I MAY BE TESTY

but I'm not a testing kind of guy. In fact, I think far too much testing goes on in schools.

Our two oldest grandkids just got back some kind of test results. They did outstanding on whatever instrument was used to measure how much they knew on that one day. Our third granchild is a kindergartener; hopefully, he won't be tested and tested. Until next year.

Lots of hand wringing over AIMS, Prairie State exams, ACTS, PSATS, LSATS, California Achievement Tests, ad infinitums. Benet used to be big, Stanine's, on and on.

The latest sorts of tests were designed not to measure student progress, but to show that teachers aren't being accountable. And what if teachers were accountable? What if teachers raised scores significantly? There would still be a way for those to avoid paying higher teacher salaries.

They have it their way right now. Of course, scores are down. But are students dumber? Some are. Some panic at fast food restaurants when the computer goes down and they have to count change in their heads. But that's because of technology rather than intelligence. I mean, if they were not allowed to use calculators, then they could do the math in their heads. It's just a discipline. But why should they? There's more important stuff to know, and they know it. Besides, the cheap calculator is readily available.

You don't fatten cattle by weighing them. Time and time again. You fatten by feeding. They're getting fed. Just get out of the way. And quit weighing so much.

And pay your teachers instead of your sports' programs. Last week an area MTV school had a ribbon cutting for a new $100,000 grade school gym hardwood floor. Are you kidding me? Three of our grade schools when I played 4-6 grade basketball had tile floors in their all purpose gyms.

Priorities, priorities. But hey, if it'll save a buck in the education fund, if it'll allow the school to hire an inexperienced or even unqualified teacher and in so doing save that money for an administrator's salary, then hey, go for it. Maybe that admin. can come up with just one more test for the students to take. To prove just what?