Millennial Debate Standardized Testing Debate
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- No Alternative to Testing
- Academic literature biased against testing
- Common Core tests require schools to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills
- Valuable to Develop Test Taking Skills
- Developing test taking skills is important to be licensed in many professions
- Test taking skills have applications in real world contexts
Generally ValuableStandardized tests provide valuable information, promote transparency, let parents understand the academic progress of their childrenDenver Post Editorial Board, October 31, 2015, Denver Post, “Obama’s Clumsy Take on School Testing, “http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_29047065/obamas-clumsy-take-school-testing DOA: 11-1-15 Now, after nearly everyone — from school districts to federal and state lawmakers, as well as teachers and parents — had concluded that the emphasis on testing sometimes went too far, the president has declared it true, too. In being so late to the discussion, unfortunately, Obama risks providing aid and comfort to those who refuse to acknowledge that standardized tests do in fact have an important role in education. In a nutshell, they strengthen accountability and transparency. They allow parents to learn how their children's achievement compares with others in the school, community — and, indeed, state and country. They highlight achievement gaps between ethnic groups and reveal whether they're getting larger or smaller over time. We must not return to an era when the public was kept in the dark about such matters. Obama's Education Department highlighted the importance of testing for a reason.
No way to demonstrate learning absent the testGregory Cizek, professor of educational measurement and evaluation, 2005, Gregory J. Cizek teaches courses in applied psychometrics, statistics, program evaluation and research methods. Prior to joining the faculty, he managed national licensure and certification testing programs for American College Testing, served as a test development specialist for a statewide assessment program, and taught elementary school for five years in Michigan. Before coming to UNC, he was a professor of educational research and measurement at the University of Toledo and, from 1997-99, he was elected to and served as vice-president of a local board of education in Ohio, Defending Standardized Testing, Kindle edition, page number at end of card Some critics of high-stakes testing have suggested that these assessments may increase students' test scores, but not students' learning. However, that argument has not been made clearly. More importantly, a clear method for or logic regarding how to measure increases in learning in ways that would not show up in test score gains has not been put forward. (2005-03-23). Defending Standardized Testing (Kindle Locations 1351-1354). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. Con Evidence is BiasedAcademic literature biased against testingRichard Phelps, Third Education Group, 2005, ). Defending Standardized Testing, page number at end of card Third, many, if not most, studies finding testing benefits are simply not to be found stored in the more common research literature data bases. Research data bases tend to be biased toward the work of academic researchers, and academic researchers may be biased against testing. Researchers with a predisposition against testing are more likely to work in academe, where they are not required to perpetuate a practice of which they disapprove. Researchers with more favorable dispositions toward testing are more likely to work in the field, for testing companies or state education agencies, for example. (2005-03-23). Defending Standardized Testing (Kindle Locations 1745-1747). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. Common Core Tests GoodCommon Core tests require schools to demonstrate higher-order thinking skillsMelissa Lazarin, October 2014, Center for American Progress, https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LazarinOvertestingReport.pdf DOA: 10-26-15 States should implement the new Common Core-aligned assessments. Featuring open-response test items and problems that will encourage and test higher-order thinking skills, the Common Core tests are expected to be of higher quality than current state assessments. They therefore may offer states and districts the opportunity to reduce the need to layer on additional tests to compensate for poor-quality state assessments. States and districts are also more likely to experience a faster turnaround in receiving test results than is currently the case—something that appeared to drive a few of the districts explored in this report to rely on district-wide tests. Finally, the Common Core tests have the added benefit of being shared across multiple states. As a result, they can support greater transparency of student achievement across states. Valuable to Develop Test Taking SkillsDeveloping test taking skills supports minority studentsLinda Crocker University of Florida, 2005, Defending Standardized Testing, Kindle Edition, page number at end of card Many teachers view teaching of test-taking skills as a tawdry practice. They may avoid it or undertake instruction geared to preparing students to demonstrate their knowledge in a particular format—multiple choice, essay, and performance assessment—in a shamefaced or clandestine fashion. This unfortunate situation, largely engendered by critics of standardized testing, impedes student performance and harms teacher morale. Yet, more than 20 years ago, McPhail (1981) offered two worthy reasons for teaching test-taking skills: (a) "to improve the validity of test results" (p. 33) and (b) "to provide equal educational, employment, and promotional opportunity" (p. 34) particularly for disadvantaged students who often do not have access to additional educational resources enjoyed by their middle-class cohorts. This rationale remains compelling today. (2005-03-23). Defending Standardized Testing (Kindle Locations 4368-4372). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. Developing test taking skills is important to be licensed in many professionsLinda Crocker University of Florida, 2005, Defending Standardized Testing, Kindle Edition, page number at end of card In the highly mobile twenty-first century, students migrate with their parents across state and national borders, attend colleges thousands of miles from home, and apply for employment and graduate or professional studies in areas where their transcripts and other credentials cannot be measured on a common metric by those making the selection decisions. Standardized tests have become critical tools for decisions regarding college admission, college credits for high school work, graduate or school professional admission, and licensure for many blue-collar and white-collar professions. Put simply, no one becomes a physician, lawyer, teacher, nurse, accountant, electrician, fire-fighter, cosmetologist, or real estate broker without taking a series of tests. Caring, effective teachers should want to prepare their students for these future testing situations. (2005-03-23). Defending Standardized Testing (Kindle Location 4378). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. Test taking skills have applications in real world contextsLinda Crocker University of Florida, 2005, Defending Standardized Testing, Kindle Edition, page number at end of card Furthermore the test-taking skills required by the short-essay or performance assessments, which now accompany the objective-item formats of many standardized assessments, have additional application to many real-world contexts in which individuals encounter demands for spontaneous written communications. Consider, for example, the following requests: "Explain why you have come to the clinic today and describe your symptoms;" "Describe how the accident occurred, and use diagrams, if necessary;" or "Describe your qualifications for the position." The ability to respond to a set of structured questions in a specific format has become a communications skill that is as vital in the repertoire of today's student as rhetoric was to the student of the nineteenth century. It is certainly as appropriate for teachers to impart these skills to students as it is for them to instruct them in other forms of oral and written communication. (2005-03-23). Defending Standardized Testing (Kindle Locations 4383-4385). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. 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