The Merit of CAPTs, SATs and CMTs

As of late Monday night, 35 people had voted , with the majority of readers (16) leaning toward a “mixed” answer pertaining to how they felt about the importance of those test scores. Eight votes thought the standardized tests were important, 10 thought they were negligible and one person answered “other.” The tests specified in the article were the SATs, CAPTs and CMTs.

If Beth Skudder voted in the poll, it’s reasonable to assume she would find these tests unimportant, to say the least.

Skudder is the Admissions Director of The Connecticut Friend’s School (CFS), a private school located in town. Two children out of the school’s student population of 51 are from Wilton.

“Families come to CFS so their children can be engaged in learning and exciting activities, and not simply practicing for standardized tests. There’s so much more to valuable learning in a classroom than just enhancing one’s test score,” said Skudder.

“Yes, parents actively say that,” responded Skudder, when asked. “And it’s one of the things that distinguishes our schools, and something we feel very strongly about—that there’s much more to understanding their child and than any feedback you might get from a test score.”

The tests “limit productivity and teaching effectiveness,” said Skudder. “The people who take those numbers think it says something interesting—and I haven’t seen that interesting thing yet.”

And of course marketing these tests has been a lucrative business for years.

“They’re a consumer product. Schools are marketed to [in order] to sell those products…You have to keep up,” said Skudder. “It’s a racket.”

Ed’s note: This article will be updated in the comments section as we hear back from other sources -including Patch commentors- throughout the day.