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Lee Ann Spillane

Frankie Huff, Dr. Elsie Olan and Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan
Atlantic Center for the Arts Writing Institute
June 2015
Kill Joy: Testing students until they crumble

Over testing compels high-achieving students to perfectionism, especially the gifted students I
serve in my practice. I remember Aymiras eyes welling up over her Advanced Placement
Psychology test or maybe it was her AP Environmental test or her Pre-Calculus End of Course
Exam that ended up not even counting against her. She couldnt not cry.
Are you okay? I asked as students gathered their things and walked out of the portable
classroom.
She nodded and put her hand in front of her mouth. She was literally holding the sob in with
her hand.
How about I write you a pass to go talk to the counselor?
She shook her head no. Then she whispered as a tear breach her lower lid, Im just tired. I
didnt sleep much this week.
She is fifteen.
Fifteeen and shes not sleeping because she feels driven or is being pushed. Pushed by our
consumer-driven, corporately-funded Culture with a capital C of education to do more, be
more, compete, compete, compete. I know the Shoulds and the Musts have gotten a hold of
her. I hug her and feel her hiccup and hug me. Her breath settles and she steps back wiping at
her eyes, thankfully not mascara-ed.
I imagine Alfie Kohn and the vengeance of public officials impos[ing] [their] will on schools
(1). I channel the calm of Stephen Krashen who believes in and documents the Power of
Reading, an approach to reading achievement that preserves curiosity and kindles
collaboration, not competition. I remind myself that students are More than a Score and push
myself to share that message in print, online, with my dentist, at my dermatologists office
(Ravitch and Kohn).
Aymiras calmed and packed up. I walk her to the door of the classroom and say, no matter
what, I know, you will do greatI know, you are going to do great things, no matter what you
choose, no doubt. She pressed her lips together and nodded as her eyes welled up.

As a twenty-year veteran and master teacher, I know that how many tests Aymira takes will
not determine how happy Aymira is in twenty-years. How many tests she passes now may
have no bearing on whether or not she will earn enough to sustain herself or her family. Her
education counts, no doubt. Though how much it counts (beyond a bachelors degree) is being
called into question by Bennett, Daniel, Vedder and others.
Some argue that in order to hold districts, administrations and teachers accountable,
educators must test and in order to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all
educators must monitor progress toward standards with even more tests. Bergman recently
found no significant relationship between testing frequency and academic achievement. Why
are we allowing public officials to steal instructional time that could be used kindle curiosity
and to pursue academic excellence? This testing compulsion, this second wave of the
Manufactured Crisis dulls the mind shine.
Learning is not a competition. There are no losers in learning. Learning is a grand adventure, a
wild safari of the mind in the world.
Over testing hurts children. It hurts teenagers too. Over testing sends the wrong message to
kids about learning, be they gifted high achievers or regular, everyday people like me. As a
nation we have reaped the benefits of compulsory learning. We have educated more of our
children than any nation on the planet. We keep more kids in school now than we ever have.
According Fry from the Pew Research Center, minority dropout rates are at an all-time low.

And the high school completion rates for Hispanic students are at an all-time high.

Can we do better? Always. We can do better as a nation. We can do better in our states,
districts and schools. I can do better in my own classroom. Though learning is compulsory in
our country we must push back to make sure testing is not.
Over testing is not the answer. We must stop using it to harm learning and abuse children.
Over testing will not fix what is not broken.

Works Cited
Bennett, Daniel L., and Richard K. Vedder. "Public Policy, Higher Education, and Income
Inequality in the US: Have We Reached Diminishing Returns." Higher Education, and Income
Inequality in the US: Have We Reached Diminishing Returns (June 16, 2014). Social Philosophy
& Policy, Forthcoming (2014).
Berliner, David C., and Bruce J. Biddle. The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on
America's public schools. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1 Jacob Way, Redding, MA
01867., 1995.
Bergmann, Eric. "An Examination of the Relationship Between the Frequency of Standardized
Testing and Academic Achievement." (2014).
Fry, R. "US high school dropout rate reaches record low, driven by improvements among
Hispanics, blacks." Pew Research Institute, 2014.
Kohn, Alfie. The case against standardized testing: Raising the scores, ruining the schools.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.
Krashen, Stephen. The power of reading. Second edition. New York, NY: Libraries Unlimited,
2004.
Ravitch, Diane, and Alfie Kohn. More than a score: the new uprising against high-stakes testing.
Ed. Jesse Hagopian. Haymarket Books, 2014.