Educators disagree on whether this practice is wrong. Some argue that teaching to the test is the only way to teach the skills and knowledge outlined in state and national education standards. The NSBA believes that teaching to the test narrows students' skills and their use of information. They argue that students should be encouraged to think creatively and solve problems, and such skills often are not measured by tests. Nearly every hour of every day at Bronx Preparatory Charter School begins with a recitation of rules.
Students open identical color-coded binders to the first page, and listen as the rules are read.
Raise your hand. Respect each other. Follow directions the first time. Before entering any class, the boys and girls line up in the hallway, aligning heads one behind the other. After the bell, they line up again, right foot on the green tape, until a teacher escorts them to the hallway, where they wait, in line, to be admitted to the next classroom, where they open their binders and recite the rules.