Why are children, no matter rich or poor, showing up with more disabilities—especially ADHD? Here is USA Today telling about the report in Pediatrics. Could it be because they are being pushed harder than ever before, with less, if any, recess or breaks? Perhaps they’re tired of school, or all that Common Core stuff is boring to them. Maybe, someone should ask them! And how about testing?
How ironic. I no sooner finish reading the above article, and the next thing I notice is the State of Florida is going to test kindergartners with 7 out of 15 tests including P.E. The senator talking about this said something about how you don’t care about children if you don’t test them.
I believe in testing too, but a little goes a long way. And testing very young children is always questionable. Usually, the best testing involves nothing more that sitting back and watching.
Let me use Florida as an example, although every state is probably guilty of the same thing.
I discovered the “Florida Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning Kindergarten Assessment’s History and Legislative Authority.” It struck me as interesting how kindergarten assessment has gotten increasingly more complex throughout the years. HERE
The following simple observation was administered by the child’s teacher from 1997-1999:
1. The child’s immunizations and other health requirements as necessary, including appropriate vision and hearing screening and examinations.
2. The child’s physical development.
3. The child’s compliance with rules, limitations, and routines.
4. The child’s ability to perform tasks.
5. The child’s interactions with adults.
6. The child’s interactions with peers.
7. The child’s ability to cope with challenges.
8. The child’s self-help skills.
9. The child’s ability to express his or her needs.
10. The child’s verbal communication skills.
11. The child’s problem solving skills.
12. The child’s following of verbal directions.
13. The child’s demonstration of curiosity, persistence, and exploratory behavior.
14. The child’s interest in books and other printed materials.
15. The child’s paying attention to stories.
16. The child’s participation in art and music activities.
17. The child’s ability to identify colors, geometric shapes, letters of the alphabet, numbers, and spatial and temporal relationships.
Notice how general this list is, and how it gives the teacher room to add what they want to the checklist. I think less specificity when it comes to analyzing children is probably better, because a teacher might spot something out of the ordinary not addressed on a more complex list. I also don’t see anything wrong with this observation, especially if the teacher uses it discreetly. There’s no paper and pencil testing, no bubbling-in answers. It is interesting too, that many of these behaviors would be best observed when a young child is playing, especially during recess.
But, despite this being a possibly decent assessment, Florida couldn’t leave well enough alone. Instead it continued to increase testing as the years went by.
Finally, Floridians wound up with what takes place, according to this history, in Florida kindergartens today.
Now 5-year-olds are assessed with the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR), which is, in my opinion, not really fair at all. This is what it entails:
1. The Florida Learning Kindergarten Readiness System (FLKRS), which includes a subset of the Early Childhood Observation System (ECHOS). I think this is similar to the above observation checklist only more measurable, called benchmarks, and with two more items on the checklist. A child, is either Not Yet Demonstrating, Emerging Progressing, or Demonstrating. And if they somehow don’t demonstrate 14 of the 19…well I’m not sure what happens…but I don’t think it’s good.
2. The Broad Screen and the Broad Diagnostic Inventory are two measures from FAIR. This replaced the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS).
a. The Broad Screen has a Letter Naming task and a Phonemic Awareness task. Based on how a child does with this, a percentage 1%-99% probability is determined to predict whether they will score, at or above grade level, at the 40th percentile, on the Standford Early School Achievement Test (SESAT) as they “graduate” kindergarten. This looks to me to be a test to predict how a student will do on a future test.
b. The Broad Diagnostic Inventory is a Vocabulary task and Listening Comprehension task to address “emergent” readers. Percentiles and ranking take place with the Vocabulary task.
Some Florida parents might want to dispute this list, or they may know of other tests. I am going by what I located on the above noted history and also HERE.
Notice the heavy push towards reading. Remember, introduction to reading used to be in first grade. In Finland, the land school reformers love to praise but never emulate, they introduce children to formal reading when they are in 3rd grade. In 3rd grade our country calls children failures if they are not reading fluently.
Now, in addition to the above, the State of Florida is talking about testing and grading kindergartners in their subjects (I think I missed some) which include: art, intro to computers, dance, health, language arts, theater, mathematics, music, P.E., Science, and Social Studies. I am happy to hear these young children get art, dance, music, and theater, but I am perplexed on how these subjects will be graded objectively.
If this kind of over-testing, not to mention micro-managing of a 5-year-old’s day, doesn’t lead to ADHD and additional learning disabilities, you have some kind of Super Child!
Kindergarten isn’t a time for heavy testing, or pushing children to learn beyond their development. Kindergarten is the “children’s garden” not an industrialized workhouse.
I suggest the legislators in the State of Florida, and other states, read a little Charles Dickens. Kindergartners will never be ready for the Global Economy (what reformers say they worry about) if they are nervous wrecks when they reach adulthood!
Oh. And if you still feel the need to grade children in the arts, ask their parents to do it. I bet every child will deservedly get an A!
The rise in students with disabilities is absolutely predictable. If the programs we’re implementing are perfect and the demands made in testing are reasonable, why, then, there can only be one explanation when a child comes up short– the child is defective.
Hi Peter, Thank you for your comments. I always appreciate your blog and am mystified how you write so often and wonderfully! Take care.
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/.
Let’s think about where all these kindergarteners are coming from. All the diverse backgrounds. Not all parents read to their children at home. Not all parents even talk to their kids at home. Kindergarten was the place where we could level the playing field. Yes, some children were higher in things like letter recognition or writing their names, but by the end of the year, most were up to where the teachers wanted them to be. Kindergarten should be where children learn to work and socialize together and learn some rules of society; i.e. listen when someone else it talking, wait your turn, etc. Who ever decided testing a little 5 year old child was appropriate wasn’t an educator. It was some dumb legislator who wanted another way to see if a teacher is “outstanding’, ‘proficient’ or otherwise. I think we should be able to do this to the legislators and get them out of office if they aren’t “proficient”!
Brenda, Your point about diversity and socialization at this age is spot-on! Who mentions this when it comes to school reform? Yet, I agree that it should be an important consideration in kindergarten! Thank you!
Please don’t forget that every local school board in Florida also does several writing assessments a year and their own testing, so multiply the list you have given twofold. It is disgusting what we are doing to our smallest children. We are labeling them as failures at younger ages, when for many it is immaturity or lack of phonics instruction. They are assessed on a list of 55 sight words in Brevard County, and must be reading.
Hi Bonnie, And I’m betting it isn’t lovely free journal writing either…and 55 sight words? I’m sorry to hear that, but thanks for the information.
I once read an article about a high powered executive that kept Play Doh and Crayons in his desk because just one whiff of these calmed him with memories of a stress-free time of his life. Too many kindergartners today will not have those memories. Kindergarten should be a time to learn to love school and love the magic of reading.
Hi Pam, Just so he doesn’t eat the Play Doh! Kidding. I do understand. And you make a very good point. What kindergartner is going to want to learn anything in the future if they just face measurement and the pressure to excel? It SHOULD be magical. Thank you!
I remember when my (now 19 year old) was in kindergarten. That was in 1999. His wonderful teacher spent an entire year doing “letter people” which was her program (developed over her 30 year teaching career) of teaching phonics and sight words. They took a letter a week. They did art with the letter- sandpaper letters, painting letters, painting pictures of words starting with that letter. They did projects with vocabulary starting with that letter. She had elaborate programs set up all around these themes. It was a wonderful way to learn. Just three years later, our other son had this same teacher. She was told to discontinue her program. She also had to cut phonics/sight words to 1/2 a year so they could be ready for the 3rd grade FCAT. Now, I understand the kindergarten program is even faster paced. Many students must be falling behind before they even enter 1st grade.
As it would turn out, our older son failed the vision screening in first grade. We took him to the eye doctor who said he was fine. His eyes had not “converged” yet though. He said that he was still “within normal limits” for developing convergence at his age. He was at the outer limits though. He also said that my son would likely not be able to really read until his eyes converged. So, he would have been one in remedial if our current policies were in effect. Thankfully, he was not. The doctor said this is why children really should not be expected to read at the same ages. Some had eye convergence at age 4 while others did not until they were 6. So, many kids who are not reading in kindergarten are placed in remedial reading for 1st grade. Maybe they just are not developmentally ready for reading yet. Why would we expect them to be reading if they can’t even see the letters properly?
My point is that we must stop disregarding child development research. Thank you for this post. I am hoping that FL districts will finally say enough to the FL DOE and start encouraging parents to opt out or refuse testing. It’s time they take a stand. Parents have been taking a stand for a long time now and they aren’t listening. It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the school districts around the state to speak up. I hope your article helps support the body of evidence that our Toxic Testing in FL is hurting our students. Thank you!
Thank you! You make two great points, Jupiter Mom.
Teachers are usually creative people with all kinds of wonderful ideas to reach children. But high-stakes testing steals time and energy.
And sensory development issues affect learning. Children should always get vision and hearing screenings. Glasses could make a world of difference!
The point is, why is it being made so difficult?