...Special Education Kids and Standardized Testing Special education children have trouble keeping up in regular classrooms which is the reason they have their own classes, but they are often still forced to take the same tests as regular students. The tests can benefit some students but not all. When it comes to the standardized tests for kids with special needs there are accommodations in place like extra time and having an aid read the questions. These only help kids with simple special needs, not those with severe conditions; some teachers use different testing just for kids with severe cognitive dysfunctions, but many still use regular testing. “Two-thirds of students with disabilities are performing well below grade level in reading and...
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...Brooke Potes English 11 October 24, 2015 Mrs. Robach Standardized Tests Standardized tests are used to determine someone’s entire future. They are used all around the United States to determine teacher and administrator pay, label schools as passing or failing, and most importantly, as college admissions tests, like the SAT and ACT. Are these tests really accurate? Many people say yes while others strongly disagree. Standardized tests are not a fair way to test students and should not be used to determine what a student is capable of. Standardized tests have not improved student achievement and isn’t an accurate indicator of a students success. The use of standardized testing continues to grow. One article states this: “This expansion is...
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...schools continue standardized testing? The United States government implemented the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), signed into law on January 8, 2002 by President George W. Bush (US Government Printing Office, 2002). This Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. In order to receive federal school funding, states must give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard. Each state develops its own standards (US Government Printing Office, 2002). Since the creation of this act, various debates challenge the practical use of the standardized tests. The debate presented for this paper is an argument, “Should public schools continue standardized testing?” The favorable arguments are that the standardized tests are fair, backed by parents, improves the quality of the curriculum, and the usage of standardized tests outside of the public education system. The arguments against standardized testing are stereotyping poor performing students, testing anxiety, low morale with teachers, and basing teacher evaluations on student performance. Additionally, ethical, moral and legal issues are identified in relation to standardized testing and their effects on high-stakes testing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the given arguments, both for and against standardized testing from different sources and to conclude with a consensus of the arguments with the authors of this paper. A survey conducted...
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...Almagor, Lelac. "The Good in Standardized Testing." Boston Review 39.5 (2014): 6-9. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 24 Sept. 2014. The title of this article is “The Good in Standardized Testing”, but this article is not simply praising standardized testing. The author chose to narrow in on the effectiveness of standardized test as it relates to reading comprehension. Almagor claims that standardized test are good for letting schools and families know where their children stand compared to other children nationally. He also addresses the negative aspects of standardized test in saying “good reading” can’t be measured properly through multiple choice questions. It is clear that the author does recognize that standardized test can...
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...using MLA or other assigned style manual; * Use syntax, punctuation, and spelling effectively in service of rhetorical purpose. Assignment: Your final essay will loosely based on the structure of a ‘literature review.’ As such, it will be either a closed-form, thesis-based structure or a thesis-seeking structure. You will choose one of the following topics and at least two of the assigned articles and create a synthesis essay based on them. Your paper should do the following: 1) introduce your research question and thesis (the answer to your research question and the argument you are defending), 2) summarize the articles from the authors’ perspectives, 3) compare and contrast the themes of the articles according to your research question, and 4) analyze the articles from your perspective and come to a conclusion on your research question using the information from the articles. Format: Your paper should be double-spaced and in MLA format, including parenthetical citations and a works cited page. It the body of the paper should be at least 1500 words (not including the reference page). Audience: The audience for this assignment is your ENC 1101 instructor and peers. For more information...
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...Learning: Limitations of Today’s Standardized Tests Michael Russell & Jennifer Higgins Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative Boston College 332 Campion Hall Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 www.intasc.org Assessing Effects of Technology on Learning: Limitations of Today’s Standardized Tests Michael Russell & Jennifer Higgins Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative Boston College Released August 2003 Michael K. Russell, Project Director/Boston College Copyright © 2003 Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative, Boston College Supported under the Field Initiated Study Grant Program, PR/Award Number R305T010065, as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The findings and opinions expressed in this report do not reflect the positions or policies of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, or the U.S. Department of Education. Assessing Effects of Technology on Learning: Limitations of Today’s Standardized Tests Michael Russell & Jennifer Higgins Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative Boston College Over the past decade, students’ use of computers has increased sharply, particularly for writing and research (Becker, 1999; Russell, O’Brien...
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...Persuasive Paper Part 3: Possible Disadvantages, Answers, with Visuals ENG215 Research and Writing Strayer University March 13, 2015 Persuasive Paper Part 3: Possible Disadvantages, Answers, with Visuals Paying students to pass standardized tests has been in the works for a while now. The idea of paying students a financial incentive to pass standardized tests came from families who would give money to their kids if they brought home a report card with good grades. Offering students some type of financial incentive to pass standardized tests would get the students attention. Most students don’t care whether they pass or fail school, offering them money in exchange for scoring high on standardized tests would give students a reason to pay attention and pass standardized tests (Flannery, 2015). Motivating students with a financial incentive is a good way to get them to pass standardized tests (Bettinger, 2008). Problems with Standardized Testing Standardized testing ramped up in 2002 from the No Child Left behind Act. This act was going to hold public schools to a high standard of education, by measuring the students’ scores on statewide standardized tests. The reasons that standardized tests are a problem is from the following reasons: 1. Test scores can’t accurately measure learning: Standardized tests does not allow students to express themselves because they are multiple-choice. Open-ended tests would allow students to express themselves. 2. Standardized...
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...Standardized Survey Tools for Assessment in Archives and Special Collections Yakel, E., & Tibbo, H. (2010). Standardized survey tools for assessment in archives and special collections. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 11(2), 211-222. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from the Emerald database. Abstract: User-based evaluation in archives and special collections is in its fancy, and this paper aims to discuss the conceptualization, development, and testing of Archival Metrics Toolkits. The development and adoption of standardized metrics to support the management of both analog and digital collections is a critical need in archives and manuscript collections. The Archival Metrics Toolkits were created, and comprised five user-based evaluation instruments for archives and special collections in colleges and universities such as researcher, archival web sites, online finding aids, student researchers, and teaching support. The Archival Metrics Toolkits, as developed, represent a first step toward standardized evaluation created specifically for archives. Now it is up to the community to adopt these tools and report their use. These are the first standardized questionnaires to target archives and special collections and take into consideration the unique environment of primary sources and the specific dynamics involved in connecting researches with archival and manuscript collections. Keywords: Archiving, Collections management, Software tools Summary Over the past five...
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...Team B Methods Paper The goal of standardized testing is to evaluate student ability with a uniform, non-biased instrument. They have “been shown to predict students’ future educational attainment and adult employment and income” (Trafton, 2013, para. 2). First used in Imperial China for determining suitable employees for the government of the ruling class (Do standardized tests show an accurate view of students’ abilities, 2012), the standardized test as we know it now is a result of an open letter to the public by the U.S. Department of Education entitled, “A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform”, that was released in 1983 (Jolley, 2014). The SAT, an aptitude test typically taken by high school juniors and seniors, was started in 1926 and has been modified multiple times to eradicate any evidence of bias and contain no references to content outside the classroom (Bauerlein, 2015). The demand for removing bias has led to one of the reasons for opposition to standardized testing; teaching to the test. Educators feel stripped of autonomy (Jolley, 2014), and that this type of curriculum does not encourage critical thinking skills. Supporters of standardized testing, however, believe that they hold teachers and schools accountable to taxpayers by being able to measure student achievement and be judged according to student performance (Do standardized tests show an accurate view of students' abilities, 2012). The goal of this study is not make an argument for...
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...* * * * * * * * Introduction to Psychological Testing * Melanie Callahan * Psychological Tests and Measurements PSY 475 * Deborah Ford * June 6, 2011 Introduction to Psychological Testing According to a survey of 455 psychologists and counselors form Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, psychological testing is an important part of clinical psychology (Fee, Elkins, & Boyd, 1982). The most recommended tests from this group were the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) (Fee, Elkins, & Boyd, 1982). Psychological testing provides the clinician with information about the client’s personality structure pertinent for the multifaceted approach to mental health (Fee, Elkins, & Boyd, 1982). In this research paper, test will be defined, major categories of tests will be examined along with their uses and users, and reliability and validity of testing will be compared. * The Definition of Test * The definitions for test given by the Oxford English Dictionary and the glossary of the authoritative Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests are not useful for the purpose of this paper; however, one may take some practical information from these two sources along with the definitions from the textbooks by Anne Anastasi and Lee Cronbach. The Oxford English dictionary does...
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...Should we keep using standardized tests to improve the education quality? Key words: standardized tests Introduction: On August, 2015, in the educational episodes Are Our Kids Strong Enough from BBC, 5 Chinese teachers, who are deft at standardized tests, taught 50 British students for 1 month. Consequently, Chinese-education-taught students’ test scores are averagely 15 points above other British students. Also, China, a country with a long tradition of standardized testing, topped all countries in the international rankings for reading, math, and science in 2009 when it debuted on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) charts (Dillon). With the triumph of Chinese education, people are suspecting whether...
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...developed countries. For this reason, education has played an important role in the US agenda for many years. In January 8th, 2002, the US Congress passed a law called “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB), which expanded the role of federal government in education. This law strongly emphasizes the implementation of standardized tests in public schools to measure the progress of students as well as to hold teachers and schools accountable for students’ progress. A social problem that the NCLB is trying to fix is the fact that the quality of education in US’ public schools has decreased during the last years. Alarming statistics have shown that the country’s education system is not as internationally competitive as it used to be. For example, according to a report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has slipped ten spots in high school and college graduation rates in the past three decades (CFR). Poor education affects the entire country because of the close relation that progress has with having a skillful workforce. Furthermore, other social problems, such as poverty and crime, are indirectly related to inferior education. An extensive body of research has found that people with less schooling tend to work and earn less as adults, are more likely to receive public assistance, and have poorer health (‘Education and Poverty’). Poverty has also been proven to be the number one cause of crime, which is yet another social problem affecting the US. By directly improving...
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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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...Administration Practices for Standardized Assessments . . Sasha Zucker With assistance from: Margarita Galindo Elaine Grainger Nancy Severance . . . . . . . . April 2004 Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved. Pearson and the Pearson logo are trademarks of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). . . . . . . . . . ASSESSMENT REPORT Administration Practices for Standardized Assessments Administration Practices for Standardized Assessments Note: This report is based on “Appropriate Administration Practices with Standardized Tests” published in Testing Information Bulletin No. 3 by Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement, June 1996. Introduction Pearson Inc. (Pearson) develops and distributes a variety of assessments for educational and clinical purposes. To meet the goal of producing highly valid, reliable results for test users, each of these products is developed according to strict guidelines. For standardized tests, the way in which the test is administered is equally important. By carefully adhering to administration practices, a test user can contribute to the validity and reliability of each student’s results. Moreover, following appropriate administration practices satisfies widely accepted ethical standards and codes of responsibilities required for test administrators. This report discusses general and documented administration practices for standardized assessments, especially with...
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...Annotated Bibliography THESIS STATEMENT: In order to improve our level of education and help students to retain and learn what teachers are teaching, the state needs to remove standardized state level of testing; this will encourage children of young age to think creativity and think outside the box, encourages organic learning and prevents the unnecessary stress on young children. Robinson, K. (2013, April) Ted Talks Education How to escape educations death valley [Video File] Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley#t-782486 Ken Robinson is an author, speaker and international advisor on education. He emphasized on importance of education and how it is that we are to change the way we are teaching in America. He mentions that while the standardized testing is ok, we should however expand on the notion with state testing and expand within the arts. He mentions that 60% of children drop out of school before they get into high school. He also states the No Child Left Behind act is based not on diversity but conformity. He compared Finland to each state within the America. Finland does not use any standardized testing; yet they are consistently above average. The difference with Finland and any state in America can be summed up by 3 things. 1) America in general or state level does not individualize teaching and learning. 2) America in general or state level does not invest in the teacher. He states that America...
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