To the editor:

Lawrence schools are bracing to slash millions again. Meanwhile, our federal government is enacting a new mandatory-testing program to ensure student progress each year. While jobs and activities are on the chopping block, one thing that won’t be carved out of school budgets is the cost of giving these tests.

Using standardized tests to measure student aptitude is not progress. We’re regressing from the advancements made from educational research. Anyone who has been in the classroom recently knows student-centered learning is a key to student success; it helps develop critical thinkers because students are active in their attainment of knowledge rather than being passive recipients.

Sitting in class listening to instructors results in 10 percent retainment, and practice exercises encourage simple comprehension. That’s passive learning. The magic happens when students take the next step and apply, analyze or evaluate information. That’s active learning.

With this new federal mandate, however, the government is encouraging teaching to the test. Instructors will conduct drills each day, and the focus will become regurgitating information.

Why would a teacher with current knowledge of successful educational practices succumb to teaching to the test? Their job may depend on it. In addition, local newspapers publish testing results to compare how one school, district or state does (and we know how competitive that is).

Yes, the future leaders of America will indeed become excellent test takers in the coming years. The question is how pertinent will these skills actually be in their adult lives?

Jill Wright,

Lawrence