September 26, 2015
Rory Loe
4325 W Pleasant Ln
Post Falls, ID 83854
Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra
1447 NE Idarock St
P.O. Box 83720, Boise ID
Mountain Home, ID 83647-2958
Dear Superintendent Ybarra:
l am writing on behalf of the education program of Idaho. Coming from twelve consecutive years in the Idaho school system, I have had the opportunity to observe closely while being involved myself in the education system. I have had the utmost privilege of seeing myself and others achieve because of your education program. However, despite the positive insight I have gained from up close observation and inclusiveness, I have also seen many flaws in the system that need to be fixed. One of the most prominent of these issues is the problem with standardized testing; in this case, the ISAT's.
Although standardized testing is necessary, I believe it negatively displays students' abilities. Students get scared from big tests, as I remember I did back in elementary school. Young students cannot understand that their future depends on these tests, and if they are forced to, then how can they do their absolute best? I believe that there are better options for collecting knowledge gained by students than these tests.
The best solution to this problem is to have several smaller tests rather than one huge ISAT test to determine the children's knowledge. With more lesser extensive tests, the students will be less scared of messing up and would feel more comfortable with the testing.
Thank you for hearing my suggestions.
Sincerely
,
Rory Loe