I'm Lindsay Ferrier, a Nashville writer with a passion for family travel, exploring Tennessee, and raising kids without losing my mind in the process. This is where I share my discoveries, along with occasional deep thoughts, pop culture tangents and a sprinkling of snark. Want to get in touch? Use the CONTACT form at the top of the page.
TCAP Madness
April 26, 2013
“Oh Mommy, I’m so nervous!” my daughter said when she came home from school a couple of weeks ago. “If I don’t do well on my TCAPs, I won’t get into magnet school!”
“What are you talking about, Punky?” I asked her. “Who told you that?”
“Everyone’s talking about it!” she said. “TCAPs are in two weeks and I have to do well on them. I just HAVE to!”
And so it begins.
As a third grader, this year marks the first time my daughter will take a standardized test that actually affects her future. Her scores will determine everything from admittance to magnet school to her final report card grades to the teacher she’s assigned next year. Similar to what’s been going on in every other elementary school across the state, her teachers and administrators have been in a frenzy of preparations over the last few weeks, administering practice tests, holding pep rallies, and making sure every child is up to speed on the TCAP’s contents. It is teaching to the test at its finest.
And like most other parents, I HATE IT.
I hate the pressure put on our children to do well. I hate the fact that so much of their learning time is devoted to preparing for TCAP- time that could be spent instead on science experiments and writing centers and class projects and all the other things that allow elementary school students to actually ENJOY the learning process.
I hate hearing the stories from friends of children crying over TCAP stress, of Power Point presentations given to the students detailing all the ways TCAP scores will personally affect them, of folders sent home containing dozens and dozens of test prep worksheets, to be completed by the end of the week.
I understand that this is not the teachers’ fault- TCAPs are every bit as stressful for them as they are for the students. And when a teacher is stressed, the students know it and often internalize it.
It’s not the most optimal learning environment, is it?
The TCAPs have me on edge right now, as well. Punky is not a great standardized test taker, and never has been. She loves hands-on learning, like science experiments and writing letters to her classmates and elaborate class projects– but give her a test booklet and answer key and she tunes right out. Sometimes, she doesn’t read the instructions carefully enough and other times she gets off track as she’s filling in the bubbles. She’s had three standardized tests to gauge her learning so far this year and the results were laughable- While the tests scores were supposed to climb every few months, Punky’s results looked like a series of steep mountain peaks. It made no sense.
I laughed to myself and threw the scores away. They didn’t define my child- I mean, this is a kid who has always made straight As. She’s in the gifted program. She spends hours a day reading. I’m not worried.
Or at least, I wasn’t worried until now.Will all of these things count for nothing if her standardized testing scores aren’t great? Is that really possible? I don’t want to find out. Punky and I have had a few discussions over the last week about the importance of reading the instructions thoroughly and going back to check her work and make sure she penciled in everything correctly when she’s done. “You sound like a teacher, Mommy,” she said with a grimace after one of my lectures. “Can’t you just be supportive?” I gaped at her.
TCAP madness. It’s gotten to me, too.
Image via albertogp123/Flickr
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Thank you for writing this. My son is taking TCAP this week for the first time and he has had major stress. I am over it. Tired of trying to calm him down. Something’s gotta change.
That’s so sad, Cheryl. At least TCAPs are over now!
When I was growing up TCAPs didn’t effect individual students at all. I didn’t know that it does now. Does it really determine the gpa, next year’s teacher and the ability to get into an academic magnet??? Oh geez, there is so much to dread in a few short years….
A law was passed a few years ago in TN making TCAP scores between 15 and 25% of a student’s final grade. TCAP scores also affect magnet eligibility and I heard this week that the scores help determine our kids’ class placement in fourth grade- If I’m wrong on any of this, feel free to correct me. I’m crossing my fingers that Punky’s scores will be fine and I won’t have to worry about any of this!
There is also a state law that says that a student who is below basic in reading in 3rd grade must be retained. It is a fine line between trying to make kids aware of the fact that it is important and they should take their time and do their best and not stressing them out. (From an educator’s viewpoint). The fact is there is a lot on the line for everyone involved and no one wants kids stressed, but we do want them to do their best and actually show what they know. Glad it is over:). Some kids actually really like TCAP week.. besides the test it is usually pretty fun.
Yes! What can we do about this? As I look at kindergarten options for my 4-year-old, I cringe when thinking about the testing emphasis. I would love to know how we can facilitate change.
I think this is a good start- I’ve noticed a TON of parents this year across the nation writing in op-eds or on blogs about the toll standardized testing is taking on their children. If enough parents speak up (or opt their kids out, as thousands across the nation are doing this year), maybe we can do something about it. I believe the teachers and principals have to hate the pressure as much as the kids, but only the parents are in a position to speak out about it.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lindsay. As you know, I opted my son out of the PA equivalent of the TCAP. So far the PA version isn’t tied to my son’s grade or magnet school placement (yet), but like all of these tests it is used to grade the school. The kids can easily pick up on the pressure that they feel to do well—not only for themselves, but also for their schools, and, in some cases the teachers. The stress has become so overwhelming across the country that there are reports of kids crying uncontrollably, vomiting, and other behaviors that we tend to associate with abuse or bullying. As for the movement in Tennessee, here’ the TN page of the national Opt Out movement, http://unitedoptout.com/state-by-state-opt-out/tennessee/, and here’s the website for a new organization that is trying to fight the testing as well as the Federal law that mandates the testing, No Child Left Behind. http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/
Normally testing doesn’t really affect my kids. But my sixth grader has to take her MCAs this week (a MN standardized test) and it will affect her math class placement in middle school next year. She is a little nervous but I just told her to not rush and just do her best.
I’m no expert, but if standardized testing hasn’t solved the problems with the education system, why is the government making our kids do more and more of them? Just a little Plain Jane American question…
I just don’t think they have come up with an easier, more cost-effective way to monitor how schools as a whole are doing- According to No Child Left Behind, every school must be 100% proficient in reading and math by 2014 and some schools are still nowhere near that goal.
As far as I know, the only thing No Child Left Behind has done is give teachers more hours of paperwork to do. Every teacher I know HATES it. It was a nice thought, but hasn’t worked out so well in practice.