High stakes tests Does testing really contribute to students’ learning and academic achievement?

A brief history… Tests used for discriminatory purposes Sputnik! Minimum competency testing A Nation at Risk High stakes tests “The Texas miracle” No Child Left Behind

In support of high-stakes tests Student and teachers need tests Teachers need to be motivated Students work harder and learn more Students motivated to do their best! Scoring well = self-esteem Teachers use test results to improve teaching Teachers use test results to diagnose learning problems

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle: The more important that any quantitative social indicator becomes in social decision-making, the more likely it will be to distort and corrupt the social process it is intended to monitor

Current practices School and district “report cards” Administrators’ pay linked to performance Teachers’ salary and tenure linked to performance Test scores used to award individual scholarships to students

High school graduation exams: more common in states that allocate less money per pupil as compared to the nation more likely in states with centralized state governments more likely in highly populated and fast-growing states most likely in the SW and the South more likely in states with higher percentages of African Americans and Hispanics

Amrein & Berliner: Is there evidence of student learning, beyond the training that prepared them for the tests they take, in those states that depend on high-stakes tests to improve student achievement?

Measures used to assess students’ learning transfer: the ACT, administered by the American College Testing program; the SAT, the Scholastic Achievement Test, administered by College Board; the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NCES); the AP (Advanced Placement) examination, administered by College Board.

Independent variable: implementation of high stakes testing. Dependent variables: ACT, SAT, NAEP, and AP scores before/after implementation of high-stakes testing policy.

Results ACT: short-term ACT: long-term ACT: overall SAT: short-term SAT: long-term SAT: overall +16, -10, NE=3 +10, -19, NE=2 +6, , -13, NE=1 +15, , -10

Results NAEP Gr4 math (92-96) NAEP Gr4 math (96-00) NAEP overall AP +6, -7, NE=2 +6, -5, NE=3 +8, -6, NE=2 +11, -7

There is no reliable evidence of high-stakes high school graduation exams improving the academic performance of students !