Semantics
3 min read
An interesting read from Jose Vilson on the language around testing. Advocates of standardized tests have a lot to gain by labeling people who advocate for more balanced assessments as "anti-testing."
As Jose Jose puts it:
I’m not anti-testing. I’m pro-whole-child-assessment. We don’t have a fancier name for this, but it’s more appropriate than the drivel attached to the “anti-testing†label.
The "anti-testing" label is an effective way to pigeonhole people who want more balanced assessments, because "anti-testing" carries some additional baggage:
- People who are "anti-test" believe that all tests are bad;
- People who are "anti-test" aren't proposing any alternatives;
- People who are "anti-test" don't want to measure effectiveness;
- People who are "anti-test" don't believe in data;
- People who are "anti-test" want to perpetuate a factory model of education;
- People who are "anti-test" want to perpetuate a system designed for a 19th century education;
- Etc, etc, etc.
None of these things are true, of course, but in the current conversations about making our educational system work for the people who need it most, truth is often the first casualty. The "anti-test" label allows advocates of standardized testing to pretend to engage in discussion while dismissing any objection: how can you reason with someone who is "anti-test"?
This is the same blanket dismissal that we see from people attempting to dismiss criticism of Common Core by relegating all objections to the Common Core to fringe political elements (aka, the Tea Party). There are many sound objections to the Common Core and the other changes bound to Common Core implementation, but it's easier to dismiss criticism as coming from an unhinged fringe than address and respond to sound objections coming from a questioning middle ground.
At this point in time, the public K12 landscape within the United States contains the Common Core, for-profit charters, vouchers, high stakes testing, merit pay schemes, teacher ratings published in the local paper, decreased student privacy through increased data collection, a concerted effort to privatize parts of public schools, weakened teachers unions - these are all elements of the status quo. Education policy is one of the few areas of consensus between Republicans and Democrats.
The language we use to discuss these issues matter; how we define our concerns matters. It's time to give equal emphasis to the alternatives we propose alongside the status quo we wish to replace.
