Preparing Students for Life-Long Success is Not Preparing Students for Long Bubble Tests

Unfortunately, in the 21st century education reform has equated to measuring a school’s ability to produce good test takers. But think about it. In real life there are few if any tests to be taken. More than a decade into the 21st century and I have yet to take a test and I don’t envision any being in my future either. How did we get to a point in America where we’re measuring schools by their success in forcing students to waste their time being good at something few will ever need to do in real life?  Could it be that this meaningless time waster is doing exactly what it was designed to do?  

1. Line the pockets of testing companies and publishers who are good at following the money, but know this does little to prepare students for success.
2. Produce compliant young consumers who are good at believing, memorizing, and regurgitating what they are told without questioning authority.

For some it is hard to imagine anything different or better.  There are tools however, like Personal Success Plans or Project Foundry that help schools provide a personalized, learner-centered approach that tracks performance-based assessment and values real world skills.  There are also tools like OurLearningfolio that help home learners and their families do this.  What these tools do is help learners identify their passions and interests and help them engage in real-world, authentic activities to develop them while also providing a framework for measuring success. Completion of an activity doesn’t simply result in a letter grade. Instead it becomes part of an authentic online portfolio that can be used to attain academic or career goals.  

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