A mother’s frustrated Facebook post lamenting the impact of standardized testing on young children has struck a chord.
Blogger Adrian Wood recently took to social media to lambaste North Carolina’s End-of-Grade Tests — exams that are administered to students grades three through eight.
Wood explained in her post that her young son’s own recent fears were the catalyst for her sharing her perspective.
“Today I got a phone call from my third-grade son who was in the kind nurse’s office and crying. He proceeded to tell me about his jaw and how it was really hurting,” Wood wrote. “I asked if he wanted to come home and he replied that he didn’t think he could because of EOGs. Of course you can, I said, it’s just a test.”
Stop the EOG MadnessToday I got a phone call from my third-grade son who was in the kind nurse's office and crying. He…
Posted by Tales of an Educated Debutante on Tuesday, May 30, 2017
But her son nervously said that if he doesn’t pass he won’t be able to move on to the fourth grade. Wood lied and said that she had a letter saying he would, indeed, be going to the fourth grade, as she said she wasn’t sure what else to do in the moment.
In the end, Wood believes that there isn’t much of a benefit to these state exams, sharing her efforts to reach out to politicians to discuss the matter.
“Tell me how EOGs and the pressure they bring benefit my family. What message are we sending to our children?” Wood continued. “How will they remember the days of elementary school? Will they remember the awesome teachers that nurtured them or will they only remember those tests? Tests that had little to do with amazing schools.”
She concluded the post by asking members of the public to share their views on the matter and to speak out on behalf of children and teachers, alike. Wood, who wants people to stand against the exams, proclaimed, “North Carolina, we can do so much better.”
The Facebook post has sparked thousands of shares and likes and hundreds of comments since Wood published it last week.
“Parents in North Carolina cannot opt out of exams, though some refuse. The federal government requires 95 percent participation in testing as it is tied to federal money,” Wood later told the Huffington Post. “Schools and districts are under tremendous pressure from the state to show growth, perform, and then are given grades.”
She continued, “No one escapes the pressure, not teachers or children, a true trickle down effect.”
"Dear Mr. President, I wish you had been here this morning when my oldest son cried because his sister got the…
Posted by Love What Matters on Monday, January 18, 2016
This isn’t the first time the blogger has made headlines. In January 2016, she also wrote an open letter to former president Barack Obama about the intense pressures of standardized testing that went viral.