Madison School District spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson said “test preparation is really limited to getting a feel for the technical part of the test, not the content.”
She wasn’t aware of any district survey to gauge student impressions of testing — something that, to me, wasn’t surprising. The education establishment often focuses as much on the needs of adults as on the needs of the children.
Personnel rules favoring the most senior, most educated teachers, for example (and not necessarily the most competent) have long been a part of public education.
Similarly, among the main concerns of parents who are opting their children out of testing is whether results will be used to evaluate teachers and schools.
Now if only what’s best for parents and other adults was always what’s best for children.
Related: A letter to parents supporting “no teacher left behind”.