Yo, this week I finally got the memo or the press release that Georgia finally joined other states in reducing the inordinate amount of standardized tests our kids take in school. Let’s pop out the confetti and the balloons for less high-stakes tests for kids in Georgia! But while I got this incredible news this week, I also was walking two disparate journeys for two of my students and coming to understand that simply removing one barrier can really mean that more will grow in its place if we are not intentional in this moment of reckoning. After months of preparing one of my recent grads for college, I got a message that said “ Ms. Nunnally, I guess I just won’t go to college now. It’s Ok.” After helping her navigate every obstacle you can think of that an orphan faces to get into college, this Zell Miller Scholar was ready to call it quits. She’d passed all the tests. She’d been acclaimed as one of the highest performers in her graduating class. But there were simply too many barriers for her alone to get into college. I mean her local school had all the programs ( she did all of them) like Dual Enrollment, College Advising, One Goal, Upward Bound, Achieve Atlanta and then some but somehow she was falling by the wayside. (This by no means is an indictment of these amazing programs that provide vital tools to our kids yet a space for exploration and deeper introspection of them collectively.) So with this text message in my phone and a lunch break coming up from my own class of students, I texted her back to get up and we were going to the campus in the middle of the “Rona”. I figured all the online communications and no one answering phones was just too much. We need someone to talk to us face to face or she would give up for good. So apparently, we were having problems with her FASFA verification and needed an IRS form to verify her information but due to the “Corona” the school created a make-shift form in its place and we did not know it. Thankfully, we went up there and she was able to enroll but we were one IRS form away from losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Free College Education. After she was enrolled, we reflected on how simple it was once she understood the system and how to navigate it but the problem was we never really exposed her to the real “SYSTEM”. I don’t mean the one on paper, but the one with holes in it that requires constant questions, several phone calls and the runaround. Even now, we are still trying to navigate the various college platforms for her assignments because orientation was a video and not a personalized human being to help answer her questions. But this all taught me a lesson that removing high stake tests like GMAS or even the SAT is only a small chunk of the battle. We need to set up more equitable systems that are student centered and speak to their personal needs. However, on the other side of town, where my private school students have access to resources and understand these systems, I found myself asking where is the infrastructure for them to be autonomous in experiential learning environments. I had students asking to work in Fashion, NPR news and animation with Cartoon Network but these systems weren’t yet set up to even receive these bright and critical thinkers. I mean I would have to mold several emails to speak to these stakeholders only to find nothing was ready for them. And even more sad to ponder was if nothing was made for the most elite students, my other babies were not even on the radar. It made me think why doesn’t K-12 have widespread corporate internship partners like colleges and universities. We say we want kids to be prepared for the workforce but we don’t already have these systems set up for them. WHY NOT? WIth the influence of traditional colleges waning among a larger swath of Americans, we have to use this moment to speak to this new reality where K-12 is also a real and VIABLE channel for America’s workforce and economic engine. One such thought leader, Cartoon Network answered one of those long emails I sent. It was one employee from my community, but he saw this gap, not just for my private school students, but more importantly for my other public school babies as well. He understood that the time is now to begin to create more equitable systems for all and not just give lip service to what we believe should happen. So, while I am truly celebrating a tremendous milestone to break our children free from these daunting and needless tests. (And also praying they are cancelled this year due to Corona) I am also challenging more companies and thought leaders to step up and chart a new course forward for ALL our students to have opportunities. It is not enough for us to have less tests, while students still are falling in the gaps to get into college AND they are unable to learn in real-world environments to prepare for life beyond school. We preach we want all kids "College and Career Ready" but how will we know when they are there yet. We know tests don’t teach this, so it’s time for us to invest in things that do. It is now time for us to be thoughtful and intentional as we reimagine how to fill this new vacancy of possibility. What can we do instead of testing? How can we make sure our kids don’t fall in the gaps and are really ready for College? Who can we get to help us build more equitable learning spaces for ALL kids in K-12? This is the work in front of us. I am rolling up my sleeves to do this work more deeply and intentionally. I invite you to join me so we can really celebrate like never before.
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AuthorEducator, student advocate and community activists. Archives
October 2021
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