By Amy Urbanowski-Nowak
Birch Run Education Association

When I was a young child, I often dreamt of being a teacher… and a horse trainer, but that’s a story for another day. I would ask my sisters to play the role of the student or set up my stuffed animals if my sisters grew tired of it.

Back then I was inspired to become a teacher, and when I made my dream come true, I was equally excited. I never expected testing to be the huge factor it has become in the life of my classroom.

A few years into my career, the emphasis on standardized assessments grew exponentially, and it saddened me. I never imagined when I was lining my stuffed animals into neat little rows that they would be focused on test taking and surpassing the state and national average scores.

Over time the emphasis on testing grew, and as I sit here contemplating this ordeal today, high-stakes testing remains exactly as it sounds: high-stakes. Yet I know when we turn test scores into the goal, instead of one measure among many, real learning gets lost.

As an educator who has been in the field for 20-plus years, I’ve found that I must approach this subject in different ways with my students because they often seem confused as to why standardized testing is so important.

Some of them wonder why the SAT really matters or if scoring lower on one of our yearly assessments will make them look unintelligent. A few do not take the test seriously at all, while others stress over the assessments and let their anxiety get the best of them.

To them I say, “You are more than a test score.”

We have students sitting in classrooms everyday who excel in many ways that a standardized test can’t measure and the news reports and charts and graphs will never convey.

Some are learning skills to fix automobiles and build homes at the career center. Others are involved in the Early College Program exploring what it’s like to be a college student.

Certain students are sitting in my classroom and others’ classrooms each day learning valuable communication skills in speech class or how to envelop a character in drama class.

Young people are figuring out how to dissect sources for credibility in their English courses, a skill they will carry into the real world.

I have seen students compete in public speaking competitions in the forensic circuit, among peers from all around the state, and do so with confidence and eloquence.

I have seen some gather courage to present in front of their community during drama productions and wow audiences.

I have seen students motivating their fellow classmates to succeed and helping those in need.

But test scores do not show any of this.

Educators have been saying the same thing for years. We can’t keep shouldering more of society’s problems while resources and services are cut. Instead, we get policymakers touting more “competition,” private schools and voucher schemes. Where has that gotten us?

It’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate.  Students are more than a test score. Teachers are more than a test score. Schools are more than a test score.  Let’s put the emphasis where it belongs — on helping students succeed and teachers teach.

Amy Urbanowski teaches high school English, speech, drama and forensics and serves as president of the Birch Run Education Association. She has also coached high school forensics for over 20 years.