Measure THIS

To those who insist that standardized, high stakes tests in any way measure a child, I ask you to measure this:

• the size of (or shape of) the smiles on my students as they come in the door in the morning, and as they leave at the end of the day
• the swell on the chest of the student who just did something really well, and his teacher told him so
• the angle of shoulders up and proper posture (the way they sit up) when kids are told they did something extraordinary
• the speed of the racing hearts of students who are about to give it all to improve their performance 
• the volume of the sounds of dismay, joy, and exhaustion after students have given it their all.
• the depth of a furrow on the brow of a child who is really, really trying

They are children, not test scores.

There are many more measurements. Feel free to add on...