Testing not a catch-all

An article in the Aug. 23 Valley Voice let me know that I would be receiving a letter notifying me that my daughter’s school is “failing.” As educators argue, of course these letters are misleading.

Student test results are simply not a reliable indicator of how well a school is educating our children. The test scores in no way determine that a school is failing. This label is unfair to the educators and administrators working so hard to teach our children well.

There are countless reasons students don’t have high enough test scores that have nothing to do with the school at all. Although parents will be receiving these letters, many of us don’t buy it. We trust that most educators are doing their very best to ensure our kids get a good education while meeting various other needs as well.

We need to get beyond the belief that the almighty test is anything more than a piece of paper or computer program where students of various abilities, economic realities, and social and medical issues answer some questions they may or may not try to answer correctly.

Amy McGarry

Spokane Valley