Opinion
Assessment Letter to the Editor

NAEP Scores Are Dropping? Maybe Our Mindless Testing Is at Fault

December 01, 2015 1 min read
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To the Editor:

Regarding the Curriculum Matters blog post “Math NAEP Scores Drop for 4th and 8th Grades”:

Of course math and reading scores are dropping. What do we expect? Kids are finally realizing that these tests mean nothing. So why should they bother? Teachers, too, are sick and tired of all this dependency on exams to tell them if kids are doing well or not. Any good teacher, even a mediocre teacher, knows whether kids are doing well or not.

Leave the kids alone. Dump the tests. Stop making exam-producing companies rich at the children’s and teachers’ expense.

Elaine Gallagher

International Educational Consultant

Laredo, Texas

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A version of this article appeared in the December 02, 2015 edition of Education Week as NAEP Scores Are Dropping? Maybe Our Mindless Testing Is at Fault

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