Test Prep

My son has just completed three days of New York State Tests. He is not alone. Countless kids have done the same thing, and will take more tests in a few weeks. Thankfully, he goes to a school where I believe he has been prepared. While I may not agree with so much time going into test prep, I do agree with a school's giving kids the tools and confidence to succeed, and my son's relatively calm handling of this week suggests to me that they've done a good job with that. We'll see what happens when the scores come out (if I recall correctly, many months from now).
 
Sometimes it seems as though a disproportionately large part of our lives (and our kids' lives) is spent taking tests. Tests to get into kindergarten, tests to assess knowledge and aptitude, tests to move on to any new place you'd like to go. Over the years, my husband has cautioned me countless times to remember that a test says something (we may not be quite sure what!) about our child on one day, while we have known the child day in and day out for years. It is so easy to go along with test scores--to give them the same power in our minds that they have over school choices and opportunities (at least in New York). The hard part is separating out what the tests do say, and what they don't.
 
Does a test score mean that a child is less of a worthy student? Or more of one? Not necessarily. How often have we worked hard in our jobs, only to find that others pass us by for small reasons?
 
Does success on a test mean that the way ahead is clear? For that matter, does lack of success on that test mean that the way is doomed? I would like to think not. The reality is, at least in New York City, test scores are weighed heavily. The other reality is that not all of our best paths in life are the obvious ones, so if the tests take something away, I would like to think they give something--perhaps an opportunity we might not have considered--back as well.
 
I am definitely glad that this round of tests is over, even if I know that the next round is just around the corner. Do I wish the school days could be full of more than preparing for tests? Sure. But for better or for worse, we will always be preparing for one type of test or another. And if we can come out of that prep even a little more ready to see and face what lies ahead, we will be prepped to handle whatever that turns out to be.