Parental Viewing Of State Testing Materials: Fill & Download for Free

When my son was in the fifth grade, I got called in for a conference. He was really upset, as it was one of his favorite teachers, who did science and math for his class (an interesting setup where a single portable was shared by two teachers, one of whom did science/math, the other doing language arts/social studies/etc, and mid-day the classes would switch rooms.)Anyway, he’s gotten into an argument, and was slated to get a failing grade on a test.The question in contention that started it all:“How many states of matter are there?”His answer: “at least four”, and went on from there to ponder states beyond plasma.Teacher marked him wrong, he got testy about it, things spiraled out of control.I wound up having a nice discussion with the teacher. Eventually got her to understand that while her textbook view of “three states of matter” was observably correct and probably appropriate for a fifth-grade class, it was incomplete.Crisis averted.And when I returned home, I got to explain to my son that tests in school only partially measured the success of the student in mastering the material, but that rather they almost entirely measured the success of the teacher in getting the students to score well on the tests, and that let the teachers keep their jobs for the next year. A subsequent conversation was had on the difference between being correct, and having the answer that was being looked for on the test.That’s the meat of it: public education has devolved into standardized tests which primarily measure the effectiveness of teachers in getting students to score well on the standardized tests.Until that changes, “the facts” are in fact irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how well your kid does on the tests, and if you want them to get a real education you either have to get really, really lucky, or supplement outside school.

In Indiana, the state-required curriculum “Scope and Sequence” is available for viewing online. The homeschool teacher can then compare available textbook packages to the state standards.Homeschool curriculum is very comprehensive and comparable in quality to curriculum that is available for public schools. Curriculum packages include textbooks, teacher’s guides, CD’s and/or DVD’s, workbooks, and associated testing materials. Some curriculum includes Skype-time with a live instructor.The Teacher’s Guide would include a syllabus. Some curriculum is very detailed and scripts exactly what you would say as you are teaching.

In short, it’s a power play. People are afraid that it will take money from public schools, or that it will somehow hurt poorer kids. These are scare-tactics used by politicians or people who really don’t understand what a voucher system really is. However, the voucher program (if actually used properly—and that’s the key word) is a system that holds educational systems accountable. It’s even used in places like Japan, where you may not get into the fanciest school, but because of the healthy competitive nature of schools there in general, even the poorer schools are better than many American schools. The International PISA exams showed that America’s top ranking students are actually still considered below average in many countries, to include China, Japan, Singapore, Estonia, Finland, and Ireland. However, in America, we keep pouring money into these bad schools that are passing students who can’t read so that their graduation percentage looks good on paper (since in America, schools are punished if a child fails a class—which makes school districts more tempted to let kids who are failing pass anyway without having the material they need. When students on state tests perform poorly overall, the state test curbs their average and lowers their grading expectations for future years. For example, teachers were discussing for a recent state test not to worry about grammar or the structure of their writing for the 10th grade English exam. That’s 16 and 17 year olds who can’t write properly on a state test. The writing ability and complex thought process of an American 16 or 17 year old in the 1940s would utterly shock you). Yet today in modern schools, I had a 9th grader that transferred over from an inner-city school with a 3rd grade reading level. A 3rd. Grade. Reading level. In fact, about half of my high school students seem to have a 5th-7th grade reading level.By creating a voucher system, it holds those types of schools accountable. Competitiveness becomes about the actual quality of the education—and those currently in control don’t want that because it’s a political power dispute.America also has this misconception that pouring money into it = good education. Having money obviously helps certainly in the acquisition of things like textbooks, facilities, etc—however note that the countries that are on the top of the PISA list don’t always have all the resources we have. It’s their mindset—how they view education that makes the real difference. You can pour all the money you want into a bad school, yet the environment and the mentality of the parents and students that live and go there are the largest factor hindering education. There is no motivation. They pass even if they are failing, and they get into college whether or not they have the grades, and they graduate college whether or not they’ve learned anything. So they don’t really care about education, it means nothing. Voucher systems help students who WANT to learn have a better chance of leaving that poor environment, giving them a chance for a brighter future.