Standardized Tests Continue to Place Pressure on Students and Peter Nicolino Discusses Solutions

PHILADELPHIA, PA, May 20, 2013

As a seasoned educator and school administrator, Peter Nicolino has discovered how important it is for today's academic institutions to develop and adhere to effective learning solutions. In New York State, where Nicolino serves as an educational consultant at PTS Associates, Inc., public schools are required to implement one of these solutions--standardized testing to verify comprehension of Common Core State Standards. Nicolino helps to make sure his clients pursue standardized testing solutions in the most effective manner to encourage comprehensive learning. However, a recent Washington Post article suggests that other schools--in New York and elsewhere in the U.S.--are struggling to create academic environments that are not defined an intense pressure placed among the students.

The article reveals, "...New York's high-stakes standardized tests, given to all public school students, have rattled way more than a few nerves. Enough students have actually thrown up on their tests that schools are reportedly circulating procedures on how to handle vomit-covered tests. One Long Island superintendent told the Wall Street Journal that some kids did, indeed, get sick on their tests. One student went to the bathroom and wouldn't come out. Many dissolved into tears. Others simply refused to take the test." Peter Nicolino responds by noting that these examples suggest some academic atmospheres are not conducive to genuine education.

According to Peter Nicolino, this kind of student response is one that merits a reassessment of implementation of standardized testing. While he agrees that the lessons the Common Core State Standards represent are valuable for youth education, he notes that it is important for educators to adopt ways to effectively pay attention to the needs of students and ensure they are actually learning the material.

The Washington Post suggests that this implementation has become difficult for many schools across the nation to achieve, leaving teachers more focused on test results than working towards student comprehension. The article states, "...in today's high-stakes climate, families have come to dread the endless parade of bubble sheets that now dominate their kids' lives. Many feel that the emphasis on standardized tests has focused instruction on how to answer multiple-choice questions instead of how to reason and think critically in an open-ended world."

Although some state officials have already begun to introduce even "tougher" standards into public school testing, according to The Washington Post, Peter Nicolino explains that some may need to take a "student first" approach. "Students today deal with an overwhelming amount of academic pressure as compared to students in the past due to state mandated standardized tests. As a result, students could be adversely affected in the classroom if they do not succeed on these tests," Peter Nicolino cautions.

ABOUT:

Peter Nicolino is an experienced educator who currently serves as a consultant within the field of academic instruction. Throughout his 23-year career in education, Nicolino has served as an elementary school teacher, and has progressed to fill responsibilities as a school administrator, assistant principal and principal. As an independent educational consultant under PTS Associates, Inc. Nicolino assists school districts and education-based companies with comprehensive improvement services. Nicolino strives to help improve the communication that occurs between students, parents and educators in order to implement more effective teaching methods, curriculum development and instructional technologies.