This title is borrowed from an article about achievement testing from Educational Leadership. The author states that all achievement tests are not the same. Many times when achievement tests are used as the basis for research studies the name of the test is not even mentioned. Given that achievement tests differ from each other, it is like basing research results on the comparison between apples and oranges.
So why do I bring up achievement tests this week? Because of the impact that achievement test, i.e. high-stakes tests, have on the process of education today and on educators. Achievement tests are used in virtually every state in the nation. While there are advantages to achievement tests (Orlich, p. 341) I still feel that the tests are being used inappropriately. It seems to me that the achievement tests being used today are constructed on the most basic level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Many of these tests use primarily multiple-choice items; and while this is “... generally considered the most useful objective test item...” I believe that it stays in the knowledge outcomes and not the higher-level learning outcomes.
The other thing that bothers me about achievement tests is the correlation made between the outcome of the test and the quality of the education that the students are receiving in school. Either the teacher is doing a good job or not doing a good job. “... standardized achievement tests should not be used to evaluate the quality of education. That's not what they are supposed to do.” (The Problem With Standardized Achievement Tests) Teachers that take the time to teach their students how to be critical thinkers may end up being penalized because that is not what achievement tests measure. While we read in our text that Inquiry Learning motivates students to excel, tests with such high-stakes accountability can have the opposite effect.
Another problem point with standardized achievement tests is what these tests say to students with a low socio-economic-status (SES). When these students see their scores do they believe they are dumb? I hope not. I recently received a newsletter from the middle school that my daughter will attend next year as a seventh-grader. The whole newsletter was fulfilling the requirement that the school had to inform parents that this middle school did not make AYP for the year. When I looked closely at the results, it was the students in the low SES, as well as in the ethnicity category that scored so low, it brought down the results for the whole school. The principal informed us (parents) that we had a right to transfer our child to a school that did meet AYP, however, none of the middle schools in our town did so that is not an option. I wouldn’t even consider it. I still consider the education of my children at this school to be exceptional, low scores or not. I don’t believe that this is a measure of the quality of the educational that students receive at this school. However, less informed parents may be inclined to believe this. What a shame!
In conclusion, I hate to see what standardized achievement tests are doing to education. Teachers should be spending more time using the Inquiry model, discovery learning, and encouraging/teaching critical thinking skills. Teachers should not be spending valuable class time “teaching to the test”.
Taking a Look at Engaged Learning
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Before teachers can see how engaged learning can affect the education
of their student's one has to take a look at the definition of it. Engaged
lear...
13 years ago
I agree with your closing statements. I believe there is value to standardized assessments as long as we are using the tests to learn about our students and apply strategies that help them become more successful. High Stakes Testing results can be used to find strengths and weaknesses within the school and individual students in some cases. If the results are used to improve curriculum and instruction I don't have a problem with high-stakes testing. The "high stakes" can be troubling because sanctions often viewed as punishments can be placed on schools. If schools use the results effectively and dedicated to ongoing improvement...high stakes testing could be re-interpreted as having high standards for all students. Using the strategies you suggest and focus these methods on areas of strengths and weaknesses found in testing results would surely have a positive impact.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of putting so much weight on standardized tests is a bit insulting to me as a teacher. It seems to me that the purpose of giving so many standardized tests is so that non-educators can evaluate our level of education based on number that can be placed on a graph. Then these same numbers are used to attack schools, teachers (indirectly), and the students you mentioned. Every class concerning education tells us how to teach using many different methods, to improve diversity, expand student thinking processes and so on. None of these methods are ever evaluated. So are they trying to tell us is that it is not important? Something definitely needs to change because the way we are evaluating the nation's level of education is borderline counterproductive.
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