Kids and test anxiety - 5th grader attempts suicide over test

jcc64 wrote: My 10 yr old ds came home from school very confused and preoccupied yesterday. After a little digging, he blurted out that a classmate of his had been institutionalized for a suicide attempt that was precipitated by a bad performance on a standardized test. They are in the 5th grade. Here in NY, everyone knows about the ELA's- one of many state wide assessment tests the kids have to suffer through. The schools/teachers bend over backwards "preparing" the kids, and with their own job performance/funding at stake, I can see why the schools are exerting pressure on the kids to perform. But the kids are totally stressed out and their educational experience as a whole is really compromised as a result. My own kids are fairly good test takers, and I work hard to let them know that the tests aren't that important in the big picture. Some of their friends, however, are clearly exhibiting classic chronic anxiety symptoms, and I find that tragic for a child. I think the tests themselves are horrendous- they are not resulting in higher performance or better schools, just stressed out kids and teachers.
While I'm certain there is much more going on for this particular child than just a bad test score, I am also certain that young kids ARE under way too much pressure as a result of all of the idiotic NCLB(no child left behind) mandates. The work of childhood should be about much more than test scores. It's sad.

holley79 replied: That is very sad. I knwo as I was graduating HS they started the FCAT testing. They do the same thing with extra schooling and the kids here get stressed out also. I think they are putting WAY too much stress on these kids. Our biggest thing in this household is, "If you tried your best then that is all we ask of you." I know there are some parents that take the test WAY too serious and really add pressure to their children. an ex friend of mine told her child that if she didn't do well on the test that she was never going to amount to anything. I do NOT agree with this at all.

I would say there was something else going on. Usually it's parent pressure added to school pressure. Bless his heart.

DansMom replied: That is awful and tragic. Making performance on one test seem like life or death to a child of that age completely kills the joy that child might take in the process of learning. It's not education, it's psychological abuse. People who are good at memorizing can do well on standardized tests without really grasping much of what they are regurgitating. This kind of mandate isn't going to improve the quality of education in this country, it's just going to make it harder for good teachers to focus on what they do best. That story makes my heart hurt. Poor kid.

luvmykids replied: I feel so sorry for that child, between the test and the other factors, how sad for such a young child to already feel hopeless and helpless.

I agree that kids are under waaay too much pressure, mine aren't even in school yet but there are so many parents of kids their age already freaking out over their preschool years affecting the rest of their lives! And it just gets worse as they go on. I understand the need to "compete" for school spots, jobs, etc. but kids are kids, it's so sad for them to feel so much pressure already.

Prayers to that child and his family.

CAMSMOM1 replied: ITA, way to much stress on children & test scores.

At the Elementary School I work at, we have those standard testing through the state. The teachers & staff put way to much pressure on the kids. All through out the campus, are signs about the tests...reminding them on how important this is. They try to do fun activites for the kids, like rallies & such, to motivate them. But of course the message they are pushing is to ace the test.

Our school district is #1 in the Valley, for high tests scores. And the teachers get paid by how well their school does. So the teachers are stressed, pushing stress on teh children and parents, and for 2 weeks everybody is walking around like zombies.

I could go on for days, about how this isn't right. But it's not going to change anything. I just hope that my children know that it's ok if they don't pass a test, in the long run, if they are good students and try hard, that's allt hat matters.

I just pray that this incodent with this boy, gets nation wide attention. And people will understand that they are just kids. And these tests aren't the end of the world. It's such a sad story.

Ann

redchief replied: Wow, Jeanne! It's about time someone took on this topic. I, like you, have decent test-takers who don't overly stress about tests. I think the pressure being placed on kids to "do well" for the schools borders on the criminal. Unfortunately this was precipitated by the "No Child Left Behind Act." It bases school funding on evaluations of childrens' progress based upon means and averages, forgetting that there are kids behind the numbers. I predicted, somewhat in jest, at the time of passage that the act would push over half the kids and all of the teachers in the country onto prescription happy pills. Seems it wasn't such a funny joke after all.

We're the only ones who can do anything about this. We put the people into office that made standardized testing and performance such an educational priority. I believe that most teachers see the individuals in their classes as just that; single, unique and needy human beings who each have their own strengths and weaknesses. I also understand the need we have, as a country, to stay competitive educationally. Those things need to be balanced, though, so that our kids and teachers have room to adjust to different kids' learning curves. I think this is especially important in the lower primary grades, where "being different" or "being stupid" are not conducive to friendship and acceptance among peers.

The question is; what do we do about it?

jcc64 replied:

Well, ur, I didn't.
Seriously, though, NCLB is a total failure, by all accounts within the educational system. While I applaud the desire to "do something" about educational inequality, the solution offered by this act is worse than the problem it is trying to address in the first place. Without spinning off on a completely partisan rant, I think the administration that implemented the program is woefully insensitive about the underlying conditions that cause a school to be failing in the first place. Schools don't exist in isolation- all the socio-economic conditions of the underclass spill into the classrooms, as you would expect them to. A child whose family is homeless or struggling for it's very survival economically (and let's not forget that most people living below the poverty line in this country are children) is likely not to be receiving the same scholastic support at home as a child from a more priviledged background/neighborhood. A mandatory test a few times a year is not going to fix that. And the funding necessary for failing districts to "catch up" is also not adequately provided for under NCLB. It's up to the local districts, and obviously, districts in poor neighborhoods are, once again, behind the eight ball. The whole thing is a joke.
What's interesting is that the people who seem most aggravated by NCLB are in distiricts that are already performing well. The poorer districts, for whom the legislation was intended to benefit most, are also being punished for having to deal with the educational repurcussions of a growing underclass. No one wins.
To answer your question Ed, what we do about it is acknowledge the problems that cause poor schools to underperform in the first place. Raising educational standards without the funding necessary to accomplish that is an a$$ backward way of dealing with the problem, imo.
And so, in the meantime, we continue to fail the kids who need the help most, and we're gonna drag down everyone else in the process. Great program.

redchief replied: While I agree that the NCLB Act is a failure, and I predicted failure from the beginning, I don't see where putting a partisan spin on the problem is going to fix it. I do agree that feeling the need to "do something" is what precipitated it. State report cards are federally funded. Reading, math and science initiatives are federally funded through grants to states to distribute as they see fit.

You did identify one of the problems, though, and that's funding. Unfortunately school funding isn't the federal governement's job; it's up to the states to fund their public education as they see fit. Here in NJ, while it isn't perfect, it is more equitable than in other places (for instance; being in an affluent area our school gets very little funding from the state. Basically our funding is limited to special needs programs; NO, NOT GIFTED AND TALENTED). In NJ, funding is based on the financial needs of the district. It seems, at times, unfair, but in retrospect, how else would new schools and better security be paid for in such economically depressed areas as Jersey City and Newark.

One of the things I see as a huge part of the problem has little to do with the White House or who occupies it at this time. Much of the problem with the Feds funding anything is that representatives in Congress decide where the money goes in the end. For instance, last year almost 115 million dollars of NCLB Act money was syphoned off for pork projects in one state... Any guess as to what state that might be? All of the representatives from Pennsylvania sit on Senate and House education appropriations committees. For example, the "Please Touch Museum" in Philadelphia has gotten more than a million a year since 2001, all in education grant federal funds. The group of legislators from PA is about as bipartisan as you can get. That's the problem with the Federal Government funding anything; too select few hands spreading the crumbs from the cookie jar into undeserving constituencies. That's just one man's opinion.

MommyToAshley replied:
First of all, my heart goes out to this poor child and his parents. I think kids have way too much pressure put on them early on, starting as early as kindergarten. What happened to making learning fun?!

I agree that the NCLB act is a joke and not going to solve the problem. I don't want to make this political at all....but to be fair, it wasn't the solution the current administration wanted... it was a compromise. (And I am disappointed that they settled for such a compromise and are trying to justify it) If the current administration had their way, we'd all have school vouchers. I have done a lot of research on this topic, and I am in LOVE with the idea of school vouchers. It takes the pressure off the kids and puts it on the schools to hire good teachers. Have you seen the results from the areas that tested school vouchers? And do you know who benefits most from school vouchers?... kids in poorer neighborhoods. I don't know all the answers, but school vouchers sound like a heck of a better solution than the current one.

jcc64 replied: Interesting info, as usual, Ed. Just curious, who are the representatives in Pa?

redchief replied:
Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA)
House Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee members John Peterson (R-PA), and Don Sherwood (R-PA); and sitting on the House Appropriations Committee (overseees the above) John Murtha (D-PA) and Chaka Fattah (D-PA).

#2 and a distant second to PA in total educationally catagorized pork is the state of California, with nearly 73 million dollars in pork fat. 1.3 million to a county probation department for a gang intervention and prevention program (umm... and the target audience is? That's what I thought.), a mil and a quarter for the American Film Institute's Screen Education Program (huh?).

#3 and this should come as no surprise to anyone who follows the flow of pork... Alaska at 66.3 million in HHS pork.

jcc64 replied:

Ok, now I'm gonna have to go find out what that is. Unbelievable. Whatever it is has nothing to do with educating the next generation, I'm certain.

ilovemybaby replied: That's really sad. We don't have any tests at school at that age... other than spelling tests as far as I know. The big tests don't start until just before we go to High School so they can find out what class to put us in. I think they are called SATs?
I remember doing an IQ test at Intermediate (Secondary School).

I have heard that in places like China and Japan children have committed suicide due to so much pressure from their family to do well at school. I had a friend from Malaysia and her father gave her extra homework and she also did piano lessons and ballet lessons. She never had time to just be a kid and have fun. It is very sad. I know what it's like to feel like you didn't have a childhood. I can guarantee she is feeling that now. Come to think of it, I was about the only friend she had.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: That breaks my heart. Scotty's cousin's son (mouthful there) has a lot of anxiety over school. He was treated last year, at the age of 9 for anxiety. There's got to be a better way.

amymom replied: My heart goes out to this little boy and his family. I feel for him and his family. I agree in NYS the tests are emphasised way too much. Although at my dd school they do a good job of metering it --- it still adds pressure. Whether from the teachers or the kids doing it to themselves.

My dd will be 9 on Saturday. She is very bright and does really well in school. She is in third grade. Before and during K, 1 and 2nd grade it was discussed for her to skip a grade level. I am sooooooooooooo glad we did not do that and have squashed recent conversations about it. I do not put any pressure on her, and always have to pull her back and consistently remind her that trying her best is all we ask for. Well her best is off the charts so I have a hard time keeping her from getting anxious. When her teacher says "Ok class get sleep tonight since the ELA's are tomorrow" my dd fretted for hours. The past three days she has awoken with stomach aches and all I can figure out is she is 'worried' about school. She brought her report card home yesterday. She was a nervous wreck. Before I opened it, I had to have what I call the 'what is the worst that can happen?' lecture. I talk to her about what is the worst case scenerio, she says I failed. I say ok what happens then, You will be mad. Ok what happens then, You will yell, Ok what happen then and this goes on and on until I discover what she fears and then I reassure her it isn't going to happen. I have never yelled about grades. (And for her the lowest she ever got was a 93 on a math test) Anyway, we open the report card and she has all A's or A+'s EXCEPT for an A- in Penmanship. And to better her penmanship is a goal she has. So instead of being happy with that she talks about how terrible her penmanship is. So how do I stop her from being anxious/ I do not know. My point is I hope this boy and his family receive help and....

I guess I may need to explore this too:



Ok that got much longer than I wanted it to, sorry.

msoulz replied:
That is the truth. As one who was labeled "smart" because I was a great test taker, I can say that it was a hard slap when I figured out I was not as smart as I had been told - which happened in college. I wish I had an alternative to suggest to these tests as they do not test intelligence or anything except memory. How tragic this whole thing is.

MamaJAM replied: The public schools in our area also 'teach to the test' for the PA state big standardized test (I forget what it's called). The district we live in - the kids as a whole were doing very poorly and the district was going to be taken over by the state....that just made things worse. The schools basically 'shut down' for an entire month before the test (NO field trips or special programs AT ALL) -- and the week of the testing - NONE of the kids in the school get any of their special classes (no art, gym, etc) because them walking the halls at any time during the day might upset the kids in the grades that are taking the tests. They spend weeks learning how to fill in the test answer sheets (aka - how to color in a circle). It was horrible. This whole thing where the entire school revolved entirely around a test (given in 5th, 8th, and 11th....also I think they give it in 3rd now too) is part of the reason we had to get our kids out of there.
My oldest DD doesn't freak about testing and could handle that fine -- but DD#2 could NEVER take that kind of stress. The private school my girls are in now does have standardized testing they must do every year -- but they don't make the kids stress over it. They aren't teaching to the test by any means...they continue on with their regular curriculum -- then just take a little time off from normal schoool to do the testing.

I hate the way schools today make the KIDS responsible for the fact that they are/are not teaching what they should be.