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Standardized Tests

Use, Misuse, and Reclamation

The Basics1. What is a standardized test?

Simply put, a test is standardized when the same test is administered in the same way to all test

takers.

Our sample sizes may be small…but I have yet to find any source that defines whether or not a test is standardized by the number of

people that take it.

When thought of in these terms, many teachers give standardized tests in their classrooms on a daily basis.

Morning Work

So why do teachers start developing facial tics when the words

“standardized test” are brought up in staff meetings? Hmmmm.

…because standardized tests have become high-stakes tests used to

judge educational quality.

Enron – high stock prices as an indicator of business success = cheating

Steroids - $$$$$ rewards for success in sports.

Big bonuses attached to increased sales.

Atlanta and Washington D.C.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?Use and Misuse of Standardized Tests

1. Informing parents about their children’s relative

achievements.

1. Evaluating schools.

2. Evaluating teachers.

4. Making classroom instructional decisions.

3. Promoting or grading students.3. Selecting students for special programs.

2. Informing teachers about their students’ relative

achievements.

4. Allocating supplemental resources.

W. James Popham(2001)

1. Is there a place for standardized testing in public education?

2. Or do the negative impacts of standardized testing outweigh the positives?

3. Should standardized test results be used as a measure of teacher effectiveness?

Discussion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/rigoberto-ruelas-lausd-te_n_740544.html

http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/documents/EDEC_Teac.pdf

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2010/09/the_medias_war_on_teachers.html

Websites

Sources of Interest

Books

Articles

Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch

The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane RavitchCollateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America’s Schools by David Berliner and Sharon Nichols

Rational Responses to High-Stakes Testing: The Case of Curriculum Narrowing and the Harm That Follows by David Berliner

Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? by Pasi Sahlberg

http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-is-campbells-law-diane-ravitchs.html

Image Sources

http://www.hedgeshypnosis.co.uk/teaching.php

http://blog.timesunion.com/amanda/good/23310/

http://www.reactiongifs.us/thumbs-down-gladiator/