Opting Out of "One Size Fits All"

A while back I posted about the Keystone exams in Philadelphia, which are standardized tests in biology, literature and algebra that students attending public high school in Pennsylvania must pass in order to graduate, beginning with the graduating class of 2017. The tests must be taken by all students, including English Language Learners and students with special needs. A student can retake the exam up to three times, and then can complete a project that will be graded by teachers from other school districts after two failed attempts.

Recently, some parents have discovered that they can "opt out" of Keystone testing for their children on the basis of religious or philosophical grounds and have the student complete a project in their place. Unfortunately, current freshman and sophomores cannot "opt out" because they are slated to graduate in 2017 or after so must pass the subject tests (or at least make two attempts) in order to receive their diplomas under the current rules.

It boggles my mind that in a poor school district like Philadelphia's, which has had to cut out art, music and mentally gifted classes and has schools functioning with part time nurses and minimal counselors, is spending so much money on this exam, especially for the multiple administration attempts that will be needed for many ELL students and students with special needs. That is not even to mention the classroom time that will be wasted on test preparation.

I am also amazed that in a world of increasing diversity and globalization that there is so much effort to assess children with a standardized instrument as a graduation requirement. We as a society now know so much about brain differences, cultural differences and multiple intelligences that one would think this "one size fits all" approach would seem an artifact of the 20th century.

I personally would like to see schools that produce what our society needs in addition to doctors, lawyers and teachers: designers, innovators and creative thinkers of all types, which is the belief of Daniel Pink, author of the New York Times and BusinessWeek bestselling book "A Whole New Mind." As Pink says, "the MFA [Master of Fine Arts] is the new MBA…many MBA graduates are becoming this century's blue collar workers -- people who entered a workforce full of promise, only to see their jobs move overseas." What we need, it seems, is more creativity, not standardization.

Articles referenced:

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/75396-phillys-opt-out-movement-grows-as-council-holds-hearing-on-standardized-tests

www.examiner.com/article/what-feltonville-taught-philly-about-opt-out