"Those with the most power are the least accountable." 😲 Yes!!

This is AWESOME!!! I haaaaated giving the MAP test for so many reasons. Students didn't take it seriously because it was "yet another test"; losing valuable class time; watching smart & talented students do poorly on the test and be categorized as 'underachieving' simply because they wanted to get the test over with... We just did semester exams in class, mandatory benchmarks for the district, and then oh wait, what? Another test? The mid-year MAP test! And then, final exams in class, more benchmarks, state tests, AP exams, and what? Another test? Yep, gotta do the EOY MAP test. Geeeez. In my lesson plan overview in April, I had 3 weeks straight where 3-4 days of each week were blocked out for testing!

You've hit on so many of the nails we make our students step on, repeatedly and throughout K-12. I don't wish to send your great work down the rabbit hole, especially since this video was posted 7 long years ago, at least in terms of technological advances. Still, as an educator my new greatest fear today is AI. Students are now beginning to try and skate through college letting ChatGPT write their essays, and do all of their work. Where does this leave us as humans? Is the whole debate about learning and performance testing going to end with the permanent devolution of humans where we cede everything to computers? I'd really love to know if you have any thoughts on this. Thanks for this outstanding video :-)

I love everything about this. The testocracy must be brought down

At our high school, teachers in a certain dept. give out pamphlets with fill in the blank blurbs. All semester, year after year, this is all students do in these classes, learn little facts that will be on these exams. No one is learning the deeper level of material. Just teaching to a test year after year, the same pamphlets, no text books, NO real meaningful reading, just memorizing little parts.

good job, Jesse!

Go ahead ! we are behind you.

In talking to a math teacher, some poor schools and districts cannot boycott due to loss of funding as a result. Standardized testing is big money for the publishers of these tests. There is pressure from the district down to the teachers to do what they are told and not vent their opinions. It is easier for a family with money and for white upperclass families to change schools is they want to boycott standardized testing. Those in lower socio-economic situations (predominately people of color) are stuck with virtually no choices and the students, teachers, principals are under great stress to teach to these tests and pass them.

Who is the professor that calls authentic assessment "the restorative assessment"?

Let's keep lowing the standards so much that everyone keeps getting dumber.