Standardized Testing

An False Measure of Education By Jaryd Stein

2 Major Types of Tests

APTITUDE TEST

 Predict how well  students are likely to  perform in subsequent educational setting  SAT-I, ACT, MCAT, 

ACHIEVEMENT TEST

How committees evaluate a school’s effectiveness 5 such tests nationally CAT, Comprehensive Test LSAT, GMAT, GRE of Basic Skills, Stanford Achievement Tests

Who makes these tests?

 Large corporations  Generally not teachers  People who do not spend time in a classroom

Is knowledge the goal or is it lack of that is desired?

Standardized Tests are more concerned with what a student doesn’t know than what one knows.

Common Misrepresented Inferences About Standardized Tests  Demonstrates student’s strengths and weaknesses across various subjects  Can evaluate student’s growth over time  Standardized test evaluate what is learned in the classroom  Standardized Testing can predict performance later on

Standardized Tests  Educational Quality  “Unfortunately, the chief indicator by which most communities judge a school staff’s success is student performance on standardized achievement tests.”  “Educational quality is being measured with the wrong yardstick.”  These tests were never designed to measure educational quality, but somehow over time that’s what they evolved into

3 Factor Contributing to Scores

 What’s taught in school  Student’s native intellectual ability  Out-of-school learning

Alternatives to Standardized Tests  Random Sampling  Performance Exams  Proficiency Exit Standards  Exhibitions  Parent Conferences  School Report Cards

“The primary purpose of assessment is to improve the quality of teaching and to help students learn better. If the focus is not on student learning, it’s misplaced.”

W. James Popham