Summit 303 speaker: Don't teach to the tests

In October, Yong Zhao told St. Charles Unit District 303 teachers to focus less on increasing test scores every year because that type of teaching leaves out any student who doesn't contribute to those higher scores.

Wednesday night, Zhao, the presidential chair of the University of Oregon's College of Education, told parents and taxpayers it's time to stop killing creativity and entrepreneurship in students. The old, No Child Left Behind model of judging student achievement just doesn't apply to the new global economy, Zhao said.

The message came at the first of five community forums, called Summit 303, that will determine possibly extensive program changes in the local schools.

Zhao said local schools must change the education process to emphasize individual talents rather than one combined test score. That means letting artists be artists, athletes focus on sports and intellectuals push their academic potential. That's the only way today's students will find success in a global economy, Zhao said.

“Today, unless you have some kind of competitive edge, it doesn't matter because there are 100 million people who can offer what you have,” Zhao said.

Creating that competitive edge means considering the creation of targeted schools that provide nurturing environments to a student's individual talent. For parents deciding what kind of school their child needs, the question they should ask is, “Has this education moved my child beyond what she already is,” Zhao said. “If my daughter scores very poor in any state test, I can worry less as long as she is supported to pursue her dancing dream.”

Zhao said making today's students employable means giving them strong foreign language education, instituting study-abroad programs and letting education follow students. Teachers and administrators should ask, “Is every student given the opportunity and support to become what he or she can be? Do they want to learn for learning's sake?” Zhao said.

That theme will provide a guideline for thought at four more community forums in coming months where District 303 taxpayers will give input on how to educate students so they don't end up living in their parents' basements after graduation, as Zhao said.

The next Summit 303 forum is 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Kane County Fairgrounds. The forum will focus on the future of elementary school education in the district.