JONATHAN KOZOL, SALON - I think the tests in their present form are
useless, because although President Bush promoted them by saying, "All
we want to do is help these teachers see where their students need more
help," the results typically don't come back before the end of June.
What is the teacher supposed to do when she finally sees the test scores
in the middle of the summer, send a postcard to little Shaniqua, saying,
you know, "If I knew last winter what I know now, I would have put more
emphasis on the those skills"?
I recommended to the Democrats that they replace these tests with
diagnostic tests [Such as the FCI!], which are given individually by the
teacher to her students. They are anxiety-free and you don't have to
wait six months for McGraw-Hill or Harcourt to mis-score them, as they
often do. The teacher gets results immediately. And it's not time stolen
from education because she actually learns while she's giving this test.