MCAS testing week one

You may have seen in the Telegram and Gazette that the MCAS test starts in Massachusetts this week.
Of course, if you're anywhere around schools, as a teacher or a parent, this comes as no surprise. You've probably received countdowns, reminders, explanations, and lots and lots of tension.
We've done this now in Massachusetts for ten years, and frankly, it was bad enough when we were only putting tenth graders through it. Now it starts with third graders--that's the age of eight.
And every year, I hear the stories:

• of the kid who throws up every single morning before coming to school, because he's so tense about the test.
• of the kid who wakes up with screaming nightmares the week before.
• of the kids who wander out to the kitchen at 11 pm and ask, "what happens if I fail? Will my teacher lose her job? Will I have to leave school?"

I honestly think that we as a society have a lot to answer for in doing this to children. There are those who claim it's for their own good. We might like to think so. I think it's for our own convenience, because we can't be bothered to do the hard--and expensive--work of evaluating students properly.
We have a lot to answer for.