Do you feel any changes in your classes as you have moved up through the grades about what you are learning?

 

18. Do you think what you are learning is going to be useful in the real world after you graduate?

 

19.  What skills do you think will be important for you after you graduate?

 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

 

21. Do you feel that after receiving your diploma, you will have all that you need for success in the future?

 

22. What are you plans after graduation? Will you pursue further education (where to) or join the work force (in what line of work)?

 

23. How would you change school if you could?

Data Charts

 

            1. Pie Chart representative of the races/ethnicity of the students and faculty of the             school.

 

            2. Pie Chart representative of the social classes and family make up of the school.

 

3. Bar Graphs representative of the performance of standardized testing broken up into the years, content being assessed, and scores.

Annotated Bibliography

Aguirre, E., Brock, W. E., Biggins, J. V., Black, J. P., Brockett P. L., Burdick, W. E.,

Burge, J. D., Carswell, B., Chapman, T. W., Cole, P. F., Conn, G. J., Cortina, G., Doyle, F. P., Foreman, J. H., Foster, B. G., Gregory, W. H., Herrera, Y., Martin, L., Jennings, M. P., Palko, S., Patterson, J., Parnell, D., Resnick, L. B., Rivera, R.E., Semerad, R. D., Sticht, T. G., Watts, G. D., Wetjen, S. M., Whitburn, G., Zimmerman, J. H. (2000). U.S. Department of Labor: What Work Requires Of Schools: A Scans Report for America 2000. The Secretary’s Commission On Achieving Necessary Skills, June 1991, i-36.

 

http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/whatwork.pdf

 All young Americans should leave high school with the know-how they need to make it in the real world; less than one half of our students have the knowledge or foundation required to find and hold a good job. The nation’s schools are failing to develop the full academic abilities of most students and utterly failing the majority of poor, disadvantaged, and minority students. It is proven that low skills lead to low wages and low profits. SCANS, The Secretary’s Commission on Necessary Skills have compiled a set of foundations and competencies needed to perform in the workplace and in further education, in many cases simultaneously.

Cornfield, I. R. (2002). Learning-To-Learn Strategies As A Basis For Effective Lifelong

Learning. International Journal Of Education, 21(4), 357-368.

 Great changes have occurred in our world regarding education, technology, and the economy. With these revolutions, the nature of work, skill, and knowledge have changed in the way of being more cognitively demanding. The importance of incorporating the teaching of cognitive and metacognitive skills in the classroom will give students the lifelong learning skills needed at all levels of schooling and beyond in the world of work. Curriculum needs to be adjusted to include learning-how-to-learn. Once students learn ultimately how they learn, then these skills can be applied to lifelong learning skills for success in the ever-advancing future.

Glaser, R., Silver, E. (1994). Assessment, Testing, and Instruction: Retrospect and

            Prospect. Review of Research in Education, 20, 393-419.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1167389

 Assessment is both part of the problem and part of the solution. There is evidence that suggests both sides of the argument. Assessment other than high stakes tests can be used as a valid measure of the performance and thinking students foster. These other types of tests such as selective testing and performance based testing can be used in addition to the state and national tests. What we must teach our students is that there is more than one right answer to a single problem and standardized tests do not leave room for the critical thinking and reasoning that accompanies this real life application of education and life skills.

 

Packer, A. (2007). Meeting Standards Will Not Guarantee Success. Fairtest, The High              School Assessments Forum: Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 2003, October 21.

 What determines success? – High test scores or skills needed for lifelong learning and the work force? Educators need to think about what the economy is going to look like for the students they are teaching now who will enter the work force in the future. Today, many jobs have already been moved across seas due to globalization and computers are taking over jobs once done by humans. Employers want creative problem solvers, decision makers, collaborative team players, effective communicators, and life long learners, but high stakes assessments are hindering these valued skills. A math test may take away from an art lesson and that art lesson may have given the student who thinks creatively a job with the Ford Company who needs a new design for their Taurus, which is no longer attracting consumers. Also, assuming that all students are alike by giving them the same standards-based tests is unfair because not all students learn and retain information in the same way. What is wanted is more productive workers, more informed citizens, more lifelong learning, and more developed human beings. 

http://www.fairtest.org/meeting-standards-will-not-guarantee-success

Madus, G. F. (1988). The Distortion of Teaching and Testing: High Stakes Testing and

            Instruction. Peabody Journal of Education, 65(3), 29-46.

 Tests are losing their legitimacy on testing students on their learned knowledge due to the “teaching of the test.” This corrupts the information that the students have learned and therefore know because instead of retrieving the information from long-term memory, they are memorizing test material and format. The scores are no longer valid because memorizing stock sentences as prompts for example, is not an indicator of how well or creatively one can write. It has now become an assessment of the student’s ability to recall memorized information.

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/stable/pdfplus/1492818.pdf

 

Wallis, C., Steptoe, S., (2006, December 18). How To Bring Our Schools Out Of The

20^th Century. Time Magazine, 51-56.

 We need to take our schools into the 21^st century and prepare our students for the uncertainty they will face in the world ahead of them. Advances in technology and our global economy will have tremendous effects on what the world will look like for students when they enter the work world or even adulthood. Students need to learn more about the world, think outside of the box, become smarter about new sources of information, develop good people skills and redefine how they learn. The curriculum needs to be adjusted to incorporate a balance between core knowledge and portable skills such as critical thinking, making connections between ideas and knowing how to learn. It is suggested that the curriculum of the United States should become more like those of Singapore, Belgium, and Sweden, where students out perform students on math and science tests. In these countries key concepts are taught in depth and smaller textbooks are used to focus on the powerful and important ideas instead of forgettable details. Also, the curriculum should be more interdisciplinary to help students to think creatively aiding in the production of new breakthroughs in technology and such.

Synder, L. G., Snyder, M. J. (2008). Teaching Critical Thinking Skills and Problem

            Solving Skills. The Delta Epsilon Journal, L(2), 90-99.

 Students who are able to think critically are able to solve problems effectively. Having knowledge is simply not enough in today’s world. To be effective in the work place and in personal lives, students must be able to solve problems and make effective decisions; they must be able to think critically. Thinking critically should be implemented by teaching students how to think, instead of what to think. Unfortunately, standardized curricula and the focus on “teaching the test” undermine the educator’s ability to address critical thinking in the classroom. Also, on standardized tests, students cannot apply critical thinking skills; instead they are only recalling facts. This type of assessment does indicate the student’s knowledge and understanding of the idea, concept, or content area being assessed.