Standardized Testing

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Standardized Testing

• Media Opinions

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What we will cover

• Opinions pro con for testing
• Internet
• National Council of Teachers of English
• Education Policy Studies Laboratory
• American Association of School Administrators
• New York City Board of Education
• Federal Government
• No Child Left Behind Act
• Educational Testing service
• Newspapers
• New York Times
• New York Post
• Why Test? Implications of Tests
• New York City Board of Education
• Television
• CNN
• Local News Stations
• Radio
• WNYC

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Opinions - Pro Con for Testing
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National Council of Teachers of English Website
Summary of NCTE Resolution

• The National Council of Teachers of English
  opinion on High Stakes Testing
• use of such tests cause measurable damage to
  teaching and learning
• fail to assess accurately students knowledge
• NCTE Resolves
• the use of any single test in making decisions is
  educationally unsound and unethical
• harms students learning
• displaces more thoughtful and creative curriculum
• diminishes the emotional well-being of educators
  and children
• unfairly damages the life-chances of members of
  vulnerable groups
• NCTE calls on legislators and policymakers to
• repeal laws and policies that tie significant
  consequences to scores on single assessments
• join with professional organizations to develop
  better means of improving public education

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An Analysis of Some Unintended and Negative
Consequences of High-Stakes Testing examined the
unintended consequences of high-stakes tests in
16 states that have implemented high-stakes
graduation exams. In those states, Amrein and
Berliner found increased dropout rates, decreased
graduation rates, and higher rates of younger
people taking the GED equivalency exams.

• Unintended and Negative Consequences of
  Standardized Testing
• High rates of holding back low-performing
  students in grades before tests were administered
• Low-performing students being suspended before
  testing days, expelled
• Reduced offerings in art, music, science, social
  studies, and physical education
• Teachers teaching to the test,
• There are enough negative unintended consequences
  to call into question the value of high-stakes
  high school graduation exams

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• American Association of School Administrators on
  standardized testing
• 63 of American voters do not agree that a
  students progress for one school year can be
  accurately summarized by a single test
• Only 45 of voters feel that standardized test
  scores accurately reflect what children know
  about the subject being tested
• 49 of voters disagree with the idea that
  students should be kept back a grade if they fail
  to achieve a passing score on a statewide
  standardized test
• AASA strongly supports accountability and high
  standards for Americas public schools.
• Testing should be a PART of how schools measure
  student performance. However, educating students
  for success in todays society cannot be measured
  by ONE test alone.

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• Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in
  1988 to set policy for the National Assessment of
  Educational Progress (NAEP) -- commonly known as
  the "The Nation's Report Card."
• Their reasons for national standardized testing
• Change the odds for our kids
• Improve chances that all children will receive
  high quality instruction in reading and
  mathematics
• Site low performing statistics for need for a
  national report card based solely on
  standardized testing

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No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Standardized Testing Seeks to

• Increase Accountability (State Standards, Getting
  Results, Adequate Yearly Progress, etc. )
• Guidance (Teacher quality)
• Legislation (Federal requirements)

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Summary of ETS view on Testing

• Key part of the formula is good tests
• tests that measure how well students are doing
• provide diagnostic feedback
• Tests provide answers
• They help teachers make better instructional
  choices for their students
• They help students -- and their parents --
  understand how well they are learning what they
  are supposed to know and how they compare to
  other students
• Good tests identify strengths as well as
  weaknesses
• Tests help schools know how they compare to other
  schools
• They help education leaders at the state and
  local level judge their performance and allocate
  resources
• Tests are best used to diagnose the needs of
  students
• test results also provide taxpayers with a way of
  "keeping score," of measuring the progress that
  schools are making

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• Times article points out flaws in standardized
  testing
• Panel report found the state's effort to
  establish rigorous math standards was deeply
  flawed and needed to be overhauled.
• The test is required for graduation, and only
  about 37 of those who took it passed
• Several suburban districts in Westchester and on
  Long Island had announced that they would no
  longer give the physics exam
• Ann Cook of Time Out From Testing says, "This
  adds up to a complete fiasco. What's happening
  here is that the commissioner is attempting to
  camouflage the real problem, which is a failed
  system of assessing students."
• Time Out From Testing is a coalition of groups
  critical of the Regents testing program

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• Post presents Kleins arguments for high stakes
  testing
• Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday strongly
  urged state lawmakers to resist rolling back
  tough graduation standards
• Klein defended standardized testing as a way to
  gauge not only how students are performing, but
  how individual schools are doing
• "I feel about testing the way many people feel
  about democracy It's highly imperfect, but
  better than all the options,"
• Critics, including several members of the
  legislative panel, say testing should be a
  component - but not the only factor - in
  determining whether students graduate.

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Why Test? Implications of Tests
Radio
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Media
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What do high performing testing states have in
common?

• Budget (states devising their own tests vs.
  buying from other companies)
• Time (tracking results, evaluating students
  scores )
• Communication (reaching out to parents, assessing
  students)

• 1 New York
• 2 Massachusetts
• 3 Texas
• 48 South Dakota
• 49 Rhode Island
• 50 Montana

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Washington Assessment of Student Learning
Preliminary testing to assess students skills
before they take standardized tests
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Putting Tests to the Test
"My heart hurts that he has to do this on his
own," Michelle Murphy said of her son's testing
experience. "If you want to know how your child
is doing, you don't wait seven months to get the
results of a standardized test. You just ask your
kid's teacher," advised Judi Hirsch, an Oakland,
Calif., algebra teacher who introduced the NEA
measure.
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The Crime Conner Murphy of Minden, Nevada took
his pencil and drew a line through the answer
column of the states reading, writing and math
test. The Action He is boycotting the states
mandatory standardized testing policy. The school
is threatening to place him in jail. The
Argument Standardized tests force teachers to
focus on getting ready for the tests rather than
teaching their students.
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Radio
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Continuing coverage and in-depth, ongoing
discussion of education related issues including
standardized testing. Many viewpoints and
perspectives aired on a number of programs.

• WNYC - The Brian Lehrer Show Deans List
  (September 30, ...                ...
  Standardized testing can make or break a
  student's future career. Today on the Brian
  Lehrer Show, an in-depth look at the testing
  industry. Quiz Show Monday ...
• WNYC - Reading Room In Schools We Trust     
           ... Nor do we trust principals,
  parents, or local school boards. We don't trust
  the public school system as a whole, so we allow
  those furthest removed from the ...
• WNYC - News - Reading, Writing and Reform  
  ... 9, 2003 In public schools throughout the
  city, there's a new curriculum intended to boost
  reading scores. Just about 40 percent of
  elementary and middle school ...

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• Covering the controversy
• With the exception of suburban New Jersey,
  students continue to perform poorly on the tests.
  
• Some tests are found to be inaccurate, failing a
  small but significant portion of students who
  would have otherwise passed.
• Scarsdale bucks the system.

• NJ Schools Get High Marks in New Poll September
  22, 2003
• TEST SCORES TOSSED June 24, 2003
• STAR Scores Still Below State Goals August 29,
  2002
• N.Y. Regents Exam Censorship? June 03, 2002
• City Parents to Boycott Standardized Tests May
  07, 2002
• President Bush Signs Education Bill January 08,
  2002
• Congress Passes Education Bill December 18, 2001
• Scarsdale Kids Boycotting Standardized Tests
  November 9, 2001