The Atomization Of Literature: How Standardized Testing Is Killing Reading Instruction
At Forbes. com, I talk about what the Big Standardized Test has done to the teaching of literature.
This summer, New York City schools are preparing for a shift in reading instruction, and recent reports indicate that it’s not just for lower grades, but for high schools as well. One shift in particular has caused some alarm—a shift to focusing on short excerpts rather than whole texts.
While it may come as a source of alarm in New York City, the shift to excerpts in place of whole texts has been going on for twenty-plus years, coinciding with the rise of the Big Standardized Test as a means of measuring student achievement in reading.
Balancing texts against excerpts has always been a challenge for English teachers. There are only 180 days in the year, and only so much success one can have assigning out of school reading. So compromise has always made sense. Do you really want to take a full six months to work through Moby Dick, or will it be good enough to give students just a taste?
Still, to really hit the high notes of literacy, teachers and students need to work through full texts. To delve into the full context, not just some key quotes. To take time to dig in and reflect on the ideas contained in the text. To discuss with fellow readers, sharing and exploring ideas, examining different perspectives and interpretations. Maybe even take a pair of works and really think about how they connect. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Heart of Darkness both involve a journey on a river connecting to themes tied to identity and racism; how does a thoughtful examination of how the two play off each other illuminate each text further.
A non-fiction text also offers opportunities to examine and reflect. How does the author connect and control the reality that’s reflected in their writing? What can we find and explore outside the text that will bring greater understanding to the ideas within the full text? Does the book offer a full picture of the world it depicts?
This is a critical part of becoming a literate person—to be able to dig and reflect and examine and explore a full text. To take time to do all that and then craft a thoughtful response. This should be a major part of every student’s education.
The problem is that none of that— none of it— is on the Big Standardized Test.
One can’t help but see the connection & similarities to the SOR fights. The focus on sounding out individual words without context & comprehension ignores the entire purpose of reading. Same with “excerpts”.
While I have got all kinds of critique of how Florida’s education system sucks, one prop I will give it is that the BEST standards require the reading of complete texts. The fidelity with which that requirement is followed may be weak, but it at least gives cover to teachers who agree that this is an important educational experience.