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Don't Believe Everything You Read in the News |
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Bring a critical sense to what you read about education in the newspapers. When reading about test results, for instance, ask yourself the following:
"Scary" statistics. The results of standardized testing and international comparisons always seem to attract attention--especially when they're shocking! Reporters are often looking for attention-grabbing angles, and that's how this news is typically framed. It's not uncommon for news reports to use simplistic or highly generalized data to draw unwarranted conclusions. In one example, an international examination tested students for their knowledge of algebra a year before U.S. students typically study algebra in school. It's not surprising that those U.S. students didn't test well in algebra! Another recent report about statewide standardized-test results spoke alarmingly about students' lack of knowledge as reflected by below-average test scores. Nowhere did it mention that students had 20 minutes to answer 60 questions. Rapid recall and knowledge are not the same, especially for students who are not practiced in test-taking strategy. The value of standardized test results. When a test is well designed, focused on highly valued knowledge and skills, and administered in a way that minimizes bias, the results can provide very important information. But even then, the cause of a "bad" test result--or even the value of a test result in predicting a student's future success--is not at all clear. (It's well accepted, for instance, that a high score on the SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test] is not the best predictor of future success in college.) Test results should be one of many things used to assess a student's knowledge and abilities. The purpose of test results should not be to brand a student or a school as "good" or "bad," but rather to learn where instruction needs adjusting. Consider the Source. In addition to the sometimes sensationalized and simplistic approach of the media, various interest groups may have reasons to put their own "spin" on interpreting test results. Interpretations of some reports may be slanted in defense of stakeholders in the system, such as administrators, teachers' unions, or the established bureaucracies of state education departments or large districts. Groups that don't like currently accepted approaches to education are definitely motivated to conclude that things are not good enough at present, and may emphasize the finding of one test over another. Those who think current approaches make sense but that education is vastly underfunded might also tend to conclude that things aren't good enough, in the hope that more money will be allocated. Even those who feel pleased with the progress made, but hold high standards and want to head off a natural tendency toward complacency, may want to send out a somewhat critical message. In a way then, all of these negative conclusions could play a positive role, in that they'd support changes in the educational systembut the real question is whether or not the changes they suggest are needed are realistic and based on needs and factors other than test scores. There are many credible and careful research studies that indicate problems with the U.S. educational system, and there are serious educational challenges, but it's important to find out whether or not a group has a particular agenda or goal. It's useful to seek out media reports that provide this level of analysis. An example of how truth gets distorted. There's been a widely publicized decline in average SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores among United States college-bound high school students since 1975. While this is technically correct, it distorts the more complex truth of the situation. It turns out that more people in the United States are aspiring to go to college than ever before--so more people are taking the SAT test. Of this increasing number of test takers, a greater percentage rank in the bottom half of their high school classes. A study carried out by Sandia National Laboratories1 compared 1975 SAT scores to recent ones, looking just at those students from the same class rank and gender. It found that when these factors were controlled, the average SAT score for this "traditional test-taking population" actually increased by 30 points. In summary, then: Don't panic over media reports! As a parent, it's especially difficult not to react with alarm to reports that our students and ours schools are failing. Be sure to bring a critical sense to what you read and then draw your own conclusions. If you have questions about a test your child took, ask to speak with your principal. How you can make a difference. It can be frustrating to feel helpless to improve the system as you read in the paper about things that relate to our children's education. A tremendous amount of research has been done about whether and how parents can make a difference for students.2 This research strongly concludes that children do better in school when their parents do these things at home:
1 Carson, Huelskamp, and Woodall, The Sandia Report: "Perspectives on Education in America," in The Journal of Educational Research, May/June 1993; Volume 86; Number 5. 2 Henderson and Berla, A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement, 1994 |
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