Testing vs. Creativity

One thing I have noticed throughout the MAT program and in paying attention to education debates in general is that the approach to education is very contradicting but each side presents highly valid arguments.

With the new approach focusing on high stakes testing, creativity and intrinsic motivation get compromised. For many students and teachers, this sense of creativity is what drives their success. Students want to be able to express themselves and have the ability to learn through self-discovery and investigation. Similarly, teachers want to be able to conduct their classrooms creatively, attending to student’s individual needs and fostering a safe and productive learning environment. These tasks can be hard to do if there is a constant looming shadow of needing students to perform well on a big test in order to prove that you are a successful teacher. Hindering the creativity and safeness of general education will ultimately hinder the creativity and exploratory nature of our future society members. They will not learn and inquire simply to learn new things; they will learn in order to succeed at a task.

Contrary to not wanting to stunt the creative growth of our students, districts and the nation need to be able to measure the academic successes of our students. Since the US is so large and wants to operate as a united entity, the easiest way to objectively measure performance is through testing. While it is one of the easier methods for widespread evaluation, it gives way to “teaching to the test” mentalities. Teachers focus more on cramming material in that will give way to high test scores and they end up negating the need for a fun and creative learning environment.

Overall, both sides of the debate present valid arguments and I find myself taking both sides. I hope that in my teaching career I will be able to both teach to the standards as well as maintain a creative and motivational learning environment for my students.