Rubrics, Scoring Guides, and Testing, Testing, Testing

Once upon a time there was a school that failed to meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Failing to meet the mandates did not mean all student test scores were exceedingly low; NCLB required schools to report test scores incrementally for specific groups. Because the school did not meet participation requirements for a group or have high-enough test scores when the group scores were reviewed in isolation, the school was labeled as failing. Teachers in this school were also required to meet rigid demands for “adequate preparation” on reporting guidelines. When schools failed this mandate, they had three years to improve before being labeled even more harshly as a “School in Need of Improvement.” They also knew if they failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress in a subject area for either “All Students” or in any of the student sub-categories for two consecutive years, they risked further and more serious labeling and the state department of education would likely send someone to assist them in the hopes of ensuring improvement. This story reads as if it is a mere cautionary tale, but it is too easily becoming a reality in schools as we begin the twenty-first century.

This chapter will look at how stories like this one have become common in schools today. The bureaucratic script—and how it works to manufacture the idea that teachers are not capable of educating America's children—will be explored and critiqued. Rubrics or scoring guides and some of the tests used to maintain a stranglehold on children, teachers, and our educational system will also be explored. First I will look briefly at how the story of school failure has been created and mass-produced in this country.