A Reduction In Standardized Testing

This semester, I have devoted this blog to state the many problems with standardized testing. Despite it having some benefits as far as being a somewhat effective way to measure progress, it has created many problems within our nation’s schools. In my previous blogs I talked about how it forces teachers to teach the test rather than useful material, how testing agencies can’t effectively standardized what information is more important, and how only about three large corporations control the entire testing market. Now I am happy to be writing about the fact that the number of standardized tests have dropped in the past year.

According to an article published in the Washington Post, the number of standardized tests have dropped in the past year. For years now parents, student, and policy makers have been trying to show the problems of standardized testing. Many schools have eliminated high stakes tests. these are standardized tests that are required to graduate high school. For example in my high school recently removed the requirement to pass the keystone in order to graduate. Nation wide there is also a trend in reducing these types of standardized tests. Since 2012 the number of states that had these tests have dropped from 25 to 13. Many other states have expanded alternatives to passing the test in order to graduate. This is good for many reasons but mostly because studies have shown that these types of tests cause a great deal of individual and social harm without providing any benefits.

Another development in the reduction of standardized testing is that many states have put caps on the amount of time spent on standardized tests during the school day. In Maryland, the state legislature has capped the amount of time that districts spend on testing. Now instead of testing every kindergartner like in the past, schools will only test a representative sample. This will allow schools to evaluate the progress of students without wasting too much time administering tests. In New Mexico, a law was passed that eliminated the requirement for 9th and 10th graders to take three periodic reading, English and math tests throughout the year. In the state of West Virginia, schools have  eliminated English and math exams for 9th and 10th graders. Public pressure in Hawaii has also caused the elimination of end-of-course high school exams along with the use of ACT tests. Most notably PARCC, one of the largest testing agencies, have cut their exam times down by 90 minutes.

As far as the use of tests scores to evaluate teachers. Many states have begun to eliminate this element of standardized testing. Since ESSA replaced No Child Left Behind. seven different states (Connecticut, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Oklahoma) have ended this method of teacher evaluations. Some states are also now allowing parents to opt their children out of taking standardized tests all together. Many have taken this option. this was seen in New York which has held a 20 percent opt out rate for standardized tests.

With so many states and school districts eliminating standardized tests, it raises the question of how will we assess the academic progress of Americas youth. One solution is to have teacher produced assessments. these would be tests designed by teachers who actually teach the children, scored by these teachers and used to evaluate the progress of students. Half of New Hampshire school districts have begun to implement this policy. Along with New Hampshire many teacher unions are now getting involved with implementing this policy nation wide.

I think the reduction in standardized tests is a step in the right direction. If America wishes to compete internationally we need to constantly be evolving our education system to make sure everyone gets the most out of the education system. Hopefully by the time my children enter the education system they will face better forms of accessing their academic ability. Thank you for reading my blog this semester. It has been fun informing you on something that I believe to be a pressing civic issue facing our nation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/12/06/efforts-to-reduce-standardized-testing-succeeded-in-many-school-districts-in-2017-heres-why-and-how/?utm_term=.067a6fb0b070

The Four Corporations

It is safe to say that if you lived in the U.S., and went to a public school, you would most likely have taken a standardized test. I can also say without a doubt that because you are reading this for a college class, that you took the SAT or ACT, or both at least once. In either case you, your parents, or teachers were asked to dole out money to take theses tests. Not only that you were probably asked to also buy the accompanying practice book to help study for these tests. This is something that many people have to go through. paying money to corporations designed to make money off of tests that can determine your future. With that said many people don’t know anything about these corporations.

Currently there are four major corporations that dominate the standardized testing industry, three test publishers and one scoring firm. Chances are you have probably heard of them at some point but never paid them any mind. The four corporations are Harcourt Educational Measurement, CTB McGraw-Hill, Riverside Publishing (a Houghton Mifflin company), and NCS Pearson. In 2001 the first three agencies accounted for 96% of the tests administered, while Pearson was the leading scoring agency of those tests. The business of standardized tests has become a very lucrative. In 1955 the estimated income from standardized testing was $7 million. By 1997 that number sky rocketed to $263 million. This is a 3ooo% increase. Today it is estimated that the industry is worth between $400 and $700 million.

This is a lot of money to be putting into an industry that has been heavily scrutinized for the effectiveness of its product. In fact a 2001 investigation by the New York Times documented the test flaws for all four agencies between 1997 and 1998. In all, states reported over two dozen incidences in which the test or the agency disrupted the states testing systems or incorrectly scored a students test. For a complete breakdown of the study conducted by the New York Times you can go to None of the Above: The Test Industry’s Failures.

This data is not only troubling, but it is having negative life altering effects for many children. Recently the state of Florida past a law regarding standardized tests. The law states that in order for a child to move on from third to fourth grade they must preform well on a standardized reading exam. So, instead of sending a kid to the next grade level with their merit earned through homework or overall class grades. A student is now forced to preform well on one test. Depending on how they do it could effect so many aspects of their lives. If one fails this test they are subjected to repeating the third grade with a whole new class. Supporters of the law say that it ensures that kids move on to the next grade with the skills to succeed in life, like reading. However; many students some honors students have opted not to take the test. Their parents have even opened a lawsuit against the state to remove the requirement to pass the test.

To me, there is something fundamentally wrong with allowing corporations to make a profit off the education system. I personally dealt with taking standardized tests and from my perspective they did not help at all. I think as a nation we need to make it illegal to profit off of these tests especially if we are requiring them to move on to the next grade academically.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/testing/companies.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/04/19/34-problems-with-standardized-tests/?utm_term=.f31f385dbda4

 

Standardized Testing

As my freshman year of college continues to move along faster than I can process it, I think back to high school and what I would be doing now. I’d be finishing up basketball and looking forward to track, I would be helping student council plan the spring dance, and I would be getting ready to take the Keystones. For those of you reading this who are not from PA and don’t know what the Keystones are a standardized test that access high school students ability in reading math and science. It is required by the state of Pennsylvania that all students receive a proficient or higher in order to graduate high school. Schools were given monetary compensation for the percentage of advanced scores on the test. It is for this reason I had to take the math Keystone 3 times in one year. The first time I was one point away from proficient. The second time I got proficient, but was told that I needed to take it again despite passing. So in one day I took both the science and math Keystone, and received a below basic on the math. I was told to take it a fourth time but luckily for me I was not the only kid told to take the test again despite having passed. The school was told to stop this but it did not make up for the stress that my classmates and I felt for four straight years of high school. I was fortunate and was able to pass all the tests but many of my friends had to take remedial classes in order to graduate. Many of these friends were AP honors students.  Standardized testing is not just a Western PA problem, it is a national problem.

It all starts in 1999 when tests results for a global standardized test were released. To this point America was under the impression that our education system was number one. They were in for a rude awakening when out of the 40 countries tested, the U.S. ranked 28th. Shortly after President Bush implemented the “No Child Left Behind” policy in 2001. This was in an effort to improve the lowering standardized test scores. It implemented the incentive that if children showed improvement throughout the year on standardized tests the teacher was given a raise. On the surface this seems like a good idea but it was only problematic. An example of this happened in Florida. One teacher had a student projected to score higher than the test’s max score. When the test came the student scored perfectly, but because her projection was higher than that allowed the teacher received a negative rating in his evaluation despite having a student score 100%.  One of the reasons this happened is because the algorithm used by the state of Florida is the same that is used when mass breeding cattle. What does that say about our United States educational system when the algorithm to make sure cattle production is tip-top is used to evaluate a students intelligence. Another problem with it is it forces teachers to take time away from teaching valuable life skills to teach test taking skills. I’m probably not the only one who had to sit through a lecture and have the teacher say at the end this really dose not matter for this course but it is on the test so I have to teach it. That is ridiculous! Wasting valuable class time to teach some information just because it is on a test.

“No Child left Behind” also increased the number of standardized tests taken by a student from 6 to 17. It is my opinion that the way to evaluate intelligence is not by bombarding students with useless questions that often don’t make sense. I get the policy was implemented to help bridge the gap between schools that face racial and economic inequalities. I agree that any attempt is nice to help that divide, but treating students like cattle is the wrong way to do it. I am fortunate now to not have to take anymore standardized tests but if our government continues to promote teaching tests rather than material then I have some serious concerns for America moving forward.