������Ƶ

During the beginning of this school year while my children were sitting in uncomfortably hot classrooms, I would turn on the radio and hear ads promoting the Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced Assessment . These commercials continued on the airwaves all day long and for months, even after the extreme heat had abated.

What are the priorities of our state that we can afford ads intended to convince parents to accept a new set of educational standards and tests while our students are unable to focus on learning because of lack of funding to provide fans for our classrooms? Who is really going to benefit from these rigorous standards? Are these tests really helpful for our keiki’s education?

Now that testing season has begun, all field trips and science projects have been set aside to prepare our students for the big test. If your child is irritable or your teacher stressed out, it is likely because of the test. Parents should be asking themselves who really benefits from these rigorous standards? Is the SBA really helpful for our keiki’s education?

I have been opting out my youngest child from standardized testing since 2012. After having taken the Hawaii State Assessment (HSA) twice in the third grade, my son expressed his criticisms of the test.

His primary concern was that it adversely affects children’s self-esteem. There was a lot of emphasis on doing well on the test. He saw his peers comparing test scores and teasing and bullying students that did not get a passing score. He saw them feeling stressed and losing their self-worth. Even though my son’s test scores were excellent, he did not share them with his classmates. He simply did not want to participate in the negativity of the testing environment.

After the state began full implementation of the CCSS and its companion test, SBA, the culture of testing had gone out of control, and I decided to refuse participation for my other children, as well.

Since then, I have learned that testing scores are linked to teacher evaluations and teacher pay. Although I understand the need for accountability and oversight on how well they are doing their job, to judge teachers by test scores is completely unfair. What if the teacher has a large number of autistic children or English language learners? What if the teacher has students in impoverished circumstances and come to school hungry every day?

What if the teacher has students who are creative and talented but not academically inclined? Should teachers be punished because students just happened to do poorly on the designated day of testing? If teachers’ livelihood depends on test scores, of course teachers will teach to the test. This has a devastating impact on the quality of education our keiki receive.

In the first place, standardized tests are not a good measure of student achievement. Some students simply are not great test takers. Standardized tests penalize students who think out of the box. They fail to recognize each students’ talents and potential contributions they could make to society. They reduce creativity in teaching. They lead to an unbalanced form of education where the merits of art, music, recess, athletics, culture and hand-on learning are devalued.

We should focus on our strengths and distinct qualities and stop using meaningless test scores to assess, penalize and compare ourselves to others.

They provide no specifics on how to improve learning. They provide no feedback on student strengths and weaknesses. According to the National Council of Teachers of English, standardized tests . They certainly do not measure the qualities that I value as a parent and human being: creativity, compassion, empathy, kindness, wisdom, resilience and adaptability.

In fact, studies indicate there is a direct correlation on test scores to socio-economic status. A student’s GPA is a much more accurate indicator of success than any standardized test. Standardized tests only measure what can easily be measured. We don’t need exams created by large corporations to tell us how well our keiki are doing. Our teachers are trained to do that on their own. Is it any wonder that most private schools do not administer standardized tests?

For the past several months, I have seen dozens of teachers plead to the state Board of Education and Legislature to change the education system. They are asking to de-link teacher evaluations and test scores. They are demanding better pay and working conditions. They are asking for better support for their most vulnerable students, vocational studies along with a college path, preschool, art, music, Hawaiian studies, P.E., drama, smaller class size and recess. Although they have had some support from a few legislators and decision makers, our teachers have been largely ignored.

In December of last year, President Obama signed a new law called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The ESSA replaces the failed No Child Left Behind and empowers states to dictate how education is to be monitored and assessed. This creates a critical opportunity for Hawaii to change the course of education to one that our keiki deserve.

We have a unique state that is rich in culture and diversity. We should focus on our strengths and distinct qualities and stop using meaningless test scores to assess, penalize and compare ourselves to others. We have well-seasoned educators here in Hawaii who are qualified to assess student achievement using portfolios, student projects and interviews. We should trust our teachers as professionals and allow them to guide our keiki to become life-long learners, not great test-takers.

If you are a parent, you can help by contacting the BOE, the state Department of Education and our state legislators. You can also have your voice be heard by not participating in this toxic testing regime. Refuse the test! You have the authority to decide what is appropriate for your child, and it is the perfect time for parents to say, “No more! Our keiki deserve better!” For more information, join the Facebook group page, Refuse SBA Hawaii.