High Stakes Testing
Testing has become an attractive option for policymakers both because it has the potential to affect the behavior of educators in the educational system and because it is often viewed by the public as a way to guarantee a basic level of quality education. Whatever the reasons, formal testing tied to grade promotion and graduation continues to spread throughout the United States.
Measuring what and how well students learn is an important building block in the process of strengthening and improving our nation's schools. Tests, along with student grades and teacher evaluations, can provide critical measures of students' skills, knowledge, and abilities. Therefore, tests should be part of a system in which broad and equitable access to educational opportunity and advancement is provided to all students. Tests, when used properly, are among the most sound and objective ways to measure student performance. But, when test results are used inappropriately or as a single measure of performance, they can have unintended adverse consequences.
Today, many school districts are mandating tests to measure student performance and to hold individual schools and school systems accountable for that performance. Knowing if and what students are learning is important. Test results give classroom teachers important information on how well individual students are learning and provide feedback to the teachers themselves on their teaching methods and curriculum materials.
Educators and Policy makers definitely seem to differ on this subject. I found a great website that states the advantages and disadvantages of high stakes standardized tests.
http://www.uta.edu/irp/unit_effectiveness_plans/assets/AssessMethods.pdf
I found a great newsletter with information in regard to high stakes testing. It came from the Westchester Institute for Human Services Research.
http://www.sharingsuccess.org/code/bv/testing.pdf
Public Affairs reported good information about appropriate use of high stakes testing.
http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/testing.html
I believe this is the most debated issue is the educational system today! I feel this way because here in FL we have the FCAT which some say makes teachers "teach to the test." These websites you have provided give helpful information on appropriately using testing in schools. I pariculary like the first link that gives advantages and disadvantages, as well as suggestions. I think in schools today, adminstrators should give their teachers these tips and help shed a positive light on this issue.
ReplyDeleteThere are a great number of issues that I see when it comes to high stakes testing. There are positives but I see many more negatives. I think this type of testing needs to be revamped so that students with and without disabilities do not fall through educational "cracks". I think the link that you provided about the appropriate use of testing is great.
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