The Article

Assistant Professor Deborah Smith and elementary teacher, Ann Wesley, explore the tension between student understanding and state and national tests and standards. In the article, Smith and Wesley, who is a fifth grade teacher at Averill Elementary School in Lansing, Michigan, chronicle their struggles between preparing Wesley’s fifth-grade students for the state test in science and teaching children developmentally appropriate content.

Discussion

Smith co-planned and co-taught Wesley’s class as part of a science study group at Averill, which is one of the College of Education’s Professional Development Schools.  Smith and Wesley had expected the fifth-grade students to already know about plant life cycles and structures and functions because these were K-4 state science objectives. The educators began planning to focus on the producer-consumer relationship, and photosynthesis, which was targeted for the fifth grade in the state tests.  In an effort to build on the students’ own ideas, the teachers assessed the students’ knowledge. They were shown an apple seed and a small log and asked how the seed went from its small size to a big apple tree. Students drew and wrote about what they thought happened. In reviewing the papers, Smith and Wesley were surprised to find that the students had not mastered the K-4 objectives on plant growth. They were faced with the dilemma of bolstering the children’s basic understanding of plants and yet preparing them for Michigan’s state test. “We wanted to help children develop a conceptual understanding of a plant’s life needs, the structure and function of the plant parts, and the seed-to-seed cycle before we asked them to use that knowledge for understanding photosynthesis.” The teachers decided to build the students’ knowledge by using a K-4 unit that addressed those objectives, and creating a lesson that helped the children reason their way to understanding the producer-consumer distinction. In the unit students did extensive investigations that included growing all kinds of seeds in a variety of situations, examining plant structures and their functions, observing several life cycles of certain plants, and so on. The results? “During the state science test,” the teachers wrote, “almost all of the children were ignoring the distractors on the producer-consumer question and choosing the correct answer...” The teachers also did a thorough assessment of children’s understanding, which showed a firm understanding of plant life concepts. “As teachers around the nation teach toward standards and reforms, there will be many such contradictions and dilemmas to solve,” the authors conclude. “We hope our example helps others as they focus on children’s understanding and the demands of science standards and tests.”

What It Means to You

Smith and Wesley’s experience shows that preparing students for a state standardized test and teaching for understanding are not mutually exclusive. With creativity and resourcefulness, teachers can focus on student understanding while meeting state standards. However, assessment of students’ understanding is critical to this effort.

For More Information

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