nerves Testing
state testing in July, in the middle of summer. The source of her anxiety was months away. “The first time she expressed to me she was scared she would not be able to go to fourth grade was in July,” said Jacobs. “And she is very on-level. She’s a hard-working kid. She doesn't have special needs or challenges that might prevent her from passing that test. But even though Oklahoma has made it less punitive, kids still perceive it that way. And that anxiety that started in July for a test administered in April did nothing to help her academically. What helped her academically was having a great third grade teacher. I think that puts so much pressure on teachers and I think there's a lot of concern right now about what testing looks like this year.” Harris said this level of palpable anxiety felt by educators, students and parents is a major concern. “We have really worked hard the last few years to help shift that narrative because that should not be the case,” said Harris. “Student instructional needs should be more localized and [considered with] other data and with other information around that student and not that ‘one day, one test.’”
That nervousness and anxiety comes down to what many parents see as a punitive component of RSA. According to Oklahoma Policy Institute, RSA was enacted 23 years ago as a way to assess reading ability among the state’s third grade students. But in 2011, the state amended RSA to deny so-called “social promotion” to children who did not read at third-grade competency. Before the amendment, the onus for promotion or retention fell to individual school districts, and parents played a significant role in the decision to promote or not to promote. This change created a consternation among many parents with young children facing down the test. A few years ago, Jacobs’ then 8-year-old daughter, who had just completed second grade, started getting anxious about
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26 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / JAN-FEB 2021
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