I Found The Method Used To Dumb Down Our Children - "Teaching To The Test"!

[Vic Spencer]

I discovered how this was AND IS done to this date!

State tests to evaluate our children's scholastic standing were and are available in a number of different forms and "strengths" for several decades. An education district could buy the practice tests for a specific tests. And that is what school districts did and do. Many of the questions on the practice tests were the same (with answers and explanations about how to do the problem) as in the REAL test. So the children were being taught how to answer the same exact questions or problems, as those that would be appearing on the real test. Therefore the child did not have to learn much of the course material taught. He/she just had to practice the practice tests! This way the children could get much higher grades than they could if the test was a surprise. For example the recent Tennessee test for math, Tennessee children scored a whopper 87%. But in the SAME LEVEL national test for which there are no practice tests with very similar or identical questions and answers, the same Tennessee children scored 21%! A huge failure in education. Now there is a big rush to fix this, because it is becoming more public as to what the education system is doing to our children. Watch for all the excuses that will be coming from KCS Central to explain why our children's score will be taking a dive in future years. The reason: what KCS Central should have done, but didn't. They dumbed down our children for three decades and are now dumbing down the second generation. Without a doubt, this has to do a lot with KCS having some understanding problems with the parents. The parents were dumbed down in the "first wave".

Who benefits from this? There are dumber and dumber (easier) versions of these tests in the same subject showing better and better grades each year. Imagine the headlines "Our School System IS Doing A Fabulous Job! They Achieved A Record 87% In Math, Like Never Before!". Who benefits? THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE TOP POLITICIANS of the school district! Look at past issues of the Knox County Sentinel articles about the Report Card and how McIntyre was praising how well we did. Remember? And he knew better in my meeting with him before the State Report card. Tennessee is/was the worst or one of worst in this distortion of education quality, and I am told that our Board of Education spoke up to the Tennessee Department of Education about this problem in 2007 according to the then chair person. She told me.

One teacher told me recently that this is still going on. I would like to ask any teacher to try to get for me copies of practice tests and the final test, that shows that the practice tests are teaching the problems to our children that the real test will cover. As usual, I am not going to reveal anyone's identity or school. It would be best if I could get blank practice and their final tests preferably in math. I will review each such test or practice test and make sure that it is sanitized even for finger prints. These are highly protected documents within the school system. They are not to leave the school. However, they are the tools that KCS Central purposefully chose to spend OUR TAX DOLLARS on, in order to show good results, while actually making our children less able to take on a job or go to college after graduation. I tried to meet with the assistant superintendent to discuss this topic, but she does not respond.

This article describes in some detail what has been going on in every state. In some like Tennessee more, than in others.
http://www.tegr.org/Review/Articles/vol1/Lake_Woebegon__Twenty_Year...

I am not sure that the Board of Education members were aware of this practice. I would think that the superintendent, and the persons in charge of curriculum must have been aware. They were certainly aware of all sorts of indicators showing that our children are being dumbed down by them for decades, but did nothing.

Many teachers hate this practice. It is not their or their principals fault. Work with them closely as a parent to get your child the best education. The ACT cannot be influenced by such "tricks". It is a highly secure accurate measurement of what a child has achieved from grade 1 through 11. The only general measurement of how our school system is doing and what McIntyre is achieving is the ACT score for the school district. For 2008 it was 21.9. We better see a half point improvement or 22.4 at minimum this year.

And all of you in an education management role who went along with such a practice to look good, while you damaged the future of our children by dumbing them down AT OUR EXPENSE, God will not forget what YOU did NOT do to stop it. I hope that you can sleep at night.

[Vic Spencer]

Cathy, I suggest you read this article. It goes into much more detail than I do. In addition someone told me that this is still going on. A very well respected teacher in the system.

http://www.tegr.org/Review/Articles/vol1/Lake_Woebegon__Twenty_Year...

If this article is incorrect, then I would like people to present evidence against it. The doctor who wrote it is more than willing to defend it. Look up the other URL's he mentions.

In my opinion, if this is going on to ANY extent (what one reads in the above article), do you think that it is OK? I did make a few calls to test publishers to find out. I am not asking you guys who are parents to confirm what is going on. Your children would not be taking these materials home. None of you would be aware because tests, including practice tests are guarded within the schools as confidential documents. I was asking teachers, but it is not necessary in view of the article. However, if I already have some proof and can lay out more in the press, if the school system disputes it in the press, I will use it in the press. I simply would like to see them abandon this practice.
My point is that the dumbing down of our children is indisputable. Look how far down we went in 2-3 decades. I am simply presenting here a method that was used, and still may be used. The American Diploma Project may eliminate these practices. I should make a few calls about that. I think that this was one of the program's intents, if I remember well.

[Rebekah Griffin]

Jokingly, I want to know where I can get a copy of the tests so my homeschooled daughter can pass next year.
Seriously, standardized testing should not be the end all. Aside from the problem Debi mentioned, there are some that just don't test well.
However, the dumbing down of our students has been going on a lot longer than teaching to the test has. We dumb our kids down when we expect less of them. One hundred years ago, you could finish 8th grade and know all you needed to for life. A sixteen year old was either starting their own home, or teaching a school room full of kids of all grades. This doesn't happen any more, in part because we don't EXPECT the 16 year old to have that much maturity. Another part is we just don't expect them to know as much facts as we did then. We are too busy with socialization skills. There are too many distraction in life today: TV, computer, video games, clubs, sports teams, books, etc. And I'm not saying that any of these things are wrong, or shouldn't be in a child's life, but each one of those things can take time away from important things. These things are all enrichments to make likfe nicer, but should not take th e place of life itself. A parent must set the priorities. Another factor that I have seen (through studying the past) is parental involvement. The average parent today spends very little time with their child compared with parents just 50 years ago. So it is not just teaching to the test that has caused a decline in the education of our children.

[Cathy McCaughan]

Among the problems in your "Little House on the Prairie" theory, is the fact that late 19th century education was basically learning to read and write. Then, if you were lucky enough to survive childbirth, you might live to a ripe old age of 47. Since history, technology, art, literature and progress didn't stop at 1900, there is a wee bit more to learn. Also, there is significant evidence that parents today (especially fathers) spend MORE time with their children than parents did in the 1950s.

[Rebekah Griffin]

If a person knows how to read well and do basic math well, they can learn anything. And in elementary schools reading writing and arithmatic should be the main emphasis. Science and history would be next as they are important as well, while art and music would be occasional (a few times a week). Not really seeing a problem with elementary schools 100 years ago at all. . But I am noticing more and more kids in the elementary grades who cannot do basic math or read well (which means that science and history are going to be low as well). And 100 years ago many high schools included latin, as well as known sciences, history, advanced mathmatics, and grammar/ composition. Really not much difference although we have dropped latin and added foreign language today. High school was supposed to be (and still largely is) college prepatory. Not everything was perfect then. For one high schools were not regulated so some were more practical and some were more acedemic. And, in the beginning of the modern high school (mid 1800's) highs school was paid for, so if you were poorer you did not go. But the acedemics were just as challenging as today, and the students actually knew their stuff upon graduating. Not sure I can say the same for today's highschool grads (considering I know of some that graduate high school without being able to read well)
As for parental involvement, what KIND of time are parents spending with their kids? Taking the kids to different activities? Watching TV together? Being in the same room while doing your thing and they do theirs? Even the PBS article you linked didn't go into details on that. And if parents today are spending more time with their kids today then they were, than why aren't the children growing up to be as respectful to adults. Also, do they have comparison diaries? Diaries of the time parents spent with their kids 50 years ago, or even 100 years ago? The point is, you can't just blame teaching a test for the dumbing down of kids. It is a factor, but not the crux of the problem.

[Debi]

I agree with both Rebekah and Cathy. With good basic math and basic reading skills if permitted a child can learn so very much about his/her areas of interest. But there are also more technical issues, or is there. I can tell ya my granddaddy who quit 8th grade after a teacher kicked him had to understand complex math to crow his 800 acre crops, raise hogs and take to market, etc. He also had farm machinery that he had to repair. What he did is really not all that different than, say, a computer engineer, it's just different medium and more steps involved at times. The difference was he learned it standing out in a field with his father and uncle, not in a classroom. And the knowledge base is more expansive than what it was in all fields, but knowledge will always be ongoing.

This doesn't mean classrooms do not have a place, it's just different and different expectation.

[Bob Hunter]

I agree with both thoughts as well. From the standpoint of an employer in this community I wish I could hire someone who could compose a basic business letter with decent grammer and who could add and subtract (and maybe even multiply and divide!) without an adding machine or calculator! And the amazing thing is I can do these functions in my head quicker than they can on the calculator. So I am all for re-inforcing the basics of English and Math. The first step I would take is to prohibit calculators from ALL tests! But I also agree we have to go beyond that and teach the new technology and variety of job related skills required in the market place now that were not there just 10 or 20 years ago.
As far as parents time with their kids I think you could argue both sides of that but the key is the time that was spent with them in the past was focused on teaching life skills and I don't think that happens as much now. No we can't blame the schools for all the decline but I think "teaching to the test" is a big red flashing light symptom of a bigger issue of apathy in truly educating our kids to a level where they can be competitive in the world markets and that is the fault of parents, teachers, administrators, politicians and everyone else in the community that has not held the education system accountable for it's results. It is time we change that!

[Seely Booth]

A good portion of the blame for low test scores should be on the shoulders of parents.

There are a lot of "babies having babies" in East Tennessee. The mothers don't take care of themselves while pregnant. Many parents do not take care of their children nutritionally. We get our meals through the drive-thru and wonder why we are fat and why our kids can't focus and concentrate. We let them watch tv, talk on the cell phone, text, but they don't go out to play, to problem solve, to use their imagination. We don't put them to bed at a decent hour.

We spend time with them, but the time is spent taking them to sports lessons, music, or dance lessons. We don't read the classics with them, we don't talk to them, we don't engage.

I see so many parents in my neighborhood who think that having "things" for their kids make them a good parent. These same parents rake the local school over the coals about the amount of homework that goes home. It interfers with their "family time". I actually heard a parent tell another parent at the pool that "you don't want Mrs. *. She gives out a lot of home assignments. You'll be going over homework every night." My response was, "Who is she? I hope we get her!"


Parents have to decide that the priority is school. Education comes first. The child who grows up in such a fortunate family will be successful in life. We can't IMO hold the county school system responsible for that mindset. It has to start and be fostered at home. Too many knox county homes do not have that mindset.

Parents need to be taken to task for wanting their kids to be "dumb" due to the fact they don't want to make the personal sacrifices at home to prevent it.

[Bob Hunter]

Seeley,
While I agree with your thoughts here I must say I am disappointed that I have seen you twice post negative/derogatory comments about East Tennessee parents. This is NOT an East Tennessee problem - this is a problem everywhere in the U.S.! I was raised in Indiana and have lived most parts of that state as well as Middle and East Tennessee. I would much rather have my children raised here than anywhere else I have lived. I also think you need to think about the fact that Oak Ridge has some of the most inteliigent minds in the nation and possibly the world working there. I have been guilty of the East Tennessee redneck jokes in my past but never in quite the seemingly serious and public way you have. I don't know if you are from here or not or if someone has offended you to make you feel this way but you really need to consider this is not a problem limited to this area.
Again, as far as your other comments I consider them right on! Homework shoudl be expected if it serves a purpose and we as parents should expect more and make sure our kids get more than the school system offers. But the school system needs work as well.

[Seely Booth]

No Bob I'm from here. I am a hillbilly. I just had parents who insisted that I apply myself in school so I would be an educated one. :)

And yes, Oak Ridge used to be the center of academics in this area, but even Oak Ridge is changing drastically. Their test scores are not what they used to be.

I just think parents have got to be challenged to "do better" by their children. While we push the system to improve, we have to wake parents up to their responsibilities as well. If parents in this area took the same interest and focus they put on UT football into our schools, I think we would see scores improve.

I would love to see Vic write an article for the Sentinnel taking parents to task for their part in education and test scores. He is a good writer. And I agree with him, tests like the ACT really show you what a kid has learned. That's the "proof in the pudding."

I just think parents have to be held accountable as well.

[Vic Spencer]

SB, I have been thinking about this for months. This is my dilemma. If we look at the segment of parents whose children are mentally healthy, but their performance is low in school, I have found parents who are single parents, work like a dog to make ends meet, and are just plain tired when they come home from work. In this student group I also found some who just want to have some fun, and to put it plainly, screw around and get drunk, and could care less about the child. Then there is a segment of parents who are uneducated, and on top of that they have been dumbed down by the system, quit school without finishing high school, dumber than a post and believe that education is not necessary. I thought a lot about how to get across to such people, and the language that I would have to use may not be appropriate for a newspaper. Consider also that many such children go home, and the parent is working. When the parent comes home he or she is very tired. The beer drinking may start with some, and finding sex becomes more important than anything else. Not all of course but these are the types I actually talked to. The kid was an "accident". Probably in the back seat. I found two single parents by the way who were absolutely great and their children are in Engineering at UT as juniors as we speak. One parent is a mother, the other is a father. These kind of kids crave belonging somewhere. And gangs, here we come.
Considering all that the only place that has such kid's attention for a long enough time is the school. They must know about what I found, and must have known it for decades. I looked at a number of studies. The only thing that appears to work best is to keep such kids in school another 2-3 hours, less does not work, with about half time being tutored, and half time playing educational games. In addition more time spent on sports. Schools in other countries that are way ahead of us teach ethics as a course. Not a bad idea. They also have motivational discussions about what education really is, the opportunities that it creates, and the growth in very exciting jobs with a huge pay, but you have to have very good grades and then a university degree before they can consider you. And most importantly, their parents have been educated the same way. None of this is done in our schools in an organized manner and it should be. In addition the number of class hours that US teachers spend is almost twice the hours of what the leading nations' teachers spend. So the teachers are driven like a bunch of animals, without much time for preparation.
Clem did not like me mentioning Finland as a place to look at since they are in the top spot. The Board of Education and KCS Central did not look at what Finland does either. Such behaviors are big problems. "I am 34th and I will figure out how I will do better" is an all too common totally ineffective strategy. It works only when one is among the top 3-5.
So yes I should deliver a plain and very direct message for some parents, however, based on what I found the schools need to change the way they do business, without working teachers so hard that they become less effective. Any thoughts? But remember an important thing. You can hold someone accountable only if there are consequences to their actions. You cannot hold parents accountable. We can try to talk to them. Many such parents look at maybe the first page of the newspaper and sports. They are not interested in education. They do not come to school meetings. Money incentive for such parents could work, and I would not dismiss the idea. After all we are spending $370 million dollars a year and the results are not very good.

[Debi]

"Schools in other countries that are way ahead of us teach ethics as a course. Not a bad idea."

There's a timely topic in wake of news of the past week.

[Vic Spencer]

SB and everyone, please give me your comments on what I just wrote below so that I can develop a good article. I did not have a "Reply to This" link after mine, so I don't know where this will show up.