Testing Madness: A Cause of Ineffective Reading Instruction

One cause of ineffective reading instruction is an un-understanding of how the brain creates meaning with print. The other is testing madness. The number monkeys have taken over education! If we can’t put a number to a thing, it is thought not to exist.

I have yet to come across a standardized test that taught a child to read. Despite all the colorful graphs and charts, I have yet to encounter a test that tells me exactly what I should do on Monday morning. They simply tell me how far away from average a kid is.