Singing “Not on the Test”

23rd January 2007

posted in assessment, creativity, digitalstorytelling, politics |

This is a sad but accurate commentary on our current state of affairs in K-12 education in the United States: NPR’s January 1st show: A Song for Students: ‘Not on the Test.’

If you’re looking for a short (like 2 minute) attention-getter for teachers to start a professional development session or conference presentation, this song could be ideal. The song contends students don’t need to worry about learning to think, because that is “not on the test.”

Obviously this message should dramatize what we need to CHANGE in the ways many teachers are teaching and administrators are administrating in schools. Critical thinking should be a centerpiece of what the educational process is all about.

Thanks to Bob Sprankle for this link.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 9:43 am and is filed under assessment, creativity, digitalstorytelling, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1 On January 23rd, 2007, Rob Sipes said:

I agree with this problem. Being in higher education and a large proponent of critical thinking, I have struggled trying to teach this skill to today’s students. This piece brings about the thought that one possible cause of the lack of thinking among higher ed students comes from below. If a student is brought up without having to think, it becomes harder and harder for them to change their ways, the older they get.

So how do we fix this. I understand the dilemma that teachers and curriculum planners in public education face with the standardized tests, which means that we must most likely change policy before we can get a broad change in the way in which students are taught. This is however an important concern because student’s who are incapable of their own thought process, will not be as successful once out into the real world.

2 On January 23rd, 2007, Swimming In The River » Two Great Finds! said:

[...] The second great find came as I read Wesley Fryer’s post, “Singing, Not On the Test”.Â Take just a minute to click on the NPR link and listen to the 2 minute song.Â You will chuckle and shake your head in dismay at the same time! [...]