1/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder A Brief History of Test-Based Accountability Lorrie A. Shepard CRESST Conference UCLA, Los Angeles, CA January 22-23, 2007 If you choose to use this title slide, simply delete the previous slide (the one-line title version). This will be slide 1 of your presentation. School of Education University of Colorado at Boulder

2/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Accountability Chronology  Title I, ESEA, 1965  National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1969  SAT Test Score Decline, 1963, 1977  Minimum Competency Testing  A Nation at Risk, 1983  Excellence Movement and Basic Skills Testing, 1980s  Standards-Based Reform, 1990s  NCLB and the Standards Movement Today The section titles here should be reflected in the blue section dividers throughout your presentation.

3/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Recurring Themes (Then & Now) Title I, ESEA 1965 Quid Pro Quo: Federal dollars spent in exchange for evidence of program effectiveness. Robert Kennedy: Evaluation data to be used by parents as a “whip” or a “spur” to leverage changes in ineffective schools. Education seen favorably, its benefits to be extended to poor and minority children. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

4/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1969 Initially: an independent and neutral monitor; a census-like data system like health statistics; designed independent of political jurisdictions. Over time: increasingly politicized, scoring simplified and interpreted; jurisdictions identified and compared. The use of NAEP to leverage reform has been resisted to protect validity of the data. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

5/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder SAT Test Score Decline, 1963, 1977 Along with economic downturn, Vietnam War, disillusionment of the late 1960s,… The SAT test score decline contributed to a political climate that became hypercritical of public education. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

6/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Four Decades of Test-Driven Reform Minimum Competency Testing, 1970s Excellence Movement and Basic Skills Testing, 1980s Standards-Based Reform, 1990s NCLB version of Standards-Based Reform When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

7/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Reform Constants Tests and test results used as the primary drivers of reform. Tests used both to induce and to measure change. Policy intended to “incentivize” change with substance of change determined locally. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

8/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Reform Revisions Challenge and quality of test content raised (and then lowered). Performance levels raised (and then lowered again). Stakes raised, and raised again. The need for capacity-building recognized and pursued only by some. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

9/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Challenge of test content raised “`Minimum Competency’ examinations (now required in 37 states) fall short of what is needed, as the `minimum’ tends to become the `maximum’ thus lowering educational standards for all.” (p. 20) To resize an image correctly, click on it once so that its “handles” appear. While holding down SHIFT, drag one of the corner handles. This will keep the image from being distorted while resizing.

10/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Challenge of test content raised “Standards must reflect high expectations, not expectations of minimal competency. To make national standards meaningful, it is important that the Nation be able to measure progress toward them. New forms of assessment – tests worth teaching to – are envisioned.” The National Council on Education Standards and Testing To resize an image correctly, click on it once so that its “handles” appear. While holding down SHIFT, drag one of the corner handles. This will keep the image from being distorted while resizing.

11/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Standards Movement Today  Competing Models  Cacophonous standards  Good and ill effects The section titles here should be reflected in the blue section dividers throughout your presentation.

12/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Standards Movement Today Competing models (Elmore & Rothman, 1999) The “basic” standards-based reform model/ High-stakes incentives model Vs. Expanded, capacity-building model/ Teaching and learning, cognitive science model When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

13/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Competing Models: (Elmore & Rothman) How Standards Produce Higher Learning

14/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder School delivery standards ”Standards and assessments must be accompanied by policies that provide access for all students to high quality resources, including appropriate instructional materials and well-prepared teachers.” NCEST, 1992

15/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Opportunity to learn “It is unfair to hold students accountable for what and how well they are learning unless they are provided with opportunity to learn.” “Without adequate support, higher standards will further victimize students already harmed by gross inequities in the educational system.” NAE, 1995

16/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Cacophonous Standards Minimum competency standards coexist with world-class standards. Public doesn’t know which is which. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

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18/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Cacophonous Standards

19/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Good and ill effects Accountability pressure has both increased and decreased achievement. Teaching the test is widespread leading to test-score inflation or increased achievement depending on the quality of the test. Accountability may have negative side effects, e.g., deprofessionalization, and exodus of teachers from low- scoring schools. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

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23/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Advice for Policymakers Ensure the quality of assessment content. The best way to prevent limited learning from test-driven instruction is to build assessments that represent the full content domain, with a rich variety of assessment formats. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

24/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder Advice for Policymakers Evaluate the validity and impact of assessment programs. Tests are short-cut tools. Real validity studies require independent measures of student learning. To evaluate the effect of high-stakes testing on school improvement, motivational and moral dimensions of schooling must be studied as well as achievement. When pasting text from another document, do the following: 1.Highlight the text you want to replace 2.Go to the EDIT menu and select PASTE SPECIAL 3.Select “Paste as: UNFORMATTED TEXT”

25/27 CRESST/University of Colorado at Boulder To adjust the slide numbering, do the following: 1.Go to the VIEW menu, MASTER, and select SLIDE MASTER 2.In the lower right, change the number 27 to your number of slides 3.Do not change the character. It generates the auto-numbers.