Effects and Implications of HighStakes Testing on Third Grade English Language Learners in Texas Pub

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Effects and Implications of High-Stakes Testing
on Third Grade English Language Learners in
Texas Public Schools

• A Dissertation Defense
• By Michele R. Staples

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Defense Format

• I. Purpose of Study
• II. Review of Literature
• Significance of the study
• Research Design
• Research Questions/Findings
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Recommendations for Further Study

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I. Purpose of the Study

• The quantitative component of the study
  inspected the effect the Texas Assessment of
  Knowledge and skills (TAKS) test had (and may
  continue to have) on third grade English Language
  Learners (ELLs).

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I. Purpose of the Study

• The qualitative component examined the effect
  of mandatory student retention on the
  methodologies being used to teach English
  Language Learners.

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II. Review of Literature

• High Stakes Testing
• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• Special Education
• Prereferral and Referral Processes
• Retention
• Legal Aspects and Court Decisions and
• Reading Instruction.

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II. Review of Literature

• High Stakes Testing
• In Texas high-stakes standardized testing was
  introduced in 1990 by Governor Ann Richards, and
  was expanded in 1995 when George Bush took
  office.
• In 1999, the 76th Texas Legislature enacted a new
  state law, titled the Student Success Initiative,
  mandating new grade advancement requirements for
  students.
• Both federal (No Child Left Behind) and state
  legislation (Student Success Initiative) now
  require the inclusion of all students, including
  English Language Learners, to be included in
  assessments.

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II. Review of Literature

• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represents
  the biggest step ever in bringing accountability
  to the schools.
• According to the NCLB, AYP refers to the amount
  of progress that must be shown by schools, and
  for designated subgroups within schools
  (economically disadvantaged students, students
  from major racial and ethnic groups, students
  with disabilities, and students with limited
  English proficiency).

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II. Review of Literature

• ELLs and Special Education
• Disproportionate Representation
• Based on (PEIMS) data, Texas did not appear to
  have a statewide problem.
• Districts with fewer minority teachers did have
  an overrepresentation of minority students.
• Prereferral and Referral for Special Education
• Collier and Hoover (1987) write, more than 80
  of the referred minority students were identified
  as learning disabled.

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II. Review of Literature

• Retention
• Historically, minority students have been
  retained in greater proportions than their white
  counterparts .
• Chicago, in its first year of state mandated
  performance standards, retained 15 of students
  in grade 3, 13 in grade 6, and 8 in grade 8.

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II. Review of Literature

• Legal Aspects
• The Bilingual Education Act of 1968
• Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary
  Education Act (ESEA)
• The most notable court case to affect ELLs was
  the 1974 Lau v. Nichols case.

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II. Review of Literature

• Reading Instruction
• Develop cross-curricular reading strategies
• Design groups with heterogeneous configurations
• Develop cooperative learning activities
• Integrate decoding and spelling instruction with
  language-rich reading and writing activities
• Utilize meaningful communicative contexts for
  learning, such as story dramatizations
• Address multiple learning styles
• Use other proven, research-based strategies to
  facilitate the transfer of information and
• Teach Test Taking Skills.

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III. Significance of the Study

• The study will enable pre-service teachers,
  teachers, parents, and administrators the
  opportunity to review the effects of high-stakes
  testing on English Language Learners.
• Qualitative and quantitative data will help
  guide schools in selecting policies and programs
  that will promote the skills ELLs need to master
  the standards on high-stakes tests.

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IV. Research Design

• A mixed-methods research design was used for this
  research.
• Comparative Research
• Ex post facto
• The independent variable has already occurred
• The researcher did not give the treatment
• Observations are described
• Qualitative Interviews
• Informal face to face interviews, email
  interviews and phone interviews were used.
• Questions were used to generate discussion
  threads.

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IV. Research Design
Population

• Quantitative
• The target population for the quantitative
  portion of the study focused on all third grade
  English Language Learners enrolled in Texas
  public schools. The sample for the quantitative
  portion of the study focused on all third grade
  ELLs enrolled in Texas public schools where data
  were available.

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IV. Research Design
Population

• Qualitative
• The population for the qualitative aspect of the
  research study was comprised of educators from
  Texas public school districts. Thirty-five Texas
  educators participated in the study. Participants
  were comprised of teachers, principals,
  diagnosticians, and curriculum specialists. The
  age of the interviewees was very diverse, as was
  their experience in education.

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IV. Research Design
Population
Table 4.1 Number of 3rd Grade ELLs Identified and
Enrolled in Texas Public Schools
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Quantitative Data Analysis
IV. Research Design

• The Statistical Package for Social Sciences
  (SPSS) 12.0 was used to process and store the
  statistical data.
• Descriptive statistics include the group mean and
  the standard deviation.
• The General Linear Model (GLM) Procedure One-way
  Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
  was computed to test the null hypotheses.

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Qualitative Data Analysis
IV. Research Design

• Naturalistic educator interviews
• Participants were interviewed face to face, via
  email and over the phone
• Interviewees were interviewed in an informal
  non-threatening capacity to ensure answers were
  reliable
• Interviewees signed a letter of consent that
  assured them anonymity and confidentiality

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IV. Qualitative Research Question

• A qualitative data analysis approach was used to
  obtain central themes that were coded for
  analyses
• Responses were taped, with the permission of
  respondents, and field notes were written at the
  time of the interview
• Data from the recorded interviews were
  transcribed along with the field notes
• Data were classified and coded according to the
  driving questions and coded for central themes.
• Respondents were coded as a, b, c, d, e, aa, bb,
  cc, etc

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IV. Qualitative Research Question

• Six questions were used to generate responses
  from interviewees
• Interviewee altered questions to formulate new
  threads in the discussions
• The interviewer began each interview with
  questions regarding procedures and methodologies
  that were used to ensure academic success for
  students, especially ELLs
• Respondents answers were centered on several
  themes. These themes were coded and classified
  and
• The themes that emerged were curriculum,
  vertical, alignment, teamwork, strategy studies,
  and intervention.

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V. Research FindingsDescriptive Statistics
Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics for Percent of
3rd Grade ELLs Meeting Minimum Standards for TAAS
and TAKS years, N 526
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V. Research FindingsDescriptive Statistics
Figure 4.2 Percent of 3rd Grade ELLs Meeting
Minimum Standards for TAAS
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V. Research FindingsDescriptive Statistics
Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics for Percent of
Third Grade ELLs enrolled in Special Education
Services, N 1,077
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V. Research FindingsDescriptive Statistics
Table 4.5 Percents of 3rd Grade ELLs Retained in
Third Grade for the TAAS Years and for the TAKS
Years for All Texas Public Schools
Figure 4.3 Percent of 3rd Grade ELLs Retained in
Grade
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V. Research FindingsDescriptive Statistics
Table 4.6 Descriptive Statistics for Percent 3rd
Grade ELLs Exempt from Taking the TAAS and TAKS,
N 521
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V. Quantitative Research Question 1

• What is the difference in the percentage of
  English Language Learners in the third grade who
  met the minimum passing standards between the
  TAKS administration and the TAAS administration?

Table 4.7 Descriptive Statistics for Percent 3rd
Grade ELLs Meeting Minimum Standards for TAAS
(2000-2002) and TAKS (2003-2005) Years, N 526
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V. Quantitative Research Question 1
Table 4.8 One-Way Repeated measures Analysis of
Variance Comparing TAAS Passing Rates to TAKS
passing Rates
p lt .05. p lt .01
The null hypothesis was rejected. These results
suggest that the passing rate of third grade ELLs
significantly improved during the TAKS years
suggesting that English Language Learning
students are more prepared for the standards
assessed by the TAKS test.
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V. Quantitative Research Question 2

• What is the difference in the percentage of
  English Language learners enrolled in special
  education programs between the TAKS
  administration and the TAAS administration?

Table 4.9 Descriptive Statistics for Percent 3rd
Grade ELLs enrolled in Special Education
Services, N 1,077
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V. Quantitative Research Question 2
Table 4.10 One-Way Repeated Measures Analysis of
Variance Comparing TAAS Special Education Rates
and TAKS Special Education Rates of ELLs
p lt .05. p lt .01
The null hypothesis was rejected. It appears that
there is a significant increase in the percent of
English Language Learning students who are
enrolled in special education classes since the
implementation of the TAKS test.
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V. Quantitative Research Question 3

• What is the difference in the percentage of
  English Language Learners retained in third grade
  between the TAKS administration and the TAAS
  administration?

Table 4.5 Percents of 3rd Grade ELLs Retained in
Third Grade for the TAAS Years and for the TAKS
Years for All Texas Public Schools
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V. Quantitative Research Question 3
Figure 4.3 Percent of 3rd Grade ELLs Retained in
Grade
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V. Quantitative Research Question 4

• What is the difference in the percentage of
  English Language Learners exempted from taking
  the test between the TAKS administration and the
  TAAS administration?

Table 4.11 Descriptive Statistics for 3rd Grade
ELLs Exempt from Taking the TAAS (2000-2002) and
TAKS (2003-2005), N 521
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V. Quantitative Research Question 4
Table 4.12 One-Way Repeated measures Analysis of
Variance Comparing TAAS Exemption Rates to TAKS
Exemption Rates
The null hypothesis failed to be rejected. It
appears that there has been no significant change
in the number of TAAS/TAKS test exemptions for
third grade ELLs since the implementation of the
TAKS test.
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V. Qualitative Research Question

• What is the effect of mandatory student
  retention on the methodologies being used to
  teach English Language Learners?

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• With regards to the curriculum, respondents
  stated that in order to transition from TAAS to
  TAKS their schools went back and rewrote the
  curriculum (Interviewee a, Curriculum). ducator
  stated that they worked with curriculum
  specialists to gear their curriculum to the
  TEKS.

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• TAKS formatted practice lessons (Interviewees a,
  b, c, f, i, k, l, p and q, Curriculum)
• High standards (Interviewees a, b, h, r and cc,
  Curriculum)
• TAKS formatted assessments (Interviewees a, b, c,
  d, f, g, h, i, and l, Curriculum)
• Lessons that involve higher order thinking skills
  (Interviewees f, y, bb, and dd, Curriculum)
• Process oriented lessons (Interviewee c, d, e, f,
  g, h, m, q, r, u, v, and y Curriculum)
• TEKS (Interviewee a, b, e, f, g, h, I, k, m, n,
  o, p, q, t, u, v and x Curriculum) and
• Integration of subject areas (Interviewee d and,
  y, Curriculum.)

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• Vertical alignment is a term that has gained
  popularity in recent years. Vertical alignment
  ensures that developmental concepts are
  introduced prior to delving into more challenging
  concepts. Respondent d stated that the
  curriculum is infused in all areas which
  indicates that horizontal alignment is important
  as well. Interviewees made the following
  statements in regards to the TAKS test and
  vertical alignment

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• More vertical alignment of core subject area
  curriculum (Interviewee o, Vertical Alignment)
• Scope and sequence everything. Everything must
  now be aligned to the TAKS (Interviewee v,
  Vertical Alignment)
• Self-Written Curriculum. We now have more days
  to write and align curriculum (Interviewee r,
  Vertical Alignment)
• Vertical Alignment and teamwork Give a hint,
  get a hint from team members (Interviewee q,
  Vertical Alignment)
• We are given days to align TEKS vertically
  (Interviewee q, Vertical Alignment) and
• Align TEKS vertically (Interviewee p, Vertical
  Alignment).

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• Teamwork was also a theme that emerged from the
  interviews. Educators coded as a, b, j, o, w,
  and cc stated that their school was successful
  because the faculty worked in a cohesive manner,
  collaborating with team members on a regular
  basis.

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• The following interviewees made the following
  comments in regards to teamwork
• Collaboration with team members ensures that the
  reading TEKS are used across the curriculum
  (Interviewee b, Teamwork)
• We work cohesively together (Interviewee a,
  Teamwork)
• We split our blocks so we can focus on our areas
  to help the kids (Interviewee b, Teamwork)
• Work with colleagues to discuss changes
  (Interviewee b, Teamwork)
• Lots of teachers help (Interviewee d,
  Teamwork)
• Give a hint, get a hint from team members
  (Interviewee q, Teamwork) and
• We meet to discuss item analyses and where our
  students are struggling so that we can write
  lesson plans that correlate with our weaknesses
  (Interviewee ee, Teamwork).

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Table 4.13 Reading Strategies Utilized by the
Teachers Interviewed
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V. Qualitative Research Question

• The next set of questions addressed ELLs and
  special education. When asked if students were
  placed into special education for fear of TAKS
  failure approximately two-thirds of the
  respondents felt that students were not being
  placed into special education for fear of failure
  on the TAKS.

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• The respondents who stated that there was not a
  connection between the TAKS and special education
  referrals stated that
• Extensive pre-referral procedures were followed
  with a focus on early intervention to avoid
  unnecessary special education referrals
  (Interviewee cc, Special Education)
• No Child Left Behind (NCLBs) Adequate Yearly
  Progress (AYP) requirements have substantially
  negated a school districts opportunity to
  misidentify students for that reason
  (Interviewee n and x, Special Education) and
• In my opinion, they are not referred to special
  education primarily because of the TAKS test. In
  the schools I am involved with, referral only
  occurs when the Child Study Process has taken the
  student through all appropriate interventions,
  including ESL, without the student being
  successful and a disability unrelated to the
  child's ESL status is suspected (Interviewee x,
  Special Education).

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• When asked to describe how the TAKS test
  positively impacted students the interviewees had
  many encouraging responses. They stated that
• The TAKS test motivates students (Interviewee
  a, Positive Views).
• Students want to be challenged and do well
  (Interviewee a, Positive Views)
• The TAKS test allows educators to see where
  students stand academically (Interviewee b,
  Positive Views)
• The test prepares students for the next grade
  level (Interviewee b, Positive Views)
• The test covers is our curriculum, so it tests
  our curriculum (Interviewee b, Positive Views)

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• More Positive Comments
• The skills assessed on the TAKS test are skills
  that the students need to know and are
  transferable to other areas of life (Interviewee
  c, Positive Views)
• There is accountability for students and
  teachers (Interviewee d, Positive Views)
• Teachers are forced to figure out ways to cover
  all of the skills needed to succeed on the TAKS
  (Interviewee d, Positive Views)
• The TAKS test pushes ELLs and forces them to use
  the English language (Interviewee e, Positive
  Views) and
• The TAKS test creates better readers
  (Interviewee g, Positive Views).

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• When asked to describe how the TAKS test
  negatively impacted students teachers were mainly
  concerned with the pressures that were placed on
  young children. The interviewees stated that they
  believed the TAKS test caused students undue
  stress. Respondent coded as a claims that such
  stress often can lead to both physical and mental
  absences.

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V. Qualitative Research Question

• Other respondents stated that
• It has impacted the program in a major way. It
  has converted the program into a warehouse for
  students who might not have learning
  disabilities, but learning difficulties
  (Interviewee cc Negative Views)
• There is a complete misunderstanding by the
  accountability section at TEA about what learning
  different students can accomplish (Interviewee
  dd, Negative Views) and
• High-stakes testing is about producing graduates
  that can go to college, not about
  teaching(Interviewee ee, Negative Views).

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VI. Conclusions

• The findings that more ELLs are meeting the
  minimum standards placed before them is a
  positive implication for the state of Texas. The
  TAKS test added rigor to the curriculum as TAKS
  is aligned to the curriculum more so than the
  TAAS test was. The fact that more ELLs are
  meeting these more rigorous standards implies
  that teachers are preparing ELLs to be
  successful.

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VI. Conclusions

• There was a significant increase in the percent
  of English Language Learning students who are
  enrolled in special education classes since the
  implementation of the TAKS test.
• These findings could have alarming implications
  for the state of Texas. Placing a student into
  special education programs unnecessarily hinders
  the growth of the child. As stated in Chapter II,
  Wilkinson and Ortiz (1986) found that after three
  years of special education placement, Hispanic
  students classified as learning disabled had
  actually lost ground.

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VI. Conclusions

• There was significant increase in the percent of
  ELLs retained in third grade during the TAKS
  years. Summative data acquired from TEA for the
  years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 identifies
  a trend in retention growth since the
  implementation of the TAKS test.

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VI. Conclusions

• Research described in chapter II generally
  depicts bleak outcomes for students retained in
  grade. The literature review on grade retention
  revealed that students do not have greater
  achievement in their second year of a particular
  grade. In actuality, students who repeat a grade
  typically do worse academically than those in
  control groups (Smith Shepard, 1989).

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VI. Conclusions

• Texas must pay particularly close attention to
  retention in regards to ELLs. Retention rates for
  3rd grade ELLs is historically higher for ELLs
  than for the retention rates of all 3rd graders.
  As mentioned above ELLs were retained in grade
  for the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
  3.6 percent, 3.8 percent, 3.8 percent, 4.6
  percent and 4.6 percent respectively. These
  percents are greater than the retention rates
  calculated for all third grade students enrolled
  in Texas public schools. For the same years the
  retention rate for all third grade students were
  2.3 percent, 2.5 percent, 2.4 percent, 2.8
  percent and 2.6 percent respectively.

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VI. Conclusions
Figure 5.1 Percent of 3rd Grade ELLs and All 3rd
Graders Retained in Grade
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VI. Conclusions

• There was no significant difference in the
  percentage of ELLs exempted from taking the TAKS
  test between the TAKS administration and the TAAS
  administration. Therefore the null hypothesis
  failed to be rejected. To offer fair assessment
  and maintain standards for every child both
  federal (No Child Left Behind) and state
  legislation (SSI) now require the inclusion of
  all students, including ELLs, to be included in
  assessments (Abedi, 2002, p. 232). Therefore the
  number of ELLs exempt from taking the TAKS test
  should have been significantly reduced.

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VI. Conclusions

• The findings on the previous slide imply that
  schools and districts in the state of Texas are
  not reducing the number of exemptions they are
  allowing for ELLs. Where students are no longer
  eligible for Limited English Exemptions,
  districts are exempting ELLs through Annual
  Review and Dismissal (ARD) committees. Meaning
  ELLs are placed into special education classes,
  possibly, for exemption purposes.

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VII. Recommendations

• It is recommended that schools monitor the rate
  of ELLs meeting minimum standards to ensure that
  the rate continues to rise
• It is recommended that schools develop a plan to
  increase the number of ELLs meeting minimum
  standards to close the gap between ELLs and the
  general population
• It is recommended that the state of Texas develop
  a policy that would require districts to follow a
  prereferral process, specially formulated to
  address the differences of ELLs, so that ELLs are
  not misidentified and placed into special
  education classes

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VII. Recommendations

• It is recommended that schools that the state
  develop a state wide intervention for all ELLs
  that would increase and monitor ELLs success
  rate on the TAKS test
• It is recommended that schools develop a plan to
  reduce the number of ELLs retained in grade and
• It is recommended that schools develop a plan to
  decrease the number of ELLs who are exempted from
  taking the TAKS test.

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VIII. Recommendations for Further Study

• Further research, both quantitative and
  qualitative, is needed in the area of ELLs and
  high-stakes testing and mandatory student
  retention. Topics for future research may
  include
• What are the longitudinal effects, if any, for
  ELLs that are retained in grade?
• While retention has been studied there are few,
  if any, studies that address retention with ELLs
  only.
• What are the longitudinal effects, if any, for
  ELLs placed in special education classes?
• Are there a significant number of Texas school
  districts that are successfully closing the gap
  between ELLs and regular education students in
  regards to TAKS scores?

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VIII. Recommendations for Further Study

• How is the TAKS test affecting ELLs in all grade
  levels, especially those grade levels that have
  mandatory student retention for students who do
  not prove to be successful on the TAKS test?
• Has there been a rise in retention rates in
  grades one and two since the implementation of
  the TAKS test?
• How educated are parents in regards to the TAKS
  test, mandatory student retention, special
  education and available interventions?
• What is the percentage of teachers in Texas
  Public Schools that are trained to work with
  ELLs? Has the percentage of teachers trained to
  work with ELLs increased since the implementation
  of the TAKS test?
• What percent of students suffer from some variety
  of test anxiety?

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Effects and Implications of High-Stakes Testing
on Third Grade English Language Learners in
Texas Public Schools

• A Dissertation Defense
• By Michele R. Staples