...Notion of More Testing Christopher de Vinck has worked in the education field for over forty years, and through his vast experience he has shown that there are many different ways to test a student that will get the same results that a standardized test should be able to achieve (Vinck 2015). With Vinck’s professional background of fifty years, his ethos, clearly shows that he is able to show the audience of teachers and educational politicians that his opinion on standardized testing to be creditable. The logos of Vinck’s article, show the varying statistics of students and the variables that can cause stress to the students. Politicians believe that teachers are to blame for the lack of high test scores for standardized...
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...Abolishing Standardized Tests Standardized tests should be abolished from schools. Standardized tests, like SOLs, are hurting students more so than they are helping them. These tests put a lot of stress on teachers and students. Test scores are used to show school improvement and how well the school is academically. Schools try to raise their test scores to make the school look better. In order to raise the scores teachers are being forced to teach to test. Teachers are only teaching students what they need to know to pass the test. These tests are forcing a curriculum and that is unfair for both teachers and students. There are many students who want to learn more and there are also teachers who want to teach more and go more in depth in a subject but they are unable to because they are required to just teach them how to pass a test. In class we hear our teacher say all the time, “...but you don’t need to know that it, it won’t on the test.” Many would think that standardized test is helpful to students because the main goal is to pass, and move up a level in school, but in reality students do not benefit from this at all because their sole purpose in learning these specific subjects are only by temporary memory. Standardized tests are so important in a students success in school. Whether or not the pass the tests determines if they pass the class. A student could do really well in class and then fail their test at the end of the year then in turn, fail the class. Not...
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...Psychological Testing Andrea K. Clark 06/15/2015 PSY/475 Introduction to Psychological Testing The goal of this paper is the summarization of key suppositions and basic questions related to psychological testing. A definition of the term ‘test’ shall be provided, as well as explanations of the main test types and identification of the chief users and usages of these tests. Additionally, there shall be a discussion of a comparison and contrast of reliability and validity beliefs and how they influence psychological testing. Definition of Test The definition of a test is “a critical examination, observation, or evaluation” that generates information (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2015). Tests are utilized to identify, characterize or measure an individual’s or group’s knowledge, intellect, skills, capabilities or aptitudes. In the psychological fields, tests are assessment tools that standardize these characterizations, measurements, and identifications. Psychological tests are “a systematic procedure for observing behavior and describing it with the aid of numerical scales or fixed categories” (Hogan, 2007, p. 39). Main Test Types, Chief Usages, and Users According to Hogan (2007), “we classify tests into five major categories: mental ability, achievement, personality, interests, and neuropsychological tests, with several subdivisions within some of the major categories” (p. 41). There are also different test classification methods: standardized, non-standardized, self-reports...
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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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...The Cons of Standardized Testing In past decades, tests were given to students to decide their placement in classes or to determine which students needed to be placed in resources class. Today, standardized tests are used for arbitrating the success or failure of students, teachers, and schools. “Despite their biases, inaccuracies, limited ability to measure achievement or ability, and other flaws, schools use standardized tests to determine if children are ready for school, track them into instructional groups; diagnose for learning disability, retardation and other handicaps; and decide whether to promote, retain in grade, or graduate many students. Schools also use tests to guide and control curriculum content and teaching methods” (Fair Test, 2007). On top of that, should one test at the end of a school year determine if a teacher was successful? No! A teacher’s success should be determined on the children’s learning throughout an entire school year based on many different assessments; this should be the same for children’s success. Students and teachers need to be held accountable for their success but not by administrating a standardized test. Standardized testing has become a political issue. When schools are tested they are compared to other schools in there state and nationally which permits politicians to display their concerns about certain school systems. You see, in the political world politician’s show their concern with our schools by attaching standardized...
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...Effectiveness of Standardized Testing Ashley Norris Com 220 September 16, 2012 Katie Boswell Effectiveness of Standardized Testing Hayden, a second grader, always has had trouble taking tests. From the very first test that he took in kindergarten until now, Hayden has collapsed under the pressure of the test and has never performed at a standard that was acceptable to himself or his educators. Situations such as this one are far too common in our schools today. Many of the children, such as Hayden, have fallen through the cracks in our classrooms. This has caused many people to ask themselves what is going on and how can things be changed. For years, educators have relied on standardized testing to provide them with information on a student’s progress throughout the year. However, much has changed since standardized testing was introduced. Standardized testing no longer accurately depicts a student’s progress in school; therefore, other forms of testing must be implemented to give all students a fair chance. Throughout history educators have used standardized testing as the main tool to predict how our educational system is working. These tests have been used as a way to assess what a student has learned throughout the school year and to inform teachers and school officials about how the curriculum is working. In many cases, the tests are administered closer to the end of the school year. By doing this, it allows the teachers and school officials to assess...
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...Standardized Testing Should Not Take Place in Kindergarten Kourtney C. Robles-Stewart Rasmussen College English Composition G124/ENC1101 Section 04 Teresa Kelly March 4, 2016 Abstract Standardized testing in kindergarten has become a very controversial topic across the nation. While there may be advantages of implementing standardized tests in schools, the disadvantages seem to be never-ending. The following paper will analyze the effects standardized testing can have on children of all ages with an emphasis on kindergarteners. It will look into the factors that impact test scores and how the tests compare to normal classroom activities and behaviors. A brief look into the role the United States government has played in standardized testing across the nation will also be covered. Standardized Testing Should Not Take Place in Kindergarten It’s a normal Monday morning when a mother is getting her, normally, very eager five-year-old ready for school. Her daughter has never missed a day and has always been overly-excited to get back to class after the weekend off, however, today is not the same. The little girl who once loved going to school to see her teacher and friends, now wants nothing to do with it, she simply doesn’t want to go. Her reasoning, “it’s not fun”. Unfortunately, this scenario is becoming more common across the nation as curriculum modifications are being made by educators to prepare young students for standardized tests. Since "No Child Left Behind"...
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...Report #2 Intelligent Intelligence Testing By Etienne Benson Monitor staff Having read the above named article, I found three points that are worthy of emphasizing. These are as follows: 1. Intelligence tests unfairly categorize students by race, gender, class and culture. 2. Propagates the idea that people are born with an unchangeable endowment of intellectual potential that determines their success in life. 3. Practitioners want tests that can help them design interventions that will actually improve students’ learning. My Reaction As I read this article, my eyes were focused on the “one size fit all” mentality that exists in most of our Jamaican classrooms. The reality is that many of our students are left behind due to the advent of standardized intelligence testing which focuses on the product instead of the process. I believe standardized intelligence testing has its part to play, but in a holistic sense, it is ineffective and should be removed from the education system. One can reflect on the many students who are said to “fail or underperform” in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) each year to clearly understand that this form of testing must give way to something that is more holistic and student friendly, which focuses on the many steps the student had to take to reach where he is at. Students learn differently and therefore perform at various levels. If a student who has a learning difficulty sits a standardized intelligence test such as GSAT, he...
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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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...The Scholastic math test was a standardized test used to diagnose each student’s learning strengths. It also compared the score of each student to the other students to produce detailed information on their overall math skills, rather than on one specific concept. The class math test on time and the essay was graded. The scores were given as a percentage, which means the percent of questions the student answered correctly. However, the standardized tests they take are usually given as a percentile or grade-equivalent score. The tests need to have validity, reliability, and no bias for them to be accurate representations of student...
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...whether the students are grasping the concepts they are being taught. To determine this the teacher uses several types of assessments. In some cases, formal assessments are most beneficial in determining understanding and in other cases the teacher can use informal methods in understandi ng the students’ learning. Formal assessments are, according to the website education-portal.com, “are systematic, preplanned methods of testing students that are used to determine how well studen ts have learned the material that is being taught i n the classroom.” (Flanagan, D., Mascolo, J., Hardy-B raz, S., 12/2009, NP), They are standardized tests, essay exams, and final exams. While formal assessm ents show overall achievement in a subject or subjects, informal assessments are used to inform i nstruction, they help the teacher understand where changes in a lesson plan or instructional method mi ght need to occur to help student learning. (Weaver , Brenda, ND, NP) One form of Formal assessment are the standardized achievement tests given to students during the year. These assessments shows the stude nts’ developed skills or knowledge in particular subjects. They can be compared on a national level to determine the efficacy of a particular curricul um or teaching method. There are several advantages t o these assessments. One advantage is they are scored objectively and can test a large number of s tudents. These assessments can...
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...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 are a few ways to evaluate student learning: 1. Students’ work samples: Collect student work and monitor progress...
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... “This is a drive towards personal growth and higher levels of functioning” (Morris & Maisto, 2002). This is in regards to the humanistic views on the personality theories. Like the psychodynamic personality, objective tests and personal interviews are used to make this assessment. Cognitive-social learning theories deals with “past reinforcement and punishment, and by also seeing what happens to others,” as mentioned by Morris and Maisto, 2002. In the overlook of assessing social learning theories, the three main ways of going about this is to assess through personal interviews, observations, and objective tests. In discussing the test given by www.similarminds.com, this test to me was more of an objective test. The test consisted of a serious of questions that asked my own personal ratings of how I was and not what I thought I was. This was measured on a scale like a standardized test, which allows an interviewer to examine multiple subjects in a very short amount of time. This test can easily be inaccurate if the subject is not serious about their answers and does not answer true to face. The test can also be misunderstood and not read correctly causing the subject to answer...
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...university but will also focus on developing their research. A psychiatrist is the doctor, as in MD, branch of psychology. This branch prescribes medicines to their patients, rather than resolve their problems through counseling methods Prompt E: Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct their research. The scientific method is a standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results. The general process of the scientific method goes as followed: Creating a hypothesis, executing an experiment, evaluating data, refining a theory, and developing a theory. The observations the researcher has made using the scientific method of thing is used in order to describe and measure behavior. After observing certain events repeatedly, researchers come up with a theory that explains these observations. Researchers generally develop a theory only after they have collected a lot of evidence and made sure their research results can be reproduced by others. The process of the scientific method of thinking is the first step in allowing researchers to draw conclusions from their observations and...
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...Lesson 17: Assessment in a Constructivist, Technology-Supported Learning Lesson 17: Assessment in a Constructivist, Technology-Supported Learning SUMMARY: WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? It is the process of making some evaluation; the act of assessing. WHAT IS CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY? Constructivist theory is a theory to explain on how knowledge is constructed in the human being when information comes into contact with existing knowledge that has been developed by experiences. Constructivism as a theory of learning has existed for over one hundred years but has no been widely accepted or applied in public schools.this theory is just a posed of behavioral theory. WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY-SUPPORTED LEARNING? It is used to encourage students especially in facilitating student centered learning activities. It is more than technology enhance instruction. It recognizes that learning is supported in many different ways, even if there is no formal teaching involve. Students study and learn based on the way they are tested. The type of assessment anticipated appears to influence how and what they learn. therefore, the quickest way to change the way students learn is to change the way learning is assessed. In a technology-supported classroom, the student learns from and with the technology. Technology is seen as a source of information that the students learn from in the same way that the teacher are the source of information.. the students master facts from the concepts...
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