Assessment

Aren’t Pep Rallies for Football Teams?

By Anthony Rebora — April 18, 2011 1 min read
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Will Richardson is seriously aggrieved by the curious spectacle of school standardized testing pep rallies:

You have to wonder, is this really what we've come to in schools? That we have to remind kids that they are "bigger than the test" and show pictures of kids with captions like "6th Grade: Not Afraid" in an effort to steel their nerves? That showing what they've "learned" in schools is something they have to mentally prepare themselves for instead of just naturally exhibit? Really?

For Richardson, these events send kids all the wrong messages about learning. But what’s your view? Can they be constructive?

(In the interests of full journalistic disclosure, I have to say that when I was in high school, I didn’t even like the regular sports-related kind of pep rally, so I sort of instinctively cringe at this sort of thing. But maybe that’s just me. And apparently Richardson.)

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.