How young is too young?

Educational Historian Diane Ravitch recently tweeted a link to an article in the NY Daily News titled Kindergarten gets tough as kids are forced to bubble in multiple choice tests.   The article highlights the Common Core Math testing of kindergarteners in New York schools.

Teachers commented that their kindergarten students were "bewildered" by the tests.  For starters, their students do not know their alphabet yet.  This makes filling in choice A, B, C, or D incredibly difficult and confusing.  In addition, teachers commented that many of the students do not know numbers so it is difficult to make sure the child is on the correct problem.

Madhabi Chatterji, a professor of Measurement-Evaluation and Education at Columbia University claims that these teachers' observations are spot on.  Chatterji argues that the Kindergarten test assumes that the child has already grasped concepts such as reading left to right, respond to oral instructions in writing, and sit still for an extended period of time.

Although I am no professional, I agree with both Chatterji and the interviewed teachers.  I teach middle school students who often have a hard time following complex instructions on their standardized tests.  I cannot imagine what a kindergarten room would look like during testing.  Kindergarten should be a time of learning how to learn, and being exposed to school. The amount of time that it will take to get all students prepared for the test, on the correct page, etc is valuable time that could be otherwise used in the classroom to actually teach to the child.

Perhaps there are other assessments that could be used in place of written tests for kindergarteners.  For example, students could create audio recordings with the help of a teacher demonstrating their competence in saying the alphabet, counting to a certain number, etc.  Or, students could be recorded when asked questions about material covered throughout the year.

School should be a place where students feel comfortable, not scared.  If students are crying because of testing, then something is definitely wrong the system.