I spent my Saturday taking a test, the ORELA, to be specific. This test, the Oregon Educator Licensure Assessment was, for lack of a more creative description, a nightmare. I will be the first to admit that criterion-referenced tests have never been my cup of tea. I had to take the SAT twice in high school because I did such a rotten job the first time. My issue with these tests is that, in my opinion, they really don't prove anything. Pulled right from the ORELA site, "The ORELA tests are criterion referenced and objective based. Criterion-referenced tests are designed to measure a candidate’s knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard of performance (a criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. The tests are designed to help identify those candidates who have the level of knowledge and skills required to perform satisfactorily as Oregon educators."
My problem with that statement is that I, in no way, feel that how I perform on that test will say anything about how I, or any of my graduate peers will perform as Oregon educators. Only twelve questions in on Saturday and I had an urge to just close my test booklets, take them and their respective answer sheets to the test administrator, and suggest that I not waste anyone's time by attempting to pass this thing. It didn't feel at all like a test based on assessing my knowledge as an educator, it felt like an unfortunate round of Jeopardy.
The questions ranged from nearly insulting, to utterly ridiculous. I suppose I should be thankful for the "gimmes" like:
Which of the following sentences uses
capitalization correctly?
A. "Mother to Son," a poem by
Langston Hughes, is one of my
favorites.
B. Everyone who visits San Francisco
makes the pilgrimage to the golden
gate bridge.
C. In the 1970s, secretariat was named
"horse of the century" after he won
horse racing's Triple Crown.
D. The blue spruce, Colorado's State
Tree, is primarily found on the
higher slopes.
But when we go from that to:
The ancient Babylonians developed and used a base-60 number
system. This number system is still used today in which of the
following applications?
A. scientific notation
B. computer programming
C. metric measurement
D. timekeeping
Well, let's just say I don't think it went well. While I do understand that there are a number of people out there who will know the answer to the sample question I just posted, I'm not one of them. As the man behind me in line during check-in spouted, "Nah, I didn't study; the ORELA is pretty much common sense for any relatively intelligent human being." REALLY!? Because I consider myself "relatively intelligent" and I have no common sense knowledge of the blasted ancient Babylonian numbering system. Sheesh. Maybe I was daydreaming in class that day in tenth grade when we discussed the ancient Babylonians and their base-60 numbering system. Criminy.
I am fully aware of the negative tone this post has; make no mistake about that. I am also painfully aware that criterion referenced tests are my Achilles heel. You know what else I'm aware of? I'm aware that I'll make one heck of a good teacher some day. And, just to be clear. Even if I (by some miracle) pass this thing, I'll still be just as irritated by it. I did take and pass the CBEST and was equally annoyed by having to do that. I also realize that systems need to be in place - that there does need to be some measurable assessment before we just send anyone in front of a classroom to mold minds. Perhaps my life's work will be to create that measurable assessment, one that seems reasonable and fair and valid. How about creating a test that one could actually study for? Maybe that's what irks me about the ORELA vs. the CBEST. The CBEST I could study for - it tested my knowledge and ability to perform various math problems, my understanding of language arts, and my ability to write a well composed essay. That seems relevant. Whether or not I know where the sitar originated, that... that does not seem relevant.
Thank you, Oregon. Thank you for putting this test in my path to decide if I will "perform satisfactorily" as an Oregon educator. I'm not opposed to student teaching, to creating a worksample, to spending countless hours learning about racial tolerance, literacy comprehension, and how best to teach math to upper elementary and middle school students. I am not opposed to performing tasks that actually will teach me how to teach. To judging my ability as a teacher through a round of Jeopardy? To that I say, phooey!
I hope my peers did better than I feel I did. I truly do. And to those of you who have already passed it, well done! I mean that in all sincerity.
