[NIFL-FOBASICS:872] RE: Managing Statistics/Teaching to the test

From: Jane Meyer (meyer_j@ccsdistrict.org)
Date: Wed Dec 10 2003 - 11:40:31 EST


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From: Jane Meyer <meyer_j@ccsdistrict.org>
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Subject: [NIFL-FOBASICS:872] RE: Managing Statistics/Teaching to the test
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Oh my!  What are we accomplishing here?  We are raising student TABE 
scores up in 30 to 60 days so they can do what?  Yes, they will show as 
successes on our books, but will they really be able to function at 
these higher levels in the real world where we haven't pre taught the 
exact vocabulary and the math problems follow a different format than 
the ones we drilled 20 times with slightly different numbers?  I think 
we should stand up to funders and work together to identify what can 
reasonably be accomplished in 30 to 60 days and design programs that 
assist students in making meaningful progress that will make a 
difference in their lives.  Our funding puts requirements on us, but we 
should not, at any cost, give up on student goals or represent student 
gains as anything other than what they are.  In this case, the gain 
would be that we taught the student to be able to score higher on the 
TABE test.  Call me naive, but I'm not selling out!
Jane Meyer
ABLE Coordinator
Canton, Ohio  

Nixon S. Griffis wrote:

>Welcome to the wonderful world of education Mr. Boone. Teaching to the test
>is more and more part of the curriculum by necessity for many teachers.
>
>Suggestion 1.	Duplicate each question couching that question in different
>forms. 
>
>Suggestion 2.  Go through the TABE test and pick out keywords and words that
>are at a level that indicates to you that your students need to see their
>definitions. Teach those words to your students. 
>  
>
>Reading's largest factor, after being able to call words, is made up of our
>ability to give our minds the proper definition of words that are being used
>in the text. This is meekly known as vocabulary, these days. 
>  
>



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