Are schools pushing our kids too hard, testing too much?

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25 Votes

I absolutely think there is too much focus on "testing high" and not enough on actually teaching the kids. My son's kindergarten teacher lamented to me she missed being able to teach her kids. Now everything is focused around what is "on the tests"

Heather A added this item on October 31, 2010

Heather A commented on October 31, 2010 - The problem is teachers being pushed to teach so kids score high, not so they are actually receiving a good education. If it's not on the test - it doesn't matter. Our kids are suffering for our own desires to track progress.

Sarah D voted on November 3, 2010

Kitty B voted on November 17, 2010

Tiffaney M voted on November 17, 2010

Sheryl Z commented on November 23, 2010 - Have you heard about this film? http://www.racetonowhere.com/ It's about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers. They are screening it all over the nation. Perhaps the tide is turning. :)

Samantha K voted on November 23, 2010

AlysiaM voted on November 26, 2010

Irini N voted on December 5, 2010

Kendra voted on December 6, 2010

Laynie H voted on December 9, 2010

Adrienne W voted on March 30, 2011

Megan C voted on March 31, 2011

Ami S voted on April 1, 2011

Angela G TX voted on April 1, 2011

Angela G TX commented on April 2, 2011 - I teach high school, and agree completely that way too much focus is on testing, but I don't think they are being pushed too hard. Students need to be challenged, and we need to give them tools to meet those challenges. Testing is taking up all our time.

Mommyof4 voted on April 29, 2011

Erika L voted on July 13, 2011

MU Tiger Mom voted on July 18, 2011

Jessica H voted on September 19, 2011

CBSG247 voted on September 20, 2011

Kindred Spirit S commented on September 25, 2011 - Opt out of the standardized testing in K.

Kindred Spirit S voted on September 25, 2011

greenearthbazaar voted on February 25, 2012

greenearthbazaar commented on February 25, 2012 - You're absolutely right. Far too much time is being spent on teaching children to take tests at the expense of giving them a well-rounded, useful education. It's a waste of time and ONLY about funding.

hoodmama4 commented on March 8, 2012 - yes sometimes i think school is depressing my teenager, its just so complicated now and days.

Nadine B voted on April 14, 2012

Randi L commented on April 16, 2012 - Not only are these exams ridiculously expensive but they are doing more harm then good to our children's educational experience! The drop out rate has increased significantly, PE Art and Music have been cut and most of Congress could not pass these exams!

Courtney W voted on May 30, 2012

Calebsmum voted on June 9, 2012

Richard M commented on September 10, 2012 - Our friends on the right like "business" approach, "measurable" results. Liberals tell us how wonderful Native Americans were and that Columbus was no good, cancel his celebration. Feminized K-12 system loves "creative" writing, no hard science, etc.

J S voted on January 27, 2013

Julie F voted on March 8, 2013

Beth voted on May 7, 2013

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Are schools pushing our kids too hard, testing too much?

Top 5

I absolutely think there is too much focus on "testing high" and not enough on actually teaching the kids. My son's kindergarten teacher lamented to me she missed being able to teach her kids. Now everything is focused around what is "on the tests"

I am a parent and a teacher who has been ardently advocating for less tests. Just because it's mandated by the 'board' does not mean it's been handed down from God. Parents need to do more to educate themselves on how these tests are hurting kids.

Absolutely not. It's not just the teacher's responsibility to teach your children. Parents need to step up and educate their children as well especially on behavior and character.

Not at all. The United States ranks the lowest in Education amongst leading countries. If we want to stay powerful, we need to keep up with education and teaching of new technologies. However, arts, gym and music need to stay as well.

My school is definitely focusing too much on the tests and not enough on enjoying learning. My 1st grader has 3 hours of worksheets each night. How does that encourage him to be a life-learner?

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It is not your schools. It is not your teachers. It's not even your school boards. It's the Government. Plain and simple. Fight for your kids and contact your local senators to get our schools back where they should be.

I wish that less concentration could be focused on testing and more time focused on how to reduce the number of children in a classroom. Teachers in many public schools are reporting at least 30 to 40 plus kids in their class. This hurts everyone.

Those are two separate questions. We are not pushing our kids too hard, but we ARE testing too much.

The kids hate it, the parents hate it and the teachers hate it. But the states demand the scores, so testing is done at the expense of everyone. No one benefits. The schools are wrapped in red tape and no one lets the teachers have scissors.

I think that the schools are focused too much on the test scores and not enough on actual comprehension of the material. If the teaching style was more interactive/engaging then the children would understand more and scores would naturally increase.

You also have to realize that testing is often mandated by the state or school board. The individual school and/or teacher don't have a choice as to whether or not to test students and are often told how much homework to give.

imao math in grade school is taught 100% wrong. It destroy intelectual curiosity and emphasizes the mechanical aspects over the philosophical aspects

I just wrote a three page letter to opt out of three two-hour sessions of standardized testing for my K daughter. I think getting parents to opt out of the tests is the key to ending this destructive cycle of useless testing. Let's organize, moms!

I don't believe that testing constantly is the way to go to get our kids to the top. When we had less testing we did much better worldwide in education. And how can someone fail a child for 1 test rather than go by the whole years worth of work. not fair!

YES! Over the past 10 years, our educational system has created a generation of button-pushers who lack critical thinking skills. Read more: "No Child Left Behind...What?" http://rivieraplayschool.com/parenting-from-balance/no-child-left-behind-what

Agree that there is too much focus on testing. It has not been proven to add much value and just ends up stressing the teachers out. The results of better teaching should be long term (ie. the USA coming higher up the global results tables).

In our schools they are no longer teaching cursive handwriting because they need the time for test taking skills! I am sick of hearing about this test and that test, and even more upset that my child will test well but won't be able to sign her name!

YES. A lifelong love of learning does not come from worksheets and tests. So many wonderful teaching/learning opportunities are lost due to the intense focus on testing. The tests only assess a small variety of intelligences, not a view of the whole child

Teachers also lack the lattitude to teach effectively. Their days are completely regulated, down to the minute, of how many minutes they must spend on LA, reading, math, etc, that they have no flexibility to do what's best for your child.

Research has found that countries who administer frequent, high-stakes tests have lower levels of achievement. A large portion of time is spent planning and prepping for tests that could be utilized for planning for and engaging in meaningful learning.

I think that they need to get rid of the "No Child Left Behind" policy and start teaching our kids again. It is very frustrating that the whole class has to move at the pace of the slowest learner. They are too worried about everyone feeling equal.

I support the level of testing conducted in schools today. Without testing, we are unable to determine if the children are actually learning. Testing is a natural process of the teaching process. Take away tests, take away accountability.

Schools over test. My kids get re-evaluated 3 times/yr to determine what groups they should be in (takes 1 week plus teacher review time). They have a month of state testing. Add in regular cirriculum testing and they have no time left to learn.

Schools are pushing kids too hard on test scores, and not nearly hard enough on actual learning. They are lacking the necessary tools for meaningful learning, application of knowledge, and effective problem solving... Those things don't attract funding.

Testing isn't a bad thing, it's just a way to evaluate. Tests can be paper pencil, or teacher observation. Schools are not business with mini-adults, we are full of children ages 3-18, so the "adult" way of thinking -more hours, more evals- doesn't work

If possible, try to catch a showing of the documentary "Race to Nowhere". It is extremely eye opening about our testing system and what it is doing to our children.

Yes and no. Education used to be about learning. Now it's about teaching to the test. My sister taught for 35 years & loved it for most of it. No Child Left Behind doesn't work. When learning is about SCORES and not learning for life, it doesn't stick.

Schools are pushing too hard on testing, but not enough on learning. Teachers are so limited in what and how they can teach that the students, that student learning is suffering.

Uh, yeah!!! My daughter is in the eighth grade and she has tests that are ordered by the state every month in algebra, English, and social studies!!! God, the kid is usually up until one making sure that she knows these things!

The district that my children are in is currently considering switching to a grading system where the final report card grade is only determined by the grade achieved on a test. How does this give children the desire to actually learn? It doesn't.

I think there is way too much emphasis on teaching to the test and homework. There is absolutely no evidence that homework improves comprehension of material or mastery (however you decide to measure it) for elementary and middle school kids.

The US ranks low on the education system because our system is broken. Standardized tests simply force teachers to teach for the test and nothing else. I've taken a large part of my children's education into my own hands. The current system is failing us!

I have a daughter in K and my child is struggling cause her teacher doesn't stick with one concept long enough for the kids to really grasp what is going on and when I talked to the teacher she just says she doesn't have time to help those that are behind

Yes. This is why I will HS.

I completely agree, as a teacher, parent, and Aunt I am watching my niece enter second grade. She did 2 years of Pre-school, a year and a half of Kindergarten and at the end of Kindergarten her High performing school told her she needed to work harder.

There's way too much emphasis on testing and numbers/results in schools today. There are so many other, more authentic ways of assessing children's academic progress. Let the teachers do what they do best- teach (instead of 'teaching to the tests').

The proem is that we aren't focused on the basics. Our kids don't know their multiplication tables. They can't add and subtract without a calculator. Fractions make them want to run screaming from the room! Some can't read. Back to the basics!

Don't let me start on this one. Seriously: all those reforms, commissions, initiatives ... and our kids are still 28th among 34 OECD countries (see their PISA ranking). Our K-12 is inferior, regardless at what school district or neighbourhood our school r

the united states test low because we have a lot of immigration and their test scores are included. A lot of the kids that have immigrated have not had a chance to be in school and are very behind on top of not speaking english. the US should fix this

Yes! They are tested in the 3rd, 8th,12th grades in order to move on to the next grade. You cant miss not one point. Some kids just arent good test takers but may be an excellent student. Or may have been having a bad day on test day. This is not right

I think there is too much push to educate for the testing, but not enough true educating/learning. It isn't the teachers fault because they are forced to do this.The kids do need to be pushed but the right way. There is nothing wrong with being challenged

There is far too much focus on testing, and far too much responsibilty laid on the childrens shoulders because of it. The kids feel that thye have to do well, not for their own good, but so the school will have more funding.

No way. My daughter is in Kindergarten and can read and add and subtract and not becuase of school. School is bacically just a baby sitter for her. They give her first grade work to keep her busy and she finishes that in a few minutes and then is board.

I honestly depends on the child. I think the school system has to be adjusted to the individual not the group and that way the children will learn at their own rate. But with circulum and such large groups I am unsure if it is possible.

just like they are doing now to be heard around the world to help find kony and put him behind bars, we need to be heard. Using facebook and the world of internet we can atleast start somewhere!! Put the word out to the world!!

Just curious...what's a better way to determine how our children are progressing in school if we don't have data to analyze? Standardized tests should not be the only way to analyze student achievement, but they do let us see where more work is needed.

There is too much testing in KS schools today. I love this analogy, if you weigh cattle every day that does not help them gain weight. If you test children often that does not add to their knowledge. As a teacher it tells me what they don't know, that

Yes they are to hard on our kids.

No. If you compare the spelling words that were taught in the 70's in a certain grade, compared to the spelling words that are taught now in the same grade, you'll will see a comparison. Need less group teaching-kids lack ability to think on their own.

The pushing hard, now focuses on passing a test. When I was going to school it was learning so we can achieve or know the stuff as we get older. The kids should be told that what they are learning is for future and the test is to make sure they got it.

My idea: hold reading and math at the SAME TIME during the elemen school day. Bell rings, kids go to their respective "level" classrooms to learn. After math/reading, they go back to grade level classes for everything else, still taking yr-end grade exams

Hudson. although Benjamin`s article is impressive, on monday I bought a brand new Aston Martin DB5 from bringing in $4964 this - 4 weeks past and-more than, 10/k this past-month. this is really the most rewarding I've ever done. I began this 4 months ago

I work with law students and frankly they lack ability to do simple math, analytical thinking, problem solving and expect others to do things for them. It blows my mind. They think better in groups, but don't know how to make decisions on their own.

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Hudson. although Benjamin`s article is impressive, on monday I bought a brand new Aston Martin DB5 from bringing in $4964 this - 4 weeks past and-more than, 10/k this past-month. this is really the most rewarding I've ever done. I began this 4 months ago

I have a daughter in K and my child is struggling cause her teacher doesn't stick with one concept long enough for the kids to really grasp what is going on and when I talked to the teacher she just says she doesn't have time to help those that are behind

Yes they are to hard on our kids.

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