Young Teachers Turned Off By Testing
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Recently there have been many articles in both the popular and the professional press on the negative effects of heavy testing in lower grades causing young teachers to consider leaving the field.
Teachers like Kimberely Asselin, a first year kindergarten teacher whose enthusiasm for teaching has faded, overwhelmed because of testing, a topic that "that has become one of the most contentious topics in education." Asselin's classes are three quarters minority, almost 66% are qualified for free and reduced price lunch, and four in ten are English-language learners.
In some places grades can alter a student's schooling or determine whether a teacher should be promoted or fired. And in Fairfax County, Virginia, the course work for kindergarten exceeds the state's academic standards which are just as - or more - rigorous.
Read more in The Washington Post about the stress testing is contributing to 10% of teachers leaving after their first year.