HIGH STAKES TESTING IN K-12
SCHOOLS
AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction
This bibliography begins
an ongoing effort to develop a resource for those interested in research on
high stakes testing in K-12 schools. The bibliography is a work in progress, is
not exhaustive, focuses primarily on empirical research, includes mostly
references in the past decade, and includes multiple perspectives on the
issues.
Feedback or suggestions
for other entries (please send complete citation) for this bibliography should
be sent to Sandra Mathison at smathison@louisville.edu.
Note: A number of people have contributed substantially to the
preparation of this bibliography. They include Sandra Mathison, University of
Louisville; Melissa Freeman, Kristen Wilcox, Lynee Sauer, University at Albany,
SUNY. Preparation of this publication
was supported under Grant # ESI-9911868 from the National Science
Foundation. The contents do not
necessarily reflect the position or policies of NSF.
Bibliography
Ahearn, E. M. (2000). Students with disabilities in state assessments: The NCEO state reports. Synthesis brief. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED445433).
This document summarizes
the 1999 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) report on special
education outcomes and provides an overview of the changes in assessment
policies and practices for students with disabilities over the past decade. The
report focuses on three major issues in the assessment of students with
disabilities: rates of participation in assessments, alternate assessments, and
the reporting and use of assessment results. The report found that while states
have made significant progress in all three areas, only 23 states were able to
provide participation data for students with disabilities in 1999 and the rates
of participation varied from 15% to 100%. Issues influencing participation
include attaching high stakes to test performance and the lack of exposure for
students with disabilities to the content of the tests.
·
Category: Student Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: Academic standards; accountability; disabilities; elementary/
secondary education; educational outcomes
Airasian, P. W.
(1987). State mandated testing and educational reform: Context and
consequences. American Journal of
Education, 95(3), 393 – 412.
This article traces several social changes from the 1960s to 1980s that account for the development of new roles and expectations for state mandated standardized testing as a reform mechanism in American education today. Airasian lists eleven characteristics of the new testing movement that describes how it differs from previous uses of tests in educational reform. He offers a set of propositions for understanding the current context of testing.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Educational reform; social change; standardized tests
Airasian, P. W. (1988). Symbolic validation: The case of state-mandated, high-stakes testing. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 10(4), 301 – 13.
Policies and innovations such as state-mandated, high-stakes
testing are not the only possible solutions to the perceived decline in student
performance in the United States, but they have received the strongest social
support. This article looks at the power of symbolism using state-mandated,
high-stakes testing programs as an example of the way in which public values
and perceptions give legitimacy and support to certain policies and innovations
over others. Three types of symbolic appeal associated with high-stakes,
state-mandated testing programs are identified. Such tests have gained wide
support because they symbolize order and control, a focus on important
outcomes, and a return to basic moral values. The author concludes by
considering the impact the belief in testing might have on the public’s overall
awareness of educational issues.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Symbolic validation; public perceptions; cultural values
Allington, R. L, & McGill-Franzen, A. (1992a). Does high-stakes testing improve school effectiveness? ERS Spectrum, 10(2), 3 - 12.
The authors question the
relationship between the increased uses of high-stakes testing and stronger
accountability measures of school achievement. Part of the equation, they
state, are other factors such as each individual school’s retention and special
education policies. To explore how these policies influence the reading
achievement levels reported by schools on high-stakes tests, they conduct case
studies of seven elementary schools in New York State. The study involves
comparing students’ reported achievement on the third-grade statewide reading
test to the achievement of all students who would have taken the test if they
had not been previously retained or identified as handicapped. The schools are
further identified as having low, moderate, or high uses of retention and
special education placements. The authors argue that the reading achievement
levels provided by the schools are not an accurate description of student
achievement or reading levels. They suggest that the accountability profiles
provided by New York State obscure and possibly reinforce questionable
educational practices.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special
Populations
·
Keyword: New York; accountability
measures; reading levels; retention policies; special education placement; case
study
Allington, R. L., & McGill-Franzen, A. (1992b). Unintended effects of educational reform in New York. Educational Policy, 6(4), 394 – 414.
New York State is one of
the first states to provide a public report of the proportion of children in
each school who have achieved the minimum proficiency level in tested areas.
There is, however, little evidence reported of the effects of particular
programs or reform strategies on test scores. This study looks at the
relationship between retention, remediation, and the proportion of students
identified as handicapped on test scores in eleven elementary schools. The
authors found that during periods of high-stakes assessment there was a
significant increase in students being identified as handicapped or retained at
a lower grade level.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special
Populations
·
Keywords: New York State; Comprehensive
Assessment Report (CAR); student achievement; reading; retention; special
education
Barksdale-Ladd, M.
A., & Thomas, K. F. (2000). What’s at stake in high stakes testing:
Teachers and parents speak out. Journal
of Teacher Education, 51(5), 384 - 397.
This study poses the questions: "What perceptions do
teachers hold about mandated standards and related tests?” and “How do teachers
make instructional decisions given these mandates?" 59 teachers from two
states, one southern and one northern, are interviewed. Most of them are
students in graduate literacy programs. Portions of interviews are included in
this article and reflect teacher frustration related to current policies and
assessment practices. Parents’ perceptions are also addressed in this study.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: Teacher/parent perceptions; instructional decisions;
accountability
Bernal, E. M., &
Valencia, R. R. (2000). The TAAS case: A recapitulation and beyond. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22(4),
540 – 556.
This is a review of legal decisions regarding the TAAS, especially the effects of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) exit-level tests and on promotion and graduation decisions, especially for poor and minority students. The authors suggest much has been learned from the plaintiffs’ positions and that proposals such as the Wellstone/Scott bill could curtail some of the problems associated with high-stakes testing. They offer concrete suggestions for creating fair testing and assessment practices, and question policy makers’ agendas in using the TAAS for maintaining the value of a high school diploma but at the expense of poor and minority students.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts; Student
Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: TAAS; retention; graduation; Senate Bill 4; Wellstone/Scott
Bill; psychometrics
Borman, K. M., Kromrey, J., Katzenmeyer, W., & Piana, G. D. (2000, April). How do standards matter? Linking policy to practice in four cities implementing systemic reform. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED445062)
This paper reports on an early assessment of the impact of
the National Science Foundation’s Urban Systemic Initiative (USI), a multi-year
reform effort in 20 cities designed to increase student achievement in
mathematics and science. The reform initiative uses both standards-based
curriculum and instructional approaches as well as a constructivist approach to
teaching and learning. Four different cites are described: Chicago, Miami,
Memphis, and El Paso. The report focuses on some initial observations from El
Paso on teaching, learning, and assessment related to the use of high-stakes
tests. One observed outcome of the use of high-stakes tests is the practice of
teaching to the test. Two consequences of this practice are discussed: (1)
teachers were able to use test score data to target individual students’ needs,
and (2) teachers were limited in their ability to enable the student to develop
problem-solving strategies necessary for good performance.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: Teaching strategies; teaching to the test; constructivism
Bracey, G. (2000). High stakes testing. (CERAI-00-32) University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for Education Research, Analysis, and Innovation. http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CERAI/edpolicyproject/cerai-00-32.htm
Bracey gives an historical analysis of why and how
high-stakes testing has taken form—from post-WW II through present-day
politics. He contends that public concern and nervousness regarding schools and
achievement has ultimately led to current testing practices. Bracey also
examines how testing reform is affecting minority students, curriculum,
pedagogy, as well as how it is misrepresenting school and individual
achievement and progress.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction; Student Achievement/ Special
Populations
·
Keywords: Minority students; public concern; student achievement
Brandt, R. (1989). On
misuse of testing: A conversation with George Madaus.
Educational Leadership, 46(7), 26 – 29.
In this interview, George Madaus, Director of The Center for
the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy, discusses his views
and standpoint on high-stakes testing. The article covers Madaus' research on
the multiple misuses of standardized testing, as well as possible approaches to
testing alternatives.
·
Category:
Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Alternative assessment
Bussert-Webb, K (2000). Did my holistic teaching help students' standardized test scores? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(6), 572 – 573.
The teacher-author discusses changes in her pedagogy—changes
she refers to as "holistic teaching"—and how those changes have
resulted in scoring improvements on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills
(TAAS). Bussert-Webb points out that her changes in teaching are an effort to
reach the entire child—not to simply teach testing material.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: TAAS; teaching to the test
Camilli, G., & Bulkley, K. (2001, March 4). Critique of "An Evaluation of the Florida A-Plus Accountability and School Choice Program.” Education Policy Analysis Archives, 9(7). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v9n7/
The Florida A-Plus
accountability system uses scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment
Test (FCAT) and student referral and dropout rates to assign schools one of 5
grades (A, B, C, D, F). An earlier evaluation of the accountability system, An Evaluation of the Florida A-Plus
Accountability and School Choice Program, reported a high correlation
between the threat of school vouchers and improved test scores. This critique
takes a second look at that evaluation and suggests this correlation may be due
to other factors such as sample selection, regression to the mean, how gain
scores were combined across grade levels or how schools were used as units of
analysis. These authors conclude that the evidence provided in the evaluation
cannot support the conclusions that school vouchers are responsible for higher
scores.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special
Populations; Test Development and Administration
·
Keywords: Florida; FCAT;
accountability; test results; validity
Carnoy, M., Loeb, S., & Smith, T. L. (2000, April). Do higher state test scores in Texas make for better high school outcomes? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
This paper gives a detailed overview of the Texas Assessment
of Academic Skills (TAAS) and evaluates the impact of the TAAS by examining
trends in statewide test scores, as well as analyzing data from high schools to
determine, among other things, if rising tests scores coincide with rising
dropout rates. Some of the patterns examined in this paper include: enrollment
trends; 9th to 12th grade progression; 9th
grade retention; and college plans (on the part of students.) The authors also
look very closely at how the TAAS effects white students vs. minority students
and how the TAAS effects districts depending on where they are located - urban,
suburban, rural, etc.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords:Texas; TAAS; minority students; dropout rate; passing rate;
enrollment rate
Catterall, J. S. (1989). Standards and school dropouts: A national study of tests required for graduation. American Journal of Education, 98(1), 1 – 34.
This study focuses on tests students must pass to graduate
from high school and what effect they may have on reduced academic aspirations
and drop out rates. Catterall attempts
to bridge the gap between the teacher belief that the tests do not present much
of a barrier to school completion because of their rudimentary nature and the
student belief that test failure causes doubt about chances of graduating. The
study is based on a series of interviews with educators and school
administrators and on data collected face-to-face from over 700 high school
students. The study found a correlation
between failing the required graduation test and the raising of doubt about
graduating.
·
Category: Student Achievement/Special
Populations
· Keywords: Dropout; Standards; exist tests; low achievers
Cheng, L. (2000). Washback or backwash: A review of the impact of testing on teaching and learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED442280)
This article discusses
the phenomenon of washback or the influence of testing on teaching and
learning. The assumption of washback is that tests should determine what is
valued and therefore what is taught. Tests have long been used to shape
curricula, control entry to systems, and impose educational methods. This
article outlines the origin of washback, negative and positive washback, and
its function.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction;
Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: Measurement-driven
instruction; teaching and learning; accountability
Cimbricz, S. (2002, January 9). State-mandated testing and teachers’ beliefs and practice. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(2). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n2.html
The belief that
state-mandated assessments drive teaching is widespread. Cimbricz conducts a
review of the empirical literature to explore the relationship between state
testing and teachers’ beliefs and practices. She found that while
state-mandated testing does influence what teachers do, so do other factors
suggesting that there is no consistent or predictable pattern of influence.
Other factors influencing teachers’ work are teachers’ knowledge of a subject
matter, their views on learning, their status in the school organization, and their
personal philosophies of education. Cimbricz recommends further studies to
better understand how teachers interpret and apply state mandates.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching;
Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: Assessment driven reforms;
teacher beliefs
Cizek, G. (1996).
Setting passing scores. Educational
Measurement: Issues and Practice, 15(2), 20 – 31.
Cizek offers a procedural definition of standard setting
focusing on the process of rationally deriving, consistently applying and
describing procedures on which judgments can be made. Guidelines, models, methods, new modes of assessment and validity
evidence in standard-setting are discussed. Test-centered, examinee-centered
and compromise models are described. This article calls for measurement
specialists to develop and refine procedures for setting standards on
assessment.
·
Category: Test Development and Administration
·
Keywords: Validity; standards setting; assessment models
Clark, R. W., & Wasley, P. A. (1999). Renewing schools and smarter kids: Promises for democracy. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(8), 590 - 96.
This article explores some of the dilemmas faced by schools across the nation under two dominant reform approaches:
(1) creating higher standards and aligning those to high-stakes assessments, and
(2) promoting privatization by creating charter schools and/or contracting out to private management firms.
The authors discuss reasons why neither strategy will live up to proponents' ambitious claims and will not produce expected results in student learning and achievement. Standardized tests cannot uphold new performance goals and charter schools serve limited numbers of students siphoning off pedagogical reform energies that could benefit kids left behind. The authors argue in favor of rigorous, innovative performance assessments.
· Category: Student Achievement/ Student Populations
· Keywords: Educational standards; charter schools; privatization; reform; performance assessment
Clarke, M., Haney,
W., & Madaus, G. (2000, January). High stakes testing and high school
completion. The National Board on
Educational Testing and Public Policy, 1(3).
This report concludes that high stakes testing is associated
with increased high school dropout rates. The evidence to support this claim
ranges from examining historical data to studying ethnicity. The authors
conclude that high stakes practices directly or indirectly effect dropout
rates. But the authors say that more research specific to dropout rates and
high stakes testing is needed to reach conclusive results.
·
Category: Student Achievement/
Special Populations
·
Keywords: Dropout; ethnicity; MCT (minimum competency testing);
socioeconomics; Florida; Texas; retention
Clinchy, E. (2001). Needed: A new educational civil rights movement. [Electronic version]. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(7), 492 – 98.
Looking at the issue of
equal educational opportunity from a civil rights perspective, Clinchy provides
a historical and social account of how public schooling in the United States
has failed to meet that standard. Evidence is provided on how schools are
financing the current high-stakes testing reform movement. Clinchy argues the
new standards-based movement is a violation of basic human educational rights
especially in terms of parental right to choose and the responsibility of
schools to develop each child’s full educational potential. He proposes a new
educational civil rights movement to bring about a fair, equal, and democratic
system to American schools.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts
·
Keywords: Educational civil rights;
equal educational opportunity; parental choice; diversity
Cohen, J., &
Rogers, J. (Eds.). (2000). Will standards
save public education? (with a foreword by Jonathan Kozol). Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
With an opening essay by Deborah Meier, a staunch opponent of standardized education and holding an alternative view of standards, this collection of short essays by a variety of well-known educators opens up a critical dialogue on the role of standards and standardized testing in US schools.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction; Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts
·
Keywords: Standards; standardized curriculum; democracy; essays
Coleman, A. L. (1998). Excellence and equity in education: High standards for high-stakes tests. [Electronic version]. Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, 6(1), 81 – 114.
Discusses the latest wave
of standards-based testing as having moved from a measurement of minimum or
basic skills to one of high standards learning for all. Coleman examines state
educational reform efforts and issues regarding the fairness of testing
practices as shaped by due process principles and anti-discrimination laws.
Then he explores how the congruence or non-congruence between specific state
standards, curriculum, instruction and tests affect the legal implications of
educational decisions made based on such tests. He advocates for a more careful
assessment of the design, administration and use of tests and their alignment
with standards, curriculum, and instruction.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts; Curriculum and Instruction; Test Development and Administration
·
Keywords: Standards-based reform;
policy decisions; civil rights; equity; discrimination; psychometrics
Coleman, A. L. (2000). Fair testing: How schools should protect students' rights in high-stakes testing. American School Board Journal, 187(6), 32 – 35.
In this commentary,
Coleman describes the legal challenges facing districts and states that have
adopted state-mandated tests as the basis for making important educational
decisions affecting students. He provides several guides for educators and
school board members for assessing the legal and ethical quality of statewide
assessment practices.
· Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
· Keywords: Legal issues; students’ rights; state assessment plan
Cronbach, L. J., Linn, R. L., Brennan, R. L., & Haertel, E. H. (1997). Generalizability analysis for performance assessments of student achievement or school effectiveness. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57(3), 373 – 399.
This article examines pitfalls
in the way new forms of high-stakes assessments use conventional analyses and
interpretation of scores. Of concern is the use and misuse of appropriate
measures of standard error or uncertainty of result. Student performances are
part of larger measures of classrooms and schools. Therefore, the authors argue
that concern over whether to treat individual scores as infinite measures or as
measures limited to particular contexts needs careful consideration.
·
Category: Test Development and Administration
·
Keywords: Generalizability;
reliability; standard error; score interpretation; student achievement
Darling-Hammond, L., & Wise, A. E. (1985). Beyond standardization: State standards and school improvement. Elementary School Journal, 85(3), 315 – 336.
This study examines how
test-based standards are affecting the teacher-learner relationship. 43
elementary and secondary teachers from three Middle Atlantic districts were
interviewed on their perceptions of how these policies affect their work. Five
effects are described: altered curriculum emphasis, teaching students how to
take tests, teaching students for the test, having less time to teach, and
feeling under pressure. Competency-based education, competency-based teacher
certification, and testing for certification are discussed as well as
appropriate teacher evaluation and accountability measures. The authors suggest
drawing from the effective schools’ research to untangle the accountability
dilemma.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction;
Teachers and Teaching
·
Keyword: Teacher perceptions;
competency-based education; competency-based teacher certification
DeStefano, L., & Metzer, D. (1991). High stakes testing and students with handicaps: An analysis of issues and policies. In Stake, R. E. (Ed.), Advances in Program Evaluation 1 (pp. 267 – 288). Greenwich, CT: JAI press.
This paper examines state-level policy concerning minimum
competency testing programs and students with handicaps through an analysis of
court cases. The paper finds two recurring themes: (1) the need for guidelines
to promote consistency across teachers, schools, and districts, and (2) the
need for research and evaluation to determine the impact of practices and
policies on students and programs.
·
Category: Student Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: Minimum Competency Testing (MCT); Individualized Education
Plan (IEP); Legal issues in MCT; SSATI
Domenech, D. A. (2000). My stakes well done. School Administrator, 57(11), 14 - 19.
Domenech argues the way
tests scores are being used and interpreted is undermining the whole standards
movement. Tests should be used diagnostically and locally to improve the
educational quality of students.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts
·
Keywords: Test scores; standards; test
administration
Donlevy, J. (2001). High-stakes environments and effective student-teacher relationships: Some lessons from special education. International Journal of Instructional Media, 28(1), 1 – 9.
Discussed in this article is the nationwide proliferation of
high stakes testing in public education. Three basic premises behind school and
schooling are discussed: economic,
developmental, and social necessity. The author believes public schools are now
being driven by standardization, competition, and accountability, rather than
student achievement. Donlevy also addresses how the high stakes movement is
affecting students in special education classrooms.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: High stakes; standards; economy; development; social
development; special education
Dorn, S. (1998, January 2). The political legacy of school accountability systems. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 6(1). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v6n1.html
This article explores the ways in which current discussions
around testing and test results are shaping our practice of education and
public policy debates. The author discusses the political legacy of statistics
in shaping political policies, some reasons for the popularity of tests as an
accountability mechanism, and the assumptions and political costs of
statistical accountability. He concludes by stating that two direct effects of
such accountability approaches: (1) damage to our collective ability for broad
discussions on the aim of schooling, and (2) public impatience with school
reform has been provoked due to the current narrow basis by which schools are
judged. Dissenters of high-stakes testing have provided counter-arguments based
on renewed teacher professionalism and autonomy but the author provides several
reasons why this is not an adequate counter-argument to high stakes testing. He
cites the decline of professionalism, the contradiction of professionalism with
traditions of democratic control, and the failure of arguments for
professionalism to address the public’s dissatisfaction with public education.
Suggestions for reversing the destructive tendencies of statistical
accountability systems are offered.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Accountability; statistics; public policy; professionalism
Downing, S. M., & Haladyna, T. M. (1996). A model for evaluation of high-stakes testing programs: Why the fox should not guard the chicken coop. Educational Measurements: Issues and Practice, 5(1), 5 – 12.
High stakes tests have
consequences beyond those who take them. At stake are the institutions that
design, develop, implement, and score the tests. This article examines the
responsibility and validity of testing programs. The authors suggest that
external evaluations of high-stakes testing programs are necessary to assure
validity and public protection. They offer several criteria for assessing
external review programs.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts
·
Keywords: Accountability; validity;
external evaluation
Duron, S. (2000). An annotated bibliography on assessment and LEP students. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE) Center for the Study of Language and Education. http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/ncbepubs/reports/highstakes/bibliography.htm
An annotated bibliography
on assessment and LEP students with a special focus on the issues surrounding
the use of high-stakes tests. Eighty-six entries are included along with an
index for search and retrieval purposes.
·
Category: Student Achievement/Special
Populations
·
Keywords: Limited English proficiency;
accommodations
Falk, B. (2000). The
heart of the matter: Using standards and assessment to learn. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Falk's aim in this
book is to explain the complex issues involved in high stakes testing and to
separate what is useful and what is harmful. Suggestions as to how to make
worthy standards explicit and meaningful in teacher/school-developed curricula,
how to create performance assessments that embody these standards, and how to
use standards and performance assessments to enhance professional learning, are
made. Falk's purpose is to empower teachers to act and speak out on behalf of
children.
·
Category: Curriculum and
Instruction; Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: Goals 2000; DRP Score;
IQ; NAEP; NAEYC; NCTM; NCME; SAT; Title I
Firestone, W. A., & Mayrowetz, D. (2000). Rethinking “high stakes”: Lessons from the United States and England and Wales. Teachers College Record, 102(4), 724 – 749.
Observations in case
study schools and semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators
conducted in Maryland and Maine as well as in comparable schools in England and
Wales form the basis of this cross-comparative study. Six themes about high
stakes testing are highlighted and discussed.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching;
Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: Maine; MEA; Maryland; MSPAP;
England; Wales; international and national comparison
Flores, B. B., & Clark, E. R. (1999). High-stakes testing: Barriers for prospective bilingual education teachers. Bilingual Research Journal, 21(4), 335 – 57.
The need for bilingual
and minority teachers continues to grow in the United States but teacher
education programs have difficulty recruiting and retaining such candidates.
One of the barriers for prospective bilingual education teachers is high-stakes
testing. This article reviews the current use of entry and exit tests for
prospective teachers, the implications of these tests for prospective bilingual
teachers, and the relationship between actual teaching performance and
performance on teacher competency tests. The data from the current tests in
Texas is used as an example to show the existence of discrepancies between
actual teaching performance and passing the competency exams. The authors
suggest that alternative assessment strategies should be employed with
prospective bilingual teachers.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: Prospective teachers;
bilingual education; teacher competency exams; Texas
Goodson, I., & Foote, M. (2001, January 15). Testing times: A school case study. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 9(2). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v9n2.html
This article chronicles
one alternative public high school’s resistance to the imposition of state
mandated standards and tests. The article outlines the school’s argument for
maintaining its alternative forms of assessment and the commissioner of
education’s response.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts; Curriculum and Instruction; Student Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: High school; resistance;
alternative assessment; case study
Gordon, S. P., & Reese, M. (1997). High-stakes testing: Worth the price? Journal of School Leadership, 7(4), 345 – 368.
This article reports a study of perceptions of over 100
teachers of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). Teachers completed open-ended surveys on how
they prepare students for the TAAS and the effects of the test on students,
teachers, and schools. Interviews of
twenty survey respondents were conducted to gather in-depth data on teacher
perceptions of the TAAS. The study
found that high stakes testing has become the object rather than the measure of
teaching and learning with negative side effects on curriculum, teacher
decision-making, instruction, student learning, school climate and teacher and
student self-concept and motivation.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching; Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: TAAS; at-risk
students; student motivation; teacher motivation
Grant, S. G. (2000, February 24). Teachers and tests: Exploring teachers’ perceptions of changes in the New York State testing program. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(14). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n14.html
There is considerable
attention on defining higher standards for students but little is known about
how teachers are responding to the challenge of helping their students meet
them. This study uses focus group data collected over two years to explore how
elementary and secondary New York State teachers are responding to the state
mandated tests and perceive the state mandated changes. Three themes are
discussed: the nature and content of the tests, the value of professional
development opportunities to learn about the standards and tests, and the
rationales for and consequences of the state tests.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching;
Curriculum and Instruction
· Teacher perception; professional development; elementary and secondary education
Gratz, D. (2000) High standards for whom? Phi Delta Kappan, 81(9), 681 – 87
Gratz believes that if the standards movement is to last, it
must serve to enhance educational rather than political prosperity. Gratz
points to two historic trends that have fueled the standards movement: economic
concerns and disparity regarding student achievement. He also addresses current
concerns associated with the high stakes movement, including: competition;
accountability; prevention from graduating and being promoted; increased
stress; high quantities of nightly homework; time constraints; and student inequity.
He maintains that the increased negative consequences triggered by high-stakes
testing may lead to jeopardizing student's developmental needs.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: Negative consequences; politics; stress
Guskey, T.R. (2001). High percentages are not the same as high standards. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(7), 534 - 536.
Guskey asserts that setting cutoff percentages on tests
is a complex process that goes beyond statistical formulas. He argues that
cutoffs must be based on both teachers’ judgments of the importance of the
concepts addressed and consideration of the cognitive processing skills
required to complete the task. Guskey makes the point that raising standards or
increasing expectations for student learning cannot be accomplished by
arbitrarily raising the cutoff percentages for performance levels or different
grade categories. What is needed, he
argues, is thoughtful examination of the tasks students are asked to complete
and the questions they are asked to answer in order to demonstrate their
learning.
·
Category: Test Development and
Administration; Teachers and Teaching
·
Keywords: Standards; TAAS;
cutoff percentage
Haertel, E. (1999). Validity arguments for high-stakes testing: in search of the evidence. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 18(4), 5 - 9.
This article is the Presidential Address given at the Annual
Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, Montreal, April
21, 1999. The author discusses three issues about validity in high-stakes
testing. First, he provides an overview for how validity is currently
determined. Second, he describes and presents a detailed validity argument for
a large-scale testing program. Third, he suggests several strategies for
studying and providing different perspectives as part of an ongoing evaluation
of test validity. The purpose of listening to various stakeholders’ assumptions
about testing is to develop stronger validity arguments for high-stakes
testing.
·
Category: Test Development and Administration
·
Keywords: Test validity; validity arguments
Haladyna, T. M.,
Nolen, S. B., & Haas, N. S. (1991). Raising standardized achievement test
scores and the origins of test score pollution. Educational Researcher, 20(5), 2 – 7.
Until recently test scores were used for a limited set of purposes. The increased uses of standardized achievement scores for accountability purposes have increased opportunities for test score pollution. Test score pollution is based on contextual factors that alter test performance regardless of the construct the test intends to measure. Two major sources of test score pollution (student preparation and test administration practices) are described. The authors believe that such pollution is pervasive in American education and suggest ways to combat test score pollution.
·
Category: Test Development and Administration;
Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Test score pollution; accountability; cheating; test
administration
Haney, W. (1993). Testing and minorities. In L. Weis and M. Fine (Eds.), Beyond silenced voices: Class, race and gender in United States schools
(pp. 45 – 73). Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press.
Many studies have shown that
minorities tend to do worse on standardized tests than majority individuals
suggesting that they are somehow less able. Haney offers an overview of the
history of standardized testing as well as studies pointing to differential
performance between minority and majority individuals. After defining
statistical bias and fairness, Haney shows how the tests themselves are not
generally biased against minorities but that educational systems that promote
differential tracks and expectations are. Relying solely on standardized tests
for promotion or other educational systems is therefore biased against
minorities. Haney suggests using a combination of course grades and tests for
such purposes.
·
Category: Student
Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: Minorities;
differential performance; test bias; fairness
Haney, W. (2000,
August 19). The myth of the Texas miracle in education. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(41). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n41/part1.htm
Haney outlines evidence to show that the reported “miracle”
of educational reform in Texas along with the implementation of the Texas
Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) testing system is in actuality a myth and
illusion. Haney outlines in 8 parts the Texas story. After an introduction,
part 2 provides an overview of educational reform in Texas from 1970 to the
present. Part 3 provides an overview of reported positive results. Part 4
exposes several areas of negative impact of TAAS. Part 5 continues this
analysis with a special look at the dropout rates. Part 6 describes educators’
perspectives on the TAAS. Part 7 provides other compelling evidence on student
achievement or lack of it in Texas. Part 8 outlines several lessons learned
from similar reform efforts in other states. Additionally, the full text of
Judge Prado’s ruling in a Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF) lawsuit, GI Forum v. Texas
Education Agency, is provided in the appendix along with documentation of
summary arguments made by the two sides in the case. The author was an expert
witness for MALDEF.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction; Student Achievement/ Special
Populations
·
Keywords: Texas; TAAS; legal issues; drop-out rates; teacher
perspectives
Haney, W., Madaus, G., & Lyons, R. (1993). The fractured marketplace for standardized testing. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
The book scrutinizes the commercial aspect of testing and
the effects of the marketplace on the quality of tests and test use. The
authors find that monopoly markets prevail in some segments of the marketplace
while in others small numbers of firms have oligopolistic control. The analysis ends with data from 1992, but
the authors argue that the most relevant result of the book lies in the lesson
that more care must be taken to avoid continuing to rely on imperfect test
instruments arising from a highly fractured test market.
·
Category: Test Development and Administration
· Keywords: Test validity; standardized testing industry; costs of testing; legislation; test preparation
Harman, S. (2000). Resist high-stakes testing!: High stakes are for tomatoes. Language Arts, 77(4), 332.
Harman describes ways in which educators are disenfranchised
and frustrated by the implementation of standardized testing and suggests one
course of action is a protest and resistance strategy. Suggestions on methods
of resistance, as well as organizations and individuals that can be contacted
to promote this effort, are included.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts
·
Keywords: Resistance; authentic assessment
Herman, J. L., & Golan,
S. (1993). The effects of standardized testing on teaching and schools. Educational
Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12(4), 20 - 25, 41 - 42.
This study looks at the
effects of standardized testing on teaching and learning processes in upper
elementary classrooms in eleven districts in nine states. Survey responses
received from 341 teachers reveal information about the pressure that teachers
feel to improve test scores and the amount of time teachers spend on test
preparation. The authors conclude that the presence of standardized testing has
a substantial effect on the kinds of teaching and learning that go on in
schools especially in schools that serve low-SES students.
· Category: Teachers and Teaching; Student Achievement/ Special Populations; Curriculum and Instruction
· Keywords: Teacher attitudes; instructional practices; social class
Hesch, R. (2000). Mass testing and the underdevelopment of inner-city communities. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 46(1), 49 – 64.
Hesch argues that the standardized
testing movement contributes to the decline of inner-city communities. He
examines how mass testing reduces teachers’ abilities to respond to inner-city
students needs and to utilize effective and culturally sensitive approaches to
teaching and learning. Finally, he provides arguments for and against
standardized testing as well as efforts by parents and teachers to resist
standardized testing as a means to educational equality.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal
Contexts; Student Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: Manitoba; social class; inner
cities; student achievement; culture; resistance
Hess, F. M., & Brigham, F. (2000). None of the above: The promise and peril of high-stakes testing. American school board journal, 187(1), 26 – 29.
The authors believe that current accountability practices
cannot coexist within the traditional culture of education. Hess and Brigham
weigh the costs and benefits of instituting high stakes reform and consider the
potential to increase equity, the impact on the curriculum, and the ability to
track and evaluate teachers and staff based on student performance. They are
concerned that though the standards may improve education as a whole, they may
also negatively impact poor and minority students, detract from teacher morale,
and waste educational resources.
·
Category: Curriculum and Instruction; Student Achievement/ Special
Populations
·
Keywords: Accountability measures; evaluation; poor students; minority
students
Heubert, J. P. (2001). High-stakes testing: Opportunities and risks for students of color, English-language learners, and students with disabilities. The Civil Rights Project, Boston, MA: Harvard University.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/civilrights/conferences/SpecEd/moreinfo.html
This article examines both the opportunities and risks
inherent within the standards and high-stakes testing movements for students
within specific populations. The extent of graduation and promotion testing in
the U.S and of high-stakes testing is discussed. Norms of appropriate test use and elements of sound testing
policies are described. The article concludes with recommendations regarding
the use of tests for high-stakes purposes including: refrain from using
high-stakes tests until schools are actually teaching relevant knowledge;
ensure that the high-stakes test is valid for its intended purpose; and avoid
“either-or” decisions through effective early intervention.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: Standards movement; promotion; graduation; drop-out rates;
“world-class” standards
Heubert, J. P., & Hauser, R. M. (Eds.) (1999). High stakes: Testing for tracking, promotion, and graduation. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
This book addresses how the testing environment is affecting
students’ performance and achievement within a cultural context--socioeconomic
and political. The book is divided into three parts: context, interpreting and
assessing results, and ensuring appropriate uses of tests.
·
Category: Historical/Political/Legal Contexts ; Student Achievement/
Special Populations
·
Keywords: Tracking; assessment; policy; legality; special learners
Hilliard, A.G., III. (2000). Excellence in education versus high-stakes standardized testing. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(4), 293 - 304.
Hilliard believes that quality, skilled teachers are being
sidelined in favor of a high stakes testing curriculum. Hilliard contends that
high standards in public education are important and necessary; however, he
does not believe that high standards equate to high stakes. He argues that
abuses of minorities and the poor, especially through the constructs of IQ and
intelligence, are still very much alive in our culture. Also examined in this article are the
effects of teacher certification testing—overwhelmingly teachers who score lower
on certification tests are the teachers working in the poorest, lowest scoring
districts.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching; Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: Intelligence; minorities; social class; teacher certification
tests
Hoffman, J. V., Assaf, L. C., & Paris, S. G. (2001). High-stakes testing in reading: Today in Texas, tomorrow? The Reading Teacher, 54(5), 482 – 93.
This study examines the ways the Texas Assessment of
Academic Skills (TAAS) has effected the practices of professional educators and
whether the presence of high-stakes assessment was thought to threaten or
compromise good teaching. The participants include teachers, curriculum
supervisors, and reading specialists who are all members of the Texas State
Reading Association (TSRA). A survey covering topics ranging from general
attitudes, test preparation, to the effects of TAAS on students was sent to 750
participants. The analysis is based on the survey data from 200 returned
surveys. The overall findings support other studies that report the negative
effects of high-stakes testing on teaching and learning. Specific steps are
offered to recapture excellence in teaching and to challenge high-stakes reform
efforts, especially with regards to reading.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching; Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: Texas; TAAS; reading assessment; negative effects
Hollenbeck, K., Tindal, G., & Almond, P. (1988). Teachers' knowledge of accommodations as a validity issue in high-stakes testing. Journal of Special Education, 32(3), 175 – 83.
This pilot study determined the extent of knowledge
possessed by general education and special education teachers regarding
allowable accommodations on state assessment exams for students with
disabilities. Also studied was “how accommodation choices influence the
validity of decisions resulting from this assessment.” Test modifications and
test accommodations are not synonymous according to the authors. Accommodations
do not change the test, rather they are used as a tool for comparing students.
Modifications on the other hand, do change the exam and the exam’s
administration. The authors conclude that there is a need—at the local and
state level—for pre-service and in-service training for educators regarding
acceptable accommodations.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: Accommodations; modifications; teacher knowledge; “teachers as
measurement experts”; survey
Holman, L. J. (1995, April). Impact of ethnicity, class, and gender on achievement of border area students on a high-stakes examination. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED384627)
This study explores whether student characteristics such as
ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender are predictive of their status on
the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) competency exam. The sample for
this study was 363 randomly selected 5th grade students from the El
Paso Independent School District. The findings suggest that ethnicity and class
are significant variables for predicting student test performance. Several
recommendations are offered.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: Texas; TAAS; ethnicity; socioeconomic class; gender;
elementary students
Holmes, D. &
Darmon, S. (2000). LEP Students and High
Stakes Assessment. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/ncbepubs/reports/highstakes/index.htm
This report summarizes what tests are administered to
limited English proficient students across the country, the challenges of
including LEP students in mandated high stakes testing, the accommodations made
for LEP students, and case studies of testing practices and issues for LEP
students in many different states.
·
Category: Student Achievement/Special Populations
·
Keywords: Limited English proficiency; testing accommodations
Howe, H. (2000). High-stakes trouble. American School Board Journal, 187(5),
58 – 59.
In this article Howe explains his response to an earlier published article regarding improving student performance for those children who come from poverty-stricken backgrounds. Howe believes that schools, by themselves, cannot increase performance through high stakes; education and attention relating to circumstances outside the academic arena must also be addressed.
·
Category: Student Achievement/ Special Populations
·
Keywords: Poverty; labeling
Huber, R. A., & Moore, C. J. (2000). Educational reform through high stakes testing--don't go there. Science Educator, 9(1), 7 – 13.
North Carolina’s ABCs of Public Education is outlined in
this report. The focus is science reform and instruction in grades K-8. Also
included is an overview of the words which define the acronym “ABC”:
Accountability; Basic (subjects); and Control (of curriculum and instruction at
the local level.) Rewards and punishments—the stakes— for teachers associated
with the New ABCs are examined, as are issues of equity surrounding science
education and issues of excellence. It is the belief of the authors that
science educators, nationally, should take notice and take warning of the New
ABC’s program.
·
Category: Teachers and Teaching; Curriculum and Instruction
·
Keywords: North Carolina; New ABCs of Public Education;
rewards and punishments; equity and excellence
Jacob, B. A., &
Levitt, S. D. (2001). Rotten apples: An
investigation of the prevalence and predictors of teacher cheating. http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/teachercheat61.pdf