Annual High Stakes Tests and The Fixed Mindset

     In my first post I suggested that I would blend my experiences and observations.  In the second I asserted that the central mission of education is to grow imagination.  In this post and a few that follow, I will to describe the situation a twelve year old might find himself or herself in today.  I think you will agree that it is far different from mine forty years ago.   For ease, let's call the student of today, Tom.  At twelve, Tom is in the sixth grade.  Tom has learned through his experience and his observation of other, older students, that how he performs in school has no impact on his grade level.  Each year Tom gets older and each year Tom moves to the next grade.
     In third grade, Tom and his classmates began taking long, difficult, year end tests.  Tom has noticed that these tests seem important to his teachers because they make a big deal about getting plenty of sleep and eating breakfast before the "big test days."  Tom and his classmates never heard much about the results of the first tests at the end of third grade.  He does remember that many of the questions were confusing and he knew he was guessing on some questions.  His teacher had said not to leave any blank and to try to pick the best choice.  "If you don't find a best choice, pick C."
     At the beginning of fourth grade Tom was happy to see many of his old friends in his class.  The new teacher was more demanding and the teacher's tests became harder and harder as the year went on, but Tom enjoyed his classmates.  Fourth grade was pretty much an extension of third grade in Tom's mind.  He had learned in third grade that report cards or test grades didn't mean much after a day or two, so Tom paid little attention to them.  In fact, when he brought home a note from his teacher about needing extra help at home from his Mom in arithmetic, she just said, "It will all work out, just do your best."