MEANINGFUL vs. MEANINGLESS TESTING

Schools have long tested children to identify academic challenges, allowing appropriate interventions to be put in place.

Well-designed assessments at critical developmental stages are proven to give beneficial feedback to teachers and families.

However, the tests that are most often used right now only measure certain skills, making them ill-suited to track the progress of children with different strengths and needs.

Further, the majority of tests don’t help teachers develop educational plans for their students. Instead, certain scores are used exclusively by state officials to rank schools and evaluate teacher performance.

WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH, CHILDREN LOSE

When school funding, salary, and career advancement are tied to student test scores, it’s inevitable that many teachers and administrators turn their focus to “TEACHING THE TEST”.

Students spend weeks practicing THE TEST and going over tips for taking THE TEST, leaving less time for exploring a larger variety of subjects or for developing different types of skills.

MORE TESTING = LESS LEARNING

Children undergo more standardized testing than ever before. There are testing requirements set by both the federal and state governments, with some districts adding their own assessments as well.

The following list represents an overview of the MINIMUM testing requirements:

Kindergarten – GRADE 2: students undergo periodic testing for literacy skills, which helps teachers match them to a particular reading level.

GRADE 3: students begin multiple choice-style standardized testing. There are beginning-of-grade (BOG) and end-of-grade (EOG) tests in mathematics and language arts. Students also take multiple choice “check-in” tests each quarter or semester, which are meant to predict performance on the EOG tests. Students failing to meet the “check-in” standards during the year retest on an even more frequent schedule.

GRADE 3-5: students continue “check-in” tests as well as yearly EOG tests in math and language arts; in 5th grade, a science EOG test is added.

GRADE 6-8: Middle school students take “check-in” and yearly EOG tests for math and language arts, along with a grade 8 science EOG exam.

GRADE 8-12: Some middle school and all high school students must complete end-of-course (EOC) exams for a subset of subjects like NC Math I, NC Math II, biology, and English II. The EOC score also counts toward the student’s letter grade for the class. Other testing is required for completion of technical courses (CTE).

HIGH STAKES = HIGH ANXIETY

The type of “HIGH STAKES” standardized testing that’s required by federal and state laws takes an enormous psychological toll on students.

Kindergarten students immediately enter the testing pipeline in their first year of school, along with the expectation to perform. The pressure to test well year after year can cause anxiety, not to mention negative attitudes towards school.

Even though teachers tell elementary students that standardized tests don’t count toward a class grade, most young students are confused about testing and don’t really understand why they have to do it.

With all the fuss over practice tests and reviewing test material all year long, it’s only natural for students to assume standardized testing is a BIG DEAL – and they WORRY about FAILING these tests.

PARTICIPATION IS NOT OPTIONAL

Imagine your teacher making you take a standardized test that is far beyond the bounds of your ability. No doubt you’d be confused, worried, or even scared about the consequences of failing such a big exam.

For some children, like those with certain disabilities or learning differences, or those learning the English language, standardized tests don’t make sense for their particular situation.

Irrelevant and futile testing does nothing but sadden and humiliate children, making it even more difficult for them to stay motivated to learn.

QUESTIONS ABOUT QUESTIONS

The nature and purpose of many standardized tests have been called into question by educators and child development specialists.

There are unaddressed problems with test quality, including confusing/ ambiguous imagery, age-inappropriate wording, and introduction of cultural bias.

Another concern for young children in particular is testing that extends for long periods of time (3 hours), which is beyond what most experts would say elementary-aged students can handle at their stage of development.

Student testing has far-reaching implications for all North Carolinians, whether you have school-aged children or not.

• North Carolina taxpayers spend MILLIONS of DOLLARS on testing that has minimal or no value for our children – the funding should go toward assessments that give a better return on investment.

• Children are taking more standardized tests than ever before in the history of the public school system. Gathering data was originally supposed to show districts *how* to improve student outcome. Yet as testing has expanded over the last 25 years, most measures of student achievement indicate a decline in overall academic success and career readiness.

• With more student testing, teachers devote less time to teaching. In addition, the curriculum has significantly narrowed to focus on the material that appears on the standardized tests. “TEACHING THE TEST” stifles teacher creativity, their ability to reach individual students, and the appeal of teaching as a profession.

• North Carolina needs to have a competitive edge in terms of a high-quality educated workforce, making it an attractive hub for both research and commerce. Currently, only one-third of our elementary school children are proficient in mathematics and reading, a statistic that may not instill confidence in potential business interests. Testing reform plays a critical part in the larger picture of developing student skills that are relevant to the future of our workforce.