REFLECTIONS

An issue that has made newspaper headlines time and time again is standards in education.  The state of Virginia has put into place the Standards of Learning test in order to assess student knowledge in the core areas.  Since the social studies SOL test has been a trouble area for many Virginia schools, the social studies departments are looking to find ways to better prepare their students.

The High School where I completed my student teaching was no different.  The social studies department had spent countless hours creating review sheets and mock tests in order to better prepare their students.  Although schools say that they are not teaching to the tests, it is my belief that there is no way to prepare for this particular test without teaching to the test.  This is partly because of Virginia wanting to make everyone associated with the educational system accountable for the scores, from teachers to students.

The High School is really trying to help the students as much as possible.  Although students are not technically accountable yet for the test, this school has made them accountable.  If a student does not pass a section of the SOLs, the student must take a course over the summer.  The purpose of this is so the students will take the test seriously which in turn will make the school look better.

Since the SOLs are so important, there is not much room to consult the National Standards.  The National Standards do not have a test associated with them so they are viewed as not being as important.  During my student teaching, I made sure to incorporate both sets of standards.  Although the school does not explicitly adhere to the National Standards, the National Standards are met implicitly.

Standards are a very hot topic in the field of education.  Both national standards and state standards work together for the common good of the students.  They can be used together because the SOLs are more specific than the National Standards, allowing both of them to work together.

It is my belief that teachers should look to the standards for guidance, and guidance only.  I do not believe that teachers should teach directly to the test; however, due to the importance placed upon the test, students must be prepared.  If the state requires the students to pass a test, it is our jobs as educators to see to it.  There needs to be a nice medium found in between teaching to the test and ignoring the SOLs.

In this day and age, teachers do not have as much discretion in what they teach.  Standards have become very important to administrators and legislatures, teachers must respect this.  We can complain as much as we want about the SOLs, but that will not make them go away.  If teachers fail to cover the material on the SOLs because they do not like them, they are only hurting the students and themselves.