All students should take the same test

I am a teacher in a largely Hispanic school district.

I do not like the No Child Left Behind legislation. It is unfair and vastly unrealistic.

I am, however, a believer in standardized test scores because I believe regulated, quantitative data is necessary to balance other grades that may be somewhat skewed.

Additionally, I believe that the ISAT test format should be administered to all of the students, including English language learners, because every student should be held to the same standards. Otherwise we (teachers, administrators, politicians, parents) are just fooling ourselves as to how well particular subgroups are performing.

Many schools did not meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) this year because ESL students were required to take the ISAT rather than the easier IMAGE test which basically measures progress in English. Two of my fifth-grade students were laughing about how "easy" the IMAGE test was compared to the ISAT.

The example they found so amusing was ridiculously simple. There is a saying: "Easy test, easy 'A.'" Instead of giving an easy test to Spanish speakers let's hold them to the same rigorous standards as their English-speaking classmates.

In some instances schools must make some changes in the way English language learners are taught, so that ESL students can pass the ISAT at the same rate as their non-ESL classmates.

The ISAT isn't perfect by any means, but what's good enough for one subgroup of students should be good enough for all.

Valerie Goranson

Libertyville