Teaching to the Test

I think it's very important to realize that for any subject, teaching with the goal of passing a test is 100% wrong. Tests should be measures of progress. Tests these days are, on the whole, poorly constructed, and their standardization generally weakens their effectiveness. And because of these problems it is possible to strictly prepare students for the test (as opposed to teaching students solely for mastery of a subject). But should we do it? Should we teach to the test? I say NO.

But because of high accountability on teachers and the high pressures of students to get high test scores and the subsequent high pressure from parents on teachers to prepare students for the tests, all focus is lost!

In Japan, English is especially easy to ignore while preparing for the tests. It amazes me that teachers can continue to teach (to the test) while evidence that their students can say and understand very little natural English (even natural English limited to grammar and vocabulary that have been "taught") appears daily in front of them.

In America, the same testing trend is sadly occurring. As a French teacher, I was able to avoid the stress involved with teaching to a test. So far, most states are focused only on math and English as far as federal school accountability tests are concerned. Many states are adopting their own tests for high school graduation in all subjects. Some more advanced states, New York for example, have already created tests for foreign languages. (Sidenote: I've seen the New York tests. They are very good proficiency based tests. But even good tests can be misused, i.e. used as a goal rather than a measure of progress/ability.)

The best tests for language are skill/performance based tests which are not easily standardized and require time and real-time adaptability. But these types of tests require a trained language expert to holistically evaluate a student's abilities. This seems subjective and isn't mass producible making them undesirable.

So what do we do? How can we have tests while not teaching to them? Is it possible? Is this having our cake and eating it too? Is standardization helpful or problematic? And as a lowly ALT am I ever going to have an impact on this problem in Japan?

PHEW!!!!! Crisis averted

Well I get to go after all. I got a message this morning that said that I'm all clear to go. I was so happy I ran around the house a bit before I calmed down and got back to preparing.

There's a lot to do. I looked at my list and realized I hadn't completed anything on it. And this is my majorly important to do list. So I called my financial institution today and got a lot of money matters worked out.

I didn't do much else today though, preparation-wise. I went to White Water with 3 friends and we just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. It's kind of interesting. 2 of them are actually about to embark on a big move as well. Moving to London for a not quite determined number of years. John is going to Cambridge for some post-doc work while his significant other Matt has found a job in London. They are actually moving within the next couple of weeks. So lots of goodbyes.

Anyway, needless to say. I am much relieved to know definitively that I am indeed going and get back to the normal level of stress associated with moving a few thousand miles across a continent and an ocean.

Oh and with Japanese tradition when you move and meet people in a new place, you are supposed to give a gift, called omiyage. A lot of people suggest for us JETs to bring things that represent our culture a bit. And they say edible is most desirable. Email me or comment me with any ideas about things I might that would be somewhat small, would travel well, and would represent Georgia or southern culture. Yeah, I know, it's last minute, but that's me.

1 WEEK!!!

Well, I know I haven't posted in a while. I'm sorry. As I'm sure you can imagine things have been pretty hectic. I started a couple posts but ended up getting interrupted and never finished them. Thanks for the comments and emails that people have sent me. I'm sorry about not getting back. I will when I get a chance, which may not come soon.

Unfortunately, part of what I'm running around doing is outside what you would expect with moving halfway around the world. One was a little bump that I'm not letting myself worry about though it won't be resolved completely until about September. I don't want to go into details on that. The other thing is a bit more recent. I've had a heart condition from birth. It's always required monitoring but has never required any restrictions. Well basically, I made the JET folks aware of it as part of the application is a medical background. They don't want to send someone over who will drop dead or not be able to receive the medical treatment they need. That's not the case for me, but apparently hearing "heart condition" and possible follow-up in Japan, freaked out some officials in Tokyo. I guess that's understandable. But really, the worst case scenario is that I would need surgery in a few years. Get that... a few YEARS. And most likely it would be a procedure that could be done laproscopically for which I could be an outpatient. In and out in the same day. So they wanted a note from my doctor that said I would be able to travel to Japan. I got one and it wasn't enough. They needed to know specifics and if they thought I would not be able to receive treatment if needed, that I would not be allowed to go to Japan.

So I'm freaking out now. I just faxed a bunch of stuff to the consulate and I'm crossing my fingers that it's adequate to allay any fears the JET Programme has about my going to Japan. I had the doctor specify that I could go for a year and get the follow up after I come back and that only if I stay for more than a year that I would need a check up in Japan that would be part of any normal cardiac check up. I even wrote my own personal letter detailing my heart history and my active lifestyle (soccer, running, the half-marathon I did) and how I've never had restrictions etc. I also included links to a hospital in Kagawa, my hopefully soon-to-be home prefecture, that has a cardiology department and cardiovascular surgery capabilities. This would go above and beyond my needs in Japan with regards to a simple check up. I also included a link to an article about the type of test that would need to be done during my check up, an echocardiogram. Which is a typical test for cardiology. I think the JET coordinator at the consulate had already left for the weekend, so I now have to wait until Monday to even hear from her, let alone her getting it faxed to Tokyo and hearing back from them. It might not be until Wednesday and I'm supposed to leave on Saturday!!!!!!!

I'm trying to stay positive and hopeful. But I have this feeling of dread that keeps coming back. And I'm supposed to be celebrating my departure with friends in the next days and it's like, am I really going anywhere? And after next Friday, if I don't get to go, I will no longer have an income and I will be officially unemployed, with no real backup plan. I mean I just checked out the teachgeorgia site and there are French positions available in Georgia, but I gave up my job at Cherokee. I don't really want to work at another high school. I wouldn't have given up my position at CHS if I hadn't felt strongly about being on this JET Programme. It's like... hey, you're going to Japan...... psych! Gotcha. Except it's not really funny.

So hope, pray, sing, cross your fingers, do interpretive dances... whatever it is you do so that I can get to Japan!