Kindergarten Education

Before I met my fiance, I completely supported standardized testing, even at early ages. Now, while I still think that in general it is useful to have broad measures to compare students and schools to each other, I have learned that these tests at an early age are misguided.

The argument is well-summed up here in this short article in the Times Sunday Magazine, but basically the point is that at young ages, kindergarten and first grade at least, kids really need lots of free play time. The time spent in dramatic play helps develop not only social skills, but also literacy skills as kids learn how to create compelling fictional stories.

I do think that diagnostic tests are necessary at young ages so we know which kids are falling behind so we can help them catch up before it is too late. What is important to determine then is when is too late. What age should kids be learning to read? I think there is a crazy pressure to get kids reading earlier and earlier without any thought as to whether that is good or necessary.

While I think it is important that NCLB put an emphasis on having standardized tests, the emphasis has gone too far. There is a belief that these tests should have much wider application than merely providing more information. The tests are being used for admission to schools, as a basis for teacher pay changes, and for school funding. They end up taking on a life of their own. The extent to which the tests are used at early ages are a good example of this.

We need to take a step back and rethink the tests and what they are trying to achieve. Do kids need to working on reading and math so early, or should they be engaging in dramatic play? If we want teacher pay to be flexible, maybe we should base it on performance reviews (as many jobs are). Those reviews can take test scores into account, but should not rely solely on them. Let's hope the debate will move forward about where tests are useful, and where they are not.