By Ralph Walton

For the Salisbury Post

Much has been said lately about test scores in our schools and the need to wait several years to see results. This is not new.

My experience with testing began at the elementary level. Every few years new, slick programs were introduced to help improve test scores. When test scores did not rise quickly we were told it would take a couple of years for the new instruction to take effect. As test scores would rise a little the state would then change the tests and the scores would go back down. We were told wait until we adjusted to them. Then the cycle would start again. And guess what? Test scores have never seen the increases we were promised. Any teachers remember Writing to Read, Circle of Childhood, Everyday Math, etc. which came and went?

But in the late ’70s a major shift occurred to help improve graduation and promotion rates. Rules were put in place where if certain requirements were met, you were required to raise a student’s grade. I had retired but was again doing what I loved and was teaching algebra. A couple of personal examples were when I passed one student with a B who should have failed and raised one student’s grade to an A when he made a C. Neither student made any effort to learn, but they were smart enough to make an acceptable score on the test. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to do with a little effort for a student with a little ability. Students were passed and graduated at an increased rate but the students did not know the material. Graduation rates going up and test scores going down were discussed at a recent Board of Education meeting. Is there a correlation? Go to a store if the power goes out and see how many workers can actually make change when they don’t have a calculator.

This paragraph applies to a very small percentage of students but these are the ones who keep our overall test scores from rising. Giving a student a failing grade was frowned on, as it hurt a student’s self-esteem even if the student had not mastered a minimum of the material. Students learned they would be passed regardless of what they did. State rules were put in place at certain grade levels to not pass a student if they had not mastered the material but there were so many guidelines that students were eventually passed even if material was not learned. Student behavior slipped as students realized they were going to pass regardless of how they behaved as procedures were put in place to keep them in school. A certain group of students simply “do not care” when it comes to school and grades. This group will not try on tests and even a few bad scores can cause a school to “fail.” One school failed a couple of years ago because one student refused to take a test under George Bush’s No Child Left Behind effort. I told a superintendent this in front of a class a few years ago as some of the students in the class fit this mold and the students pretty much agreed. I monitored an end-of-course in bricklaying and saw only one of 12 students even trying. The teacher said the students told him they could make more money on the street than working and all failed the test.

Computers have changed the world and education. If history is any indication there will be many initiatives in years to come to use computers to raise test scores. But these same students who do not care will play games and use the devices for things other than doing their school work and will not pass the tests.

And be careful in tying teacher pay to student performance as these students who do not care will make it appear a teacher is not doing a good job when they may be doing all they can. Teaching still needs to involve a human being to really be effective, especially in the early schooling. With the political climate seeming to take away money from public education I have serious doubts about my grandchildren attending public school. I DO NOT like this but to get a good basic education for their future some alternative might be better. NO public money should go to private schools. Charter schools need to be monitored very, very closely so that certain philosophies are not incorporated.

Let us see where we go in a couple of years when test scores don’t go up, but I hope I am wrong.

Ralph Walton is a retired educator and Rowan County resident.