...High Stakes Testing Stephanie Gelman-O'Connor COM112 February 20, 2013 Catherine Bramkamp Even though high stakes testing creates incentive in students to do well on tests, this kind of aggressive testing puts undue pressure on learning disabled or handicapped students because high stakes testing does not test for potential, only current skills, and it does not alien itself with the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) act of 2001. Students outside main stream learning abilities will need help outside the assigned curriculum to successfully “test-out.” The “No Child Left Behind” act of 2001, in section 2001, specifically states that “The purpose of this title is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at a minimum proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments (United States Department of Education, 2001) .” This government document relates 12 physical acts that will ensure the success of every student. Among other things, it includes” meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children,” whatever the reason, and “…closing the achievement gap between high- and low- preforming children (United States Department of Education, 2001) .” High stakes testing is contrary to the NCLB act because it enforces only one kind of learning style. ...
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...High-stakes testing is a highly controversial topic to whether it is good or if it is bad. There is proof that states testing has negative effects on students and teachers. With this comes the limit of education on students, and the teachers having a very strict guideline to teach. This shows how these tests do not live up to their full potential. Tests are proved to be biased towards higher classes of citizens in society. It is shown that low-income participants do worse, as well as students raised in poverty. Testing also shows to be narrow on curriculum, leaving little to no space for new things to be taught. With all of this, testing has many reasons to be considered negative. Testing shows to have harmful effects on both students and teachers. The time being spent on preparing for the tests limits the time being spent on the original content needed to be taught (Berliner, Nichols 3). Because of the restriction of teaching being based on high-stakes testing, the students affected do not learn as much as they could be if the teaching was evenly balanced, or if the teaching was not solely based on the preparation of tests. The unlawful use of tests complicates the job of instructors as well as the learning of schools as a whole (Schnader and Christison 1)....
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...Critical Review of Cizek, Gregory J. (2005). High-Stakes Testing: Contexts, Characteristics, Critiques, and Consequences In Richard Phelps (Ed.), Defending Standardized Testing (pp. 23-54). New York, New York: Psychological Press. By Cheryl LeBlanc-Weldon When I decided to delve into the issue of high-stakes testing, I purposefully set out to find its defenders. Critical thinking is important to me and part of the process of thinking critically is to view a variety of perspectives on an issue in order to obtain an informed understanding and from that, an opinion. As an experienced educator, I have participated in standardized testing in a variety of ways. I have administered and graded tests in both Mathematics and Language Arts. I believe that currently in Nova Scotia we don’t have the type of high-stakes testing they have in the USA and other parts of the world. Our students do not need to achieve a certain level of achievement on the standardized tests they take in order to grade and teachers are not fired or have their salaries docked when students fail to achieve the benchmarks. Still, the provincial tests our students write do have a degree of importance in that the results are published for media and public consumption (which directly affects the opinion people form of the health of our education system) and certain resources are channeled into schools with the weakest performance. In addition, the way students view themselves and their abilities are affected...
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...Controversy over High-Stakes Testing Hannah DeBose Dr. Tzipora Katz EDU-505: Contemporary Issues in Education 10-28-13 Alfie Kohn article on Standardized Testing and its Victims has some great key points. The article is divided into 8 key fact points. Fact 1 brings to light about how frequently the students are being tested and how big of a role theses test play a role on student progress. Kohn provides numerous examples to substantiate his concern that the tests are politically driven, inappropriate as measures of learning substantive skills, and counterproductive. Fact 2 describes the life of the student, number of parents living at home, parents' educational background, type of community, and poverty rate all have a factor on student. We debate this issue because it is not fair that student of a low poverty school does not receive the same benefits as the more privileged schools do. Students living in high poverty environments are mostly to dropout, do poor on test, and have harder time grasping information. Many low poverty schools do not have the educators that they should have. Meaning they may have uncertified teachers, or many first year teachers. Many teachers go to high poverty school Fact 3 Norm-referenced tests were never intended to measure the quality of learning or teaching. This type of test identifies whether the test taker performed better or worse than other test takers, but not whether the test taker knows either more or less material...
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...starting the paper. ---------------------------------------------------------------- EDU 315 Case Summary (UOP) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com EDU 315 Case Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------- EDU 315 Debate Outline (UOP) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com EDU 315 Debate Outline ------------------------------------------------------------------ EDU 315 Entire Course (UOP) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com EDU 315 Ethical Considerations Reflection Paper EDU 315 Legal Research Paper EDU 315 The Code of Conduct Issues Paper EDU 315 Case Summary EDU 315 Case Analysis Paper EDU 315 Fingerprint T Chart EDU 315 High Stakes Testing Paper EDU 315 Debate Outline EDU 315 Role of Educational Stakeholders Presentation -------------------------------------------------------------------- EDU 315 Ethical Considerations Reflection Paper (UOP) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Write a 350- to 750-word reflection paper on what you consider to be the primary ethical considerations for teachers in a K–8 educational setting. That is, what do you believe to be the most important ethics that need to be considered by an educator and why? Incorporate your research on existing policies....
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...I can recall sitting in science class in high school and thinking, what will I learn than unlearn today? I say this because every day in this class, without fail we would cover a chapter in the book then be asked to take a quiz right after. This cycle would repeat daily and when the course came to conclusion, I can honestly say I learned very little. This was the norm at my school, courses were rushed through so everything could be covered and students with good memorization and test taking skills were awarded and those who lacked in those areas fell behind. With the emphasis being place on standardized tests and teachers covering too much material, certain populations are falling behind and changes must take place with the curriculum and instruction to ensure quality education in today's society. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was passed with a goal of closing the achievement gap between white students and their low-income and minority peers. However research over the past ten years has found that the high-stakes testing policies have not improved reading and math achievement across states, and have not significantly narrowed national and state level achievement gaps (Au, 2009). The high stakes testing and standardization of classrooms has students it set out to help. According to Haretos (2005), “the volatility in test scores makes it difficult for racially diverse schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), since every racial and ethnic subgroup must do so. So, when...
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...Incorporating Changes to the Current Standardized Testing Program Rowan University February 9, 2016 Standardized testing has become a subject of debate in the U.S education system. The New Jersey Department of Education replaced its previous common core testing, NJASK and HSPA, in 2014, with a single new standardized test, PARCC, for all grades from 3-12 as the single statewide assessments tool (“PARCC Assessment,” 2016). Many, if not, all states have their own version of standardized testing programs at their grade and high school level, but the question arises as to how accurately standardized tests measure current students and future potential toward college. Some will agree with J. Pollard (2002) that ‘we need standardized tests, if only because we have no alternative method of measuring student achievement, and making sure that all kids are getting a decent education’. Others will argue that it is a distractor and negatively impacts a students’ long term motivation and that it causes unnecessary stress (“High stakes testing,” 2016). If we decided to abandon such testing as PARCC, what will replace it? This paper will look into the issue of standardized testing, offer some alternatives methods that reflect changes in assessments and looking into a means to address the issue at the National level. The end result would be an assessment system that can continue to evaluate our children in the holistic view for future advances into higher...
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...High stakes testing remains a controversial topic in education and politics. According to Kubiszyn & Borich (2016), high stakes testing is the use of summative assessments designed to measure student achievement after a period of instruction has been completed to make important decisions. Many students in our nation live in poverty and remain economically disadvantaged, because supports are not offered to produce achievement gains (Dianis, Jackson, & Noguera, 2015). All teachers and students have to undertake summative assessments for accountability of schools. Moreover, teachers have a difficult role and face many challenges in reconciling their summative roles. All roles in schools range from administrators to teachers to students. The promotion of support of change in the classroom is highly effective in formulating and implementing a classroom-based policy that begins with teachers. Response to critics...
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...The Purposes and Methods of Classroom-Based Literacy Assessment Grand Canyon University: RDG 512 June 3, 2014 Assessing Literacy Development The purpose of the information provided is to adequately use literacy assessments and understand their purpose as well as how they benefit students and help guide teachers’ instruction. I. Classroom Assessment A. Planning for Assessment Considerations for each student include: 1. Background knowledge (What do students know about this concept) 2. Vocabulary 3. Comprehension (How well are students understanding the concept) 4. Completion of work 5. Work habits 6. Work well with classmates 7. Ability to apply material learned (Tompkins, 2000) B. Monitoring Students’ Progress There are several ways teachers can keep track of student achievement: 1. Observations—Focus on literacy, not behavior 2. Anecdotal notes—quickly jotted notes 3. Conferences: a) On-the-spot: Brief, approximately 1 minute, at student’s desk b) Planning: Scheduled with student ahead of time to discuss concepts, vocabulary, or writing c) Revising: Discuss rough draft and make suggestions to revise d) Book Discussion: Discussion of currently read book e) Editing: Correct mechanical errors in writing f) Evaluation: Discuss growth, reflect on goals met 4. Checklists-Criteria students are expected to meet (students know criteria before completing assignment) C. Evaluating There...
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...The Writing Process 5/2/14 Standardized Testing These days, if a school's standardized test scores are high, people think the school's staff is effective. If a school's standardized test scores are low, they see the school's staff as ineffective. In either case, because educational quality is being measured by the wrong scale, those evaluations are apt to be in error. One of the main reasons that students' standardized test scores continue to be the most important factor in evaluating a school is deceptively simple. Most educators do not really understand why a standardized test provides a misleading estimate of a school staff's effectiveness, as well as education quality for students. Standardized test are not effective measurements of a student’s knowledge, they create negative impacts on curriculum, and they are racially, socially, and economically biased. A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests. “Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students are likely to perform in some subsequent educational setting (SAT-I /ACT), both of which attempt to forecast how well high school students will perform in college. But standardized achievement-test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness.” (Popham) One of the most important reasons that students’ performances...
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...I. Are standardized tests fair and help evaluation tools. A. Not all standardized exams are helpful when it comes to students going on to the next level or even graduating high school. 1. Most tests are done in multiple choice format and they do not always measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any field. 2. Sometimes these types of methods that are used during these type of testing are harmful practices and it can hurt the children when it comes to grade retention and tracking. B. Not all test scores are reliable and they should not be used to determine whether or not a child should graduate or pass to the next level. 1. Test scores are reliable if you get the same results the second time it is administered to you but all test do have measurement error. 2. Measurement error means that the individuals score may vary from day to day due to the testing conditions or the test takers mental or emotional state. The score on young children and scores on sub sections of tests are unreliable. II. Do multiple choice or short answers tests measure important student achievement? A. Multiple choice or short answer tests are very poor yardsticks for detecting whether a student is learning. 1. Multiple choice and short answer tests are weak measures of the ability of students being able to comprehend complex material, write, and apply math. 2. Multiple choice tests and short answers also do not measure thinking skills or assess what people can do on real world tasks...
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...because they will save time and money, lead to increased mastery of core subjects, and diminish dropout rates. Clemmitt, M. (2007, July 13). Students under stress. CQ Researcher, 17, 577–600. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ This article discusses the pressure that students face in public schools today. Homework has increased, as has stress caused by high-stakes standardized testing. This type of pressure results in less time for children to play, sleep, and interact with their parents. The solution is to limit the time children spend on homework, but given that American students lag behind their international peers in tests of basic subjects, decreasing schoolwork seems not to be the answer. Although Clemmitt is a journalist and not an expert on the subject, she cites many experts and authoritative sources to lend credibility to the article, including books and surveys from education researchers and college professors. The article provides a balanced view of homework with arguments from experts across the country. My assessment: The article indicates that standardized testing discourages teachers, and the pressure to perform on these tests results in teachers transferring the pressure onto their students. This idea can be used to support the argument that these...
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...Standardized Testing: Its Impact on American Education and Society: Schools all over the U.S are composed of many different types of students with diverse backgrounds. The goal of state officials is to improve education for students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, through the use of standardized testing. Its primary purpose for electing service officials in ancient china has led to its adoption in the U.S as a method for seeking improvements in the education system through testing students. However, holding schools and teachers responsible for annually increasing the average scores has shifted the curricula to teaching to the test, in addition to, putting the well being of both teachers and students at risk. Although standardized testing in the U.S. has been in place for over a century, its initial use is associated back to ancient China where the public was selected for jobs through testing. The purpose for standardized tests has always been to measure the knowledge and ability that one acquires. According to Osman Ozturgut, this purpose for testing was originally illustrated in 605 B.C, during the Sui Dynasty. Government jobs were administered to those with fairly high knowledge of Confucian philosophy. However, this would not guarantee a job. In addition to being tested on Confucian philosophy, they were also tested on “military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture, geography…” (3). Standardized tests were used as a method to give applicants...
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...Summary In the article, "Differentiate Curriculum Enhancement in Inclusive Middle School Science", it compared differentiated and traditional (teacher-led) instruction. For twelve weeks, they tested thirteen classes of 213 students. Out of the 213, forty-four had learning difficulties. The experimental classes received differentiated instruction, such as, hands-on and peer-mediated. While the control group received teacher-led (traditional) instruction (Mastropieri et al., 2006). This was a four-fold investigation. First, it was "to determine whether differentiated curriculum enhancements relevant to the study of scientific methods could be developed for eighth-grade inclusive science classes" (Mastropieri et al., 2006, pg. 132). Secondly, using a peer-mediated format to incorporate materials. Thirdly, they wanted to see if test scores would improve if they used this randomized field trial. Finally, it was to determine whether the students had a good experience and enjoyed using these materials (Mastropieri et al., 2006). The method of data collection included four parts. Initially, the class was given a pre-test. Then they divided the classes up into two groups. For twelve weeks, 90 minutes four days a week and 45 minutes on the fifth day, the class was instructed either through the traditional way of teaching or by using differentiated instruction. The traditional classroom learned the material either through teacher-led discussion, taking notes, using the textbook or...
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...Tawanna Lovey Business Environment and Public Policy No Child Left Behind Abstract This paper will take a look at the No Child Left Behind Act. It will explore its history, its goals, intentions, methods, and measures. This paper will also look at the effect that NCLB has on the ethical behaviors and decisions, and the various effects on curriculum, students, teachers, schools, and its effect on sub-groups of students involved. Introduction In 2001 Congress passed the landmark federal law, No Child Left Behind, (NCLB). President Bush signed the law on January 8, 2002. NCLB has been the foundation of the Bush Administration’s educational agenda. The four major components of the law are stronger accountability, more freedom for states and communities, proven educational methods, and more choice for parents. One of the purposes of the law was to require schools to pay more attention to a segment of the school population specifically, minorities and poor who were being left behind. The law requires that no later then 12 years after the 2001-2002 school year every student who attends public schools shall achieve academic proficiency as determined by state tests. Literature Review NCLB measures rely primarily on indicators of performance such as large-scale assessments and other objective measures of school success. NCLB requires all states to have core academic standards, and furthermore dictates that states will need to bring all students to proficient levels...
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