When tackling the huge problem of school and educational inequity, I think it is best to start small and work upwards. Specifically, within each of our respective school districts, what is being done to prevent inequities at the local level? Are we fighting to have the best possible education for every child within our own districts? Are their small but powerful steps that we can take as educators on a day to day basis to equalize education for all of those students that we come in contact with every day? Are there things that we do in the classroom that cause the gap to widen? Are there things that we do in the classroom that narrow the same gap? Beyond the local district level, I also think that it is important to examine ourselves at a state level and ask the tough question of whether or not existing and future legislation and mandates lead to a larger gap or a tighter gap in performance.
Performance testing is something that has been around since education has been around. I would argue that many educators who complain about using once a year state “standardized” testing are the first to use their own form of once a chapter “standardized” testing in the classroom. (I know that I am guilty of this at times.) It is natural to compare students to students, teachers to teachers, schools to schools, states to states and nations to nations. Standardized tests can be a valuable way of examining what we are doing and how we are doing it. With that said, they can also be an incredibly destructive force. They can force everyone into the same box, both at a local and state or national level, and lead to an increase in conformity and a decrease in creativity. As a parent, an educator and a member of our society, I think that the most important thing that an educational system can give to a human being is the ability to think, reason, create /problem solve, and effectively communicate our ideas to others. The questions are: How are we going to accomplish this and how do we measure it?
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