From the Desk of the Executive Director

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

It’s been a tough school year and we all know why. As we approach the end of this year, the old standards are still being demanded of educators despite the new challenges we face.

In September 2020, AEA requested that the Arkansas Department of Education pause standardized testing for a second year as our state continued to battle the deadly COVID-19 virus. Forcing districts to go through with time-consuming standardized testing is a missed opportunity to measure what matters. We should focus on identifying the supports and services students and educators need to succeed in this challenging time. Unfortunately, that request was denied, and later guidance from the Federal government made it clear the tests would not be waived. for change, but testing has become big business. These tests have been used to harm students, educators and public education in general. Inequities in education must be measured and tackled head-on, instead these tests offer the illusion of tracking performance while really measuring privilege. The data has been memorialized and weaponized. We seem caught up in the big data vortex of housing testing results and then developing new ways to use them to harm. We have not ASSESSED the efficacy, the opportunity or the vision of what can be for students.

We knew from the beginning of the school year there would be nothing standard about how standardized tests would be administered. With so many variables from district to district, the test results will do nothing to inform the public about students’ learning experiences this year. It will only fuel apples-tooranges comparisons of privileged schools and districts to under-resourced schools and districts and perpetuate inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. As standardized testing has evolved, it has moved well beyond the tool it was invented for – teachers assessing where students are in their subject matter. Standardized assessments have never been a vehicle It’s time to evolve past the thinking of punishment and pain. Educators are developing authentic assessments that can replace standardized tests and reflect true learning and skills -- including creativity, leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration. Performance tasks and skills-based assessments are already being used in some districts. A better future for education in Arkansas is possible, and the first step is to start thinking beyond the bubble and stop high stakes testing.

Tracey-Ann Nelson AEA Executive Director