Every summer I sit down and look at the work my students have produced and what might need to change. I learn so much about them just from reading their term projects. A portfolio of writing that asks them to personally explore a theme. For my senior English class, that theme is Legacy. I ask them to write in various genres about their life, their impact, their future, what they want to be and where they want to go.

I often hear things like, “Mr. G, I am 17. I have no legacy.” or “I don’t think I have really impacted anyone.” as we begin the project. By the end, I have these beautiful reflections on the journey they have travelled so far and the hopes and wishes they have for their futures. What I never hear is, “Mr.Gilson, that standardized test was great; it really helped me as a learner.” Never, not once, have I heard that. Yet we spend so much time working on preparing for these exams; districts and governments put so much emphasis on them.

Today, as we were practicing a skill that will be required for one of those silly exams, I was caught by how stressed the kids were already. Our tests are months away, but here they are asking if this practice will be on their gradebook, if they don’t do well, how much will it impact their grade. One was near tears, apologizing that they need a little extra time and help. No matter how much I stress that I care about the exams very little, they have learned that the value of schooling has shifted. We seem less and less worried about the students and more and more worried about the scores, those things are not the same.

In the province I live in, we have standardized tests at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. The data is shared, and very little is done with it. I might learn that students struggled that year with identifying the main idea, or identifying the author’s purpose (which has been decided by someone else absent the author’s own confirmation). Maybe we see some trends that are reflected in my teaching where adjustments can be made. Maybe.

I was talking to a colleague about a student that I knew was having a hard day and wanted ot give them a heads up. They informed me that the student was no longer in their class because they had been moved to intervention. The student, incredibly bright, well-read, knowledgeable, and creative, also has a level of anxiety that severely impacts his ability to function in many circumstances. One such circumstance is a test that they are told is important. So those “sit-down and focus” moments become sit down and use every bit of your energy to appear as though you have it together, when all you can actually think about is how bad you are going to do.

This brilliant student, seen as test scores by those who have not taken the time to honour his individual excellence, now finds himself in a program. We are not doing anything to help these students feel safe and comfortable in school. We are doing nothing to see them; we just see a score.

It is a failure of society that we allow such a small piece of the school experience to define the people having to maneuver through it.

There may be people who read this and think, Brent doesn’t value standardized tests; they would be right. I don’t value them; I can, however, accept that there is data obtained that can help complete a puzzle we have yet to figure out.

A piece, not the whole puzzle.

Before we lock students into endless intervention, we should know them, know their interests, know the strengths we can lean on to address the weaknesses.

I know that actually getting to know our students is a novel idea for some. I know there is this urgency to address the scores. But we can’t forget the students behind these scores.

Today is National Grouch Day. I am doing my best to honour that too.