On The Eve Of The NECAPS

Ever since third grade, I remember the standardized tests: the number two pencils, the endless rows of bubbles, the teacher hand-wringing, the words of advice. It wasn't until later that I understood why we were doing them - how do you explain to a third grader the need to standardize education?

You've probably heard the rhetoric: the need to improve American schools, to make sure everyone gets an equal education, to keep up with foreign countries. I’m all in favor of improved education, but it’s a pity that here in East Greenwich most federal and state plans for it seem to take the form of row upon row of multiple-choice answer keys.

That’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow—reading the passage, filling in the response, reading the next question, all in the sterile silence of the exam room. NECAPs aren’t fun. But more than that, there’s what I’ll not be doing to consider. We’ll be missing a rather significant block of time in which we might be doing creative, relevant projects in our regular classes. It’s even more significant at the middle school, where teachers seem to spend the first half of October — Cole starts its testing later than the high school — teaching the correct and incorrect ways to fill in the NECAP booklet. Rather than streamlining education, the NECAPs are wasting our time.

On a personal level there’s a bright side, of course. There’s no way of studying for the standardized tests; instead we’re told to get a good night’s sleep and eat a hearty breakfast. Myself, at three in the morning I’d prefer sleeping to doing a project, no matter how interesting. The NECAPs are designed to be an assessment for the school, not the students. However, passing them is now a graduation requirement, and I find myself getting stressed out in spite of myself. 

I suppose, in the end, they’re painful but necessary. There needs to be away to make sure schools are effective, and educational standards need to be met nationwide. All the same, more and more standardized testing isn’t the answer to helping America compete. Dreading early October won’t do wonders for anyone’s view of school, and teaching to the test ends up stifling teachers’ ability to make the lessons personal and interesting. Maybe I’ll ponder better ways to ensure kids get a good education while I wait for the bell to ring tomorrow, after I’ve handed in my test booklet.