"But wait...there's more"...on the Re:search, Re:surgence of (Proficiency) Testing: Outside In

"The wait is over" As in a good infomercial, I finally get to the good stuff, what it all comes down to, as in dollars and sense. Because it's here again, as in administration of proficiency tests in our schools, an attempt to see if our children of school age are competent, proficient, meet the bare minimum standards set by those inside the "educational establishment". Which is turn a response for those from the outside (later). In order to fully appreciate, understand, take a stand (later) on this issue, perhaps I should start by defining my terms, my own standards...

"By Definition" A frequent preface, intro, setting the stage for some elementary or instrumental learning, the basics, stuff to memorize...definitions...defining our terms...of engagement, (dis)agreements...standards. Noteworthy that at least in the re:search I did on your behalf, the definition of "by definition" included "underachievement, by definition, is not due to a lack of talent...😌😕" followed closely by "Psychology is by definition an inexact science...😞" And, for the present context, an "educational establishment...includes a preschool, elementary, or secondary school system, an institution of higher education, or other educational institution, including vocational education..." All inclusive, all in-side. This, alongside, in combination with what's now...

"A Given" As in "Given A, prove..." Here, what's given is that proficiency testing has been around in one form or another, since all our children went to school, and will be for those in the future. It may come under another name to disguise, veil it, but there's always been and always will be, a set of standards by which we all evaluate all, as in at least one of three standards for comparison (see September 24th post)...here, primarily, by definition, and implication, in consideration of...

"Proficiency" As in "The final rule has been issued for Clinical Laboratory Improved Amendments of 1988 Proficiency Testing...enabling labs to monitor the quality of their analytical results...to evaluate laboratories continuing performance...on what's going on inside the labs.." Which in turn tell us something about what's going on inside each one of us, especially as the variants started surging...then re-surged...lots and lots of research, especially when it counts...As in when it comes time for our children, aspiring students finally exit the "educational establishment" and enter...the "real world" (what we all, parents and teachers alike, have been preaching to them). A call for proficiency, even more testing, by...

"The Outsiders" A nod to the novel written in 1967 by S.E. Hinton, started at the tender age of 15, published when she was finally coming of age...after being influenced by some social dynamics, peer pressure we can all relate to, regardless of age or generation...that of social groups, "cliques", who's in, out...the popularity of which called for a movie, brief TV series, a stage play, and an upcoming musical rendition (which was staged to come out earlier but pre-empted by guess what?). Here, though, I am referring to all those outside the "educational establishment", three groups of particular interest, who started raising the issue of proficiency, testing, when they started observing a "lack of" (instrumental, core, basic learning) when students were being released into the "real world" These included, in no particular order: 1) parents; 2) college admission officers, professors, instructors; and 3) employers -- all of which separately and then in unison observed various examples of a lack of proficiency in what the grades reported on the report card, eventually the student's "transcript" ostensibly guaranteed. Thus, what we now see, more so the past several academic years: "...in addition to grades assigned by teachers, some metrics of an individual's abilities and skills in a domain or subject...deemed essential for later success...that can provide teachers, parents, and administrators accurate, actionable information, to inform instructional strategies, curriculum..." All inclusive, eh? It's as if those from the outside called upon those within, on behalf of all current and future students, to...

"Stand and Deliver": Talk about being tested! If you haven't seen this movie, one which closely follows reality, a math teacher (Jaime Escalante) dares to dare some marginalized underachievers in a poor district of Los Angeles public schools in the 80's -- first to learn Algebra, then Calculus and, as if that wasn't enough, AP Calc(!)...in order to pass the AP Calc test. Which took a lot of convincing (of both students and parents)...and even more convincing after the testing board decided, when the students and teacher bonded in this Herculean undertaking, that their pattern of (few) incorrect responses raised the suspicion of "cheating"...which eventuated in...well, I don't want to play the spoiler. But it does raise the question regarding how much testing one can take..."but wait, there's more to come..."

"Enough already!" A likely response from parents when a child is testing the limits and when students and teachers alike have had their fill of testing. So, just how much is sufficient in terms of length, content, and frequency of administration, in an attempt to add value to our understanding of individual students and schools, the "educational establishment"? The answer my friends is simple: "All the above"😉😂😖...

Next: "What's the (mis)use?!" A Re:examination.