Bibliography: High Stakes Testing (page 04 of 95)

This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices.  Some of the authors featured on this page include David G. Buckman, Stephanie van Hover, Ian Cook, David Hicks, Gretchen E. Schwarz, Lola Gordon, RaShel Anderson Tingey, Lavada M. Walden, Bernadyn Suh, and Dorothy C. Suskind.

Cuenca, Alexander (2014). Negotiating Accountability during Student Teaching: The Influence of an Inquiry-Based Student Teaching Seminar, Teaching Education. Drawing on the work of Russian literary critic, Mikhail Bakhtin, this article explores how an inquiry-based social studies student teaching seminar helped three preservice teachers negotiate the pressures of standards-based reforms during student teaching. The author first examines how initial perceptions of standardization and high-stakes testing corroded images of powerful teaching and created an "ex post facto" relationship with teaching social studies. The author then explores how an inquiry-based seminar mitigated these initial impressions by (1) suspending the authority of accountability; (2) creating contact through collaborative inquiry; and (3) refracting practice.   [More]  Descriptors: Accountability, Student Teaching, Inquiry, Seminars

Tutt, Kevin (2014). U.S. Arts Education Requirements, Arts Education Policy Review. Federal education legislation over the past ten years has increasingly focused on high-stakes testing in the areas of science, technology, English, and math. The resultant decrease in time and funding for the arts has caused administrators to reconsider the role of the arts in education. Although a great deal of literature has been written about the decline of arts education, very little has examined what courses are actually required in the arts at the state and higher education levels. This project examined what role arts education plays in admission and graduation from postsecondary institutions across the United States.   [More]  Descriptors: Art Education, Required Courses, Graduation Requirements, College Admission

Lewis-Fokum, Yewande; Colvin, Carolyn (2017). Tracing the Discourses of Accountability and Equity: The Case of the Grade 4 Literacy Test in Jamaica, Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education. In an attempt to understand how a narrowed version of accountability in the form of high-stakes assessment deepens inequity rather than improves educational equity, we examine three education documents in Jamaica using critical discourse analysis. Our two research questions were: How did each government document position the Grade Four Literacy Test? What did that positioning signify in terms of accountability and equity? Our analyses reveal that the discourse of equity becomes silenced or overpowered in the presence of powerful discourses of accountability. It is to this extent, we contend, that a narrower version of accountability in the form of high-stakes testing serves to compound and complicate inequities in education. We offer the view that a more comprehensive framework for accountability in which teachers are supported and literacy projects are comprehensive and sustained moves closer to achieving, over the long run, the equity that is needed in literacy at the primary level in Jamaica.   [More]  Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Accountability, Grade 4, Tests

Samuel, Francis A.; Suh, Bernadyn (2012). Teacher Candidates Reconcile "The Child and the Curriculum" with "No Child Left Behind", Educational Forum. What relevance does John Dewey have for students and teachers of the 21st century? Can his educational philosophy be reconciled with "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) and its emphasis on accountability and high-stakes testing? In this article, the authors discuss Dewey's ideas about the child and the curriculum; delineate how teacher candidates can incorporate these ideas in their teaching; and, finally, suggest ways to reconcile Dewey's philosophy of education with the demands of NCLB.   [More]  Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Educational Philosophy, High Stakes Tests, Alignment (Education)

Au, Wayne (2009). Social Studies, Social Justice: W(h)ither the Social Studies in High-Stakes Testing?, Teacher Education Quarterly. High-stakes, standardized tests have become ubiquitous in public education in the United States. Teachers across the country are feeling the intensified pressures from high-stakes testing policies and are responding to these pressures by teaching to the tests in varying ways (Renter et al., 2006). Given the hegemony of high-stakes testing in schools today, this article seeks to explore the question: "W(h)ither the social studies in high-stakes testing?" Drawing on the available body of empirical research, the author argues that social studies teachers are feeling the pressures of high-stakes testing, and that these pressures are causing social studies teachers to alter their classroom practices and curriculum. Further, the author posits that the social studies represent a special case in relation to other subjects because the changes to pedagogy and content are variable, and the amount or significance of these changes depends on specific factors such as test design or whether or not individual sanctions are tied to student performance on the tests. Finally, the author argues that, because of the consistent variability connected to social studies teaching in relation to high-stakes tests, social studies education, in many instances, is positioned to provide an education that challenges the hegemonic norms of high-stakes testing generally as part of a broader need to teach for social justice in today's schools.   [More]   [More]  Descriptors: Social Justice, Standardized Tests, High Stakes Tests, Social Studies

Thompson, Greg; Cook, Ian (2014). Manipulating the Data: Teaching and NAPLAN in the Control Society, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. High-stakes testing is changing what it means to be a "good teacher" in the contemporary school. This paper uses Deleuze and Guattari's ideas on the control society and dividuation in the context of National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing in Australia to suggest that the database generates new understandings of the "good teacher". Media reports are used to look at how teachers are responding to the high-stakes database through manipulating the data. This article argues that manipulating the data is a regrettable, but logical, response to manifestations of teaching where only the data counts.   [More]  Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teacher Effectiveness, National Competency Tests, High Stakes Tests

van Hover, Stephanie; Hicks, David; Sayeski, Kristin (2012). A Case Study of Co-Teaching in an Inclusive Secondary High-Stakes World History I Classroom, Theory and Research in Social Education. In order to provide increasing support for students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms in high-stakes testing contexts, some schools have implemented co-teaching models. This qualitative case study explores how 1 special education teacher (Anna) and 1 general education history teacher (John) make sense of working together in an inclusive World History I course in a high-stakes testing context (Virginia). Data collected included observations, interviews, curricular materials, and reflective memos. Analysis of these data indicate that John and Anna were "ambitious" collaborators–they offer an exemplary case of a special education teacher and a general education teacher developing a positive and productive working relationship, especially in coordinating their pedagogical performance within the classroom. However, in terms of how they made sense of instruction, it appeared as though Anna, the special educator, elucidated a slightly more ambitious vision in terms of her ability to think about how to connect history to students and how to teach beyond the test. John, on the other hand, appeared to be aware of, and concerned with, the high-stakes testing context. His concerns about behavior management and his narrow focus on his students' test scores appeared to influence every aspect of his thinking about history instruction. Implications for teacher education are discussed.   [More]  Descriptors: Knowledge Level, Museums, Human Resources, Historical Interpretation

Young, I. Phillip; Cox, Edward P.; Buckman, David G. (2014). A Better Leveled Playing Field for Assessing Satisfactory Job Performance of Superintendents on the Basis of High-Stakes Testing Outcomes, AASA Journal of Scholarship & Practice. To assess satisfactory job performance of superintendents on the basis of school districts' high-stakes testing outcomes, existing teacher models were reviewed and critiqued as potential options for retrofit. For these models, specific problems were identified relative to the choice of referent groups. An alternate referent group (statewide population), that addressed these shortfalls, was proposed and tested via regression procedure. The results indicate that 72% of the variance in student outcomes is beyond their control because of certain student and organizational characteristics. We demonstrated how this information can be used to identify like-type comparisons yielding a better leveled playing field.   [More]  Descriptors: Superintendents, Administrator Evaluation, Models, Job Performance

Olivant, Katie F. (2015). "I Am Not a Format": Teachers' Experiences with Fostering Creativity in the Era of Accountability, Journal of Research in Childhood Education. This phenomenological study examined the experience of fostering creativity and creative thinking in the classroom under high-stakes testing conditions, as described by teachers at a magnet elementary school in Central California. The tensions between standardization and professionalism, as well as performativity and creativity, served as the conceptual framework for this study. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with ten teachers. Phenomenological techniques were used to analyze the data. Significant statements were extracted from interview transcriptions to yield textural descriptions, and two structural themes emerged regarding fostering creativity in the classroom: connections versus disconnections and right fit versus lack of fit. The findings showed that teachers see creativity as an important component of teacher agency and highly value the role creativity plays in helping children learn and enjoy learning. However, high-stakes testing conditions inhibit their ability to foster creativity and teach creatively by diminishing teacher autonomy and professionalism, narrowing the curriculum, and leaving teachers out of reform discussions. The results of this study may inform future research and provide information for policy-makers and educators interested in reestablishing creativity as a critical element of teacher agency and an essential learning skill for children.   [More]  Descriptors: Phenomenology, Creativity, Creative Thinking, Elementary School Teachers

Walden, Lavada M.; Kritsonis, William Allan (2008). The Impact of the Correlation between the No Child Left Behind Act's High Stakes Testing and the High Drop-Out Rates of Minority Students, Online Submission. The author looks at critical dialogue surrounding the causes for the alarming high numbers of high school dropouts in states that use high stakes standardized testing mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, and investigates the perceived correlations between high stakes testing and high numbers of high school dropouts of minority students.   [More]  Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Dropouts, Testing, Standardized Tests

Gordon, Lola (2016). High Stakes Testing in the 21st Century: Implications for Students in Special Education, Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals. High-stakes testing has been a part of American education since its inception. The laws that govern the use of high-stakes tests include language that mandates the inclusion of students in special education. These laws play an influential role in the new large-scale assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The assessments being implemented in the current 2014-2015 school year include embedded and locally provided accommodations for students with a documented need. For students with the most severe cognitive disabilities alternate assessments are available aligned with the CCSS. The implications of these assessments and the role they play in crucial factors pertaining to students in special education requires additional research. Specific areas for research should include how high-stakes tests can be useful in identifying specific needs, accommodations, and strategies for learning for students in special education, and the role test scores play in retention and dropout rates for this population.   [More]  Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Special Education, Common Core State Standards, Testing Accommodations

Suskind, Dorothy C. (2015). Living Assessment Passes the Test, Phi Delta Kappan. The author, a 5th-grade teacher at an independent boys' school, gives a first-person account of how her constant assessments and requirement that her students be active participants in their own learning gainsays the need for high-stakes, standardized testing. She posits a "living assessment" that is intertwined, interactive and instructive.   [More]  Descriptors: Student Evaluation, Active Learning, High Stakes Tests, Standardized Tests

Schwarz, Gretchen E. (2015). CAEP Advanced Standards and the Future of Graduate Programs: The False Sense of "Techne", Teacher Education Quarterly. As top-down mandates multiply, close supervision from outside the education field increases, and the professionalism of educators shrinks, criticism of neoliberal effects on education in the United States and elsewhere has become more frequent in professional publications. Neoliberalism, put simply, is the political philosophy that privileges free market economics above all else and, in education, advocates high-stakes testing, prepackaged curricula, stringent measures of accountability for schools and educators, and the privatization of public schools. Business efficiency is the governing value, and it is measured in numbers. Neoliberalism among policy makers and politicians may explain a great deal of what passes as school reform at all levels today. However, in teacher education, where the same growing constraints can be found, one finds very little resistance among teacher educators in the United States, especially as such mandates are now being applied, in detail, to graduate programs. Why? Are teacher educators, college professors, unconcerned about their curricula being decided by others and indifferent to their work being reduced to rubrics and regulations? This article offers another possible explanation for the passive acceptance of high-stakes testing, data-driven accountability measures, and the questionable approach to teaching and learning that characterize much of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), formerly the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), teacher education accreditation process in the United States.   [More]  Descriptors: Graduate Study, Neoliberalism, High Stakes Tests, Accountability

Tingey, RaShel Anderson (2009). High-Stakes Testing under the No Child Left Behind Act: How Has It Impacted School Culture?, ProQuest LLC. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on school culture. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with first grade through sixth grade teachers and principals from two of Nebo School District's schools located in Utah. Their responses were categorized into twelve themes. Most of the teachers and principals reported that high-stakes testing negatively impacted student and teacher motivation, teaching and learning, and curriculum. They also discussed negative effects of the application questioned the accuracy of high-stakes testing. Fewer teachers and principals communicated positive effects of high-stakes testing. Among these positive effects were that testing data provided some useful information about teaching and learning and provided some accountability. Implications regarding these findings are discussed. This in-depth case study analysis of two elementary schools will add to the growing number of qualitative studies about the effects of high-stakes testing under the NCLB Act.   [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/disserta…   [More]  Descriptors: School Culture, Federal Legislation, Testing, High Stakes Tests

Wallace, Jonathan D. (2012). Teacher Evaluation: A Conversation among Educators, Phi Delta Kappan. Eleven educators came together in spring 2012 for a wide-ranging discussion of teacher evaluation and professional development in the era of high-stakes testing and data-based accountability. The participants in this conversation are alumni of the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. The group included public and private school leaders, superintendents and other top administrators, higher education faculty and staff, and executives of educational nonprofits.   [More]  Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, College Faculty, Nonprofit Organizations, Instructional Leadership

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