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by Susan Ohanian (Author)
Standards and high-stakes testing issues create strange bedfellows: Many conservative parents are against the tests on the grounds of too much federal intrusion and too many liberal agendas in the content; so-called liberal parents object to the idea of this type of test as a matter of principle. Both groups decry the way the tests have distorted curriculum and changed the values of kids. The bottom line is: There is no one, right or left who doesn't advocate some type of educational reform when it comes to standards. What Happened to Recess and Why is My Child Struggling in Kindergarten? will analyze the mania for testing children, explaining why a child's passing from fourth to fifth grade, or receiving a high school diploma, depends upon a set of tests. The book will also explain what parents who are joined in grass roots movements around the country are doing to empower themselves, change public policy on education, and protect their children. The audience is parents who want an insider's view of the educational system, and teachers and administrators who want to know how to explain these issue to parents when they ask. The book is anecdotal, drawing on the author's 20 years
Back Jacket
Evaluation, Not Education--The Problems With Standardized Testing
Union members, Army recruits, even trained animals get scheduled breaks during their workday. But not schoolchildren. With an increasing focus on standardized tests, many educators say there simply isn't time for fun and games. So preoccupied are they with preparing children for tests, that the very concept of recess is regarded as superfluous.
"What Happened to Recess and Why Are Out Children Struggling in Kindergarten? "is both a poignant commentary on the present state of our children's education and a useful tool to help the adults change it. From California to Chicago to New York, teachers complain that they "teach to the tests, not to the children." Education should be a process, they point out, not a commodity. The pro-standards faction isn't listening. The result? The act of educating is giving way to a reckless method that more resembles job training. The need for change is urgent.
Filled with actual stories from the classroom, "What Happened to Kindergarten "arms parents and teachers with the knowledge they need to fight this damaging trend. Drawing on her twenty years of classroom experience, author Susan Ohanian documents the grueling tests (some going on for five days), the fear and exhaustion children experience as a result, and how the final evaluations are often dead wrong. She then describes in detail the forces behind the pro-Standards movement, which often place political and business interests above those of the children's education.
Well-informed, highly readable, and often comical, "What Happened to Kindergarten" educates parents so they can make sure their kids are taught--not merelyevaluated.
