I remember when this first happened, a very lively discussion broke out over her decision.
A number of people here thought she should just take the test and learn to accept the "realities of life."
Well...
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/edu....21f938b4.html
Taking TAKS to task
Web Posted: 03/18/2006 12:00 AM CST
Jenny LaCoste-Caputo
Express-News Staff Writer
When Kimberly Marciniak first decided to take a stand against standardized testing by boycotting the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, critics from all sides begged her to change her mind.
Since public school students in Texas must pass the test to earn a high school diploma, teachers and guidance counselors worried the intelligent young girl was throwing away her chances for college. A guest on a local radio talk show said she'd made a "stupidly stubborn decision."
Now Marciniak, 18, has the ultimate "I told you so." She has been accepted to her top three college choices and offered scholarships from each one.
Marciniak is part of a growing contingent of students nationwide showing their opposition to high-stakes testing by putting down their pencils.
In Massachusetts, New York, Washington and California, students and parents have boycotted state tests in recent years. And a growing number of colleges and universities also are turning their backs on standardized tests by dropping the requirement that applicants submit an ACT or SAT score.
A senior at North East School of the Arts — a magnet program at Lee High School — Marciniak has a stellar academic record and spent last school year studying in New Zealand.
Despite the advanced placement courses she's taken and the classes she's aced, Kimberly will count among the school's dropouts this year because of her refusal to take the TAKS test.
"I think a lot of people thought when it actually came down to graduation requirements that I would eventually take the test," Marciniak said. "I always felt like if I was doing the right thing and I felt so strongly about it, then no matter what happened, I'd be OK."
If the growing backlash against standardized tests keeps up, Marciniak may have plenty of company.
More than 730 four-year colleges and universities nationwide do not use the SAT or ACT to make admissions decisions about a substantial number of their applicants. Policies vary from school to school.
Some schools may not require test scores at all, while others exempt students who meet grade-point average or class rank criteria. Some schools may require the scores but use them only for placement purposes or to conduct research studies.
The list of test optional schools is growing. The schools range from small liberal arts colleges to state college systems in California and Oregon and includes more than 40 schools in Texas, the University of Texas at Austin and at San Antonio, among them.
But that doesn't mean students who don't take the TAKS will have an easy time being admitted. It's possible to attend a Texas college without having officially graduated, admissions officers say, but policies vary.
Robert Schaeffer, the public education director for FairTest, an advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Mass., that opposes what it calls the misuse of standardized tests, keeps an online list of colleges that don't consider test scores for admission.
He said half a dozen colleges in the past year have switched to test optional — including Knox — and he expects several more to make that decision in the coming year, based on his conversations with admissions officials at those schools.
"Many colleges are realizing that test performance is not a true measure of a student's merit," Schaffer said.
Amen to that, say students like Marciniak and Mia Kang-Radlet, who as a freshman at MacArthur High last year refused to take a TAKS practice test and the real thing when it rolled around.
They say the "drill and kill" mentality of test preparation is destroying their thirst for knowledge and creating a generation of students who are missing crucial lessons in critical thinking, creativity and discovery.
"The issue for me with TAKS has never been whether or not I can pass, but whether or not I can participate in something I believe is unfair," Marciniak said. "Civic responsibility is something I learned about in my seventh-grade year. You have no right to complain about the president if you don't vote. Well I look at TAKS the same way. I would have no right to complain if I know there is something I can do to change it."
Marciniak applied to small, "test optional" liberal arts colleges. Her top two choices: Hampshire College in western Massachusetts and Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., both offered her scholarships based on her decision to boycott TAKS.
In her acceptance letter, Hampshire admission officials signed off with a P.S. that read: "Kim, your willingness to stand up for your beliefs is inspiring. At Hampshire, you'll be able to combine your passion for social justice, cultural studies, education reform and the visual arts into a meaningful education."
The school offered her its "To Know Is Not Enough" scholarship for active participation in democracy to bring about change, worth $30,000. Annual tuition at Hampshire, plus room and board, is just over $40,000 a year.
"The school's motto is 'To know is not enough' and it implies that knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not enough and it should be knowledge in service," said Elaine Thomas, director of college communications for Hampshire. "We have a definite commitment to civic action. We particularly attract and like students who ask a lot of questions. Our approach to education is inquiry based. That's what makes Kimberly a perfect fit here."
Knox awarded Marciniak its top social concerns scholarship, worth $28,000 over four years, plus an additional visual arts scholarship. The school was founded by social reformers in 1837 and some of its earliest students included women and African Americans, said Paul Steenis, vice president of enrollment and dean of admissions. Knox charges about $32,000 per year, including room and board.
"When we saw Kim take this stand on very principled grounds, really taking some risks, it really resonated with us," Steenis said. "Just this past year we took the bold step of becoming a test optional college. It's a growing trend particularly among more select colleges to move beyond test scores. It's really a response to this world that is increasingly obsessed with testing at all levels. Teaching to a test has become more important than learning."
Marciniak said her parents — her mom graduated from Wellesley College and her dad graduated from Harvard University — stood behind her decision to boycott the test, even if it jeopardized her college chances.
She said she hopes she's proven a point.
"I was so thrilled not only to be accepted but also thrilled that in a sense I proved all those disbelievers wrong. My decision did not hurt my college application process like everyone feared," Marciniak said. "In fact I saw the exact opposite — the colleges I applied to looked on a principled boycott as a positive thing."
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Kimberly, good luck to you and I hope many other students decide to follow your example and finally force the state into reforming their methods of education.
Brave girl. It's one thing to not take the SAT/ACT when there are quite a few places that don't require it. It's a whole 'nother level to refuse to take a test that's required for your HS diploma, because not many colleges are willing to look past that.
And Hampshire is a damn good school.
"But, but, she should have conformed and learned that she might not always like the things life tells her to do. She's spoiled. She'll regret this decision the rest of her life."
Is this like the TASS test?
If so, whats the problem with it?
It is like TAAS, just with some changes.
My whole problem with standardized testing, especially in this state, is that many teachers - good teachers - are being "forced" to teach to the test instead of getting kids to learn and analyze and make decisions for themselves.
And they're being "forced" by administration who now have to focus on simply keeping their school funding alive since parts of that were/are now based on performance on the TAAS/TAKS.
I've seen many a teacher perform "practice TAKS" or have class time dedicated to making sure the kids can take the tests.
Well heres how I looked at it.
The TAAS (thanks for the correct spelling, I spell like a 2 year old)
Was that it had on it, the basic needs, IMO, things you needed to know when graduating high school.
Ive never had a problem with that, and IMO, I think you need a test to see if these kids can PASS this stuff, and have the knowledge of a 12th year student.
You hear stories all the time of people that graduate high school and can't read, and IMO, thats is a HUGE travesty. HUGE!
So, standardized testing IMO, is a good thing, because, weve got to see how these kids are doing.
I think it can be a good thing when like most other things, it's used correctly in moderation.
I think it's hugely unfair for the state (and the TEA) to base funding on performance of these tests. I think we need a revamp of how we classify dropout students so that we can get a better idea of how or why students aren't finishing high school in the first place (these inflated numbers don't reflect the true situation).
I can provide a link to a very good EN story a few years back, but that'll be later as it would require time to look for it and I just don't have that right now...maybe tomorrow.
Yeah I agree with that.I think we need a revamp of how we classify dropout students so that we can get a better idea of how or why students aren't finishing high school in the first place (these inflated numbers don't reflect the true situation).
I agree.I think it's hugely unfair for the state (and the TEA) to base funding on performance of these tests
But then funding gets sticky, how else would you base it on?
If go by students passing, then teachers will pass people right on through for no reason.
Attendance, MAYBE.
But then schools get really stupid, cause one time I had an appendicitis, and I missed wednesday through friday from school for it.
I was told the day after i got home from school was an unexcused day, because I could've been in school.
Yeah, you, I had freakin s ches and couldn't breathe.
I know schools that dedicate virtually the entire school year to TAKS.
Once the second half of the test is done in April, then teachers can get to the rest of the curriculum.
The reason TAKS is tied to funding is because for a lot of school districts, it's the only way to get their attention. You probably were under the impression that all teachers and administrators were aiming to educate the young people under their charge as their top goal. For many, that's true. But in a lot of cases, teachers are there to get a paycheck, and administrators are there to feather their own nests and set up patronage networks. Unfortunately for disadvantaged kids, they are more likely to get these kinds of people running their schools.
Poor school districts can get their kids to pass TAKS. I know because there are several disadvantaged districts around the Houston area that regularly have "Commended" and "Recognized" schools.
On the one hand, those kids aren't getting as well-rounded an education as if they were well-prepared students learning a deeper curriculum. On the other hand, children of the working poor, of the uneducated, and of those of poor character rarely are well-prepared for their school careers. They don't have the range of experiences that more affluent children have. They haven't been read to. A lot of times, they've never been more than a few miles away from their homes in their entire lives. If a teacher tries to show them "the world," the world to those kids will be something on a poster or in a book rather than something real out there.
Children of educated parents are going to have school reinforced at home. Children of uneducated parents are not. Those parents either will not have the time (because of the hours they must work to keep food on the table) or the interest (because of their poor value system regarding education) to be involved in their children's education. These parents also are less likely to provide a stable home environment, because the poor judgment in their lives often is a big reason they have become disadvantaged in the first place. And the schools have absolutely no control over how these kids are raised. They just have to cope with what they're given.
These are some of the reasons these kids don't graduate from high school. This is not a situation where if only we could find out the problem, we could fix it. The problems are well-known, and some of them can be solved (corrupt and incompetent school districts), but some cannot.
Yes, TAKS is a huge waste of time, money, and effort in schools that are teaching the well-prepared children of affluent and educated parents. But that's what, 30% of the population? 40%? For the rest, this test-based curriculum at least is providing more education than what they otherwise would have gotten, and there's a system to prove they're getting it, rather than letting them slip through the cracks forever and get a diploma that doesn't mean anything.
And we don't have a multi-tiered education system like the Europeans have, so if one school has to do it, everybody has to do it. There is no freaking way it would be politically possible to have a college-prep track for some schools, and a test-based or vocational track for others, because there would be significant racial disparities based upon contemporary socioeconomic realities.
Very very true, well said.But in a lot of cases, teachers are there to get a paycheck, and administrators are there to feather their own nests and set up patronage networks. Unfortunately for disadvantaged kids, they are more likely to get these kinds of people running their schools.
Don't get me started on the bull No Child left behind ACT, that is nothing but pork barrel politics.
Bush, sadly, is not a conservative.
Compared to his rivals he looked conservative.
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