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| Creating a colored pencil masterpiece in art class at TES. |
I think public education in Texas, as of late, focuses too much on test scores. While, the “high-stakes” tests we hear so much about are helping to hold accountable poorly functioning districts and schools, I worry that the process may leave students with the highest academic potential at risk. As I understand it, the tests are criterion-referenced (think of a test for which you are given all the answers beforehand...like a spelling test). The ceiling is low enough that one could presumably “teach” specifically to the test and make a difference. With anxiety in the system, teachers are tempted and even encouraged to over-review material in order to raise scores on an aggregate level. One complaint is that the most academically-oriented students find constant reviewing for "the tests" excruciatingly boring, while at the same time they miss out on pursuing more challenging and meaningful material.
At Trinity Episcopal School we value many things that are not measured on achievement tests. Fine arts, for example, form a critical part of Trinity’s approach to educating the whole child: mind, body, and spirit. Helping students “find” their creative selves builds resilience in the face of a constantly changing future and contributes to self-understanding. From the standpoint of our school’s mission, it is unfathomable that we would ever reduce fine arts in order to replace the time with over-reviewing a narrow band of cognitive skills. Studio art, music, Spanish, physical education, chapel, field trips, character education, community building events…these all need time at school, as does the rigorous pursuit of core academics. Without any one of these, our students would be greatly diminished.
Faithfully,
The Rev. David C. Dearman
