This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include James C. Eslinger, David C. Berliner, Allison Roda, Gabriel R. Serna, Ellen H. Reames, Emily Frawley, Sharon L. Nichols, Teresa Fisher-Ari, Frances K. Kochan, and Tanya Murrell-Heydorf.
(2014). High-Stakes Accountability: Student Anxiety and Large-Scale Testing, Journal of Applied School Psychology. This study examined the relationship between student anxiety about high-stakes testing and their subsequent test performance. The FRIEDBEN Test Anxiety Scale was administered to 1,134 11th-grade students, and data were subsequently collected on their statewide assessment performance. Test anxiety was a significant predictor of test performance when controlling for other expected predictors of test performance, including school performance as measured by grade point average. The composite test anxiety score was negatively related to test performance, although one test anxiety subscale demonstrated a positive relationship with test performance. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between test anxiety and test performance. Implications for the provision of assessment and intervention for specific aspects of test anxiety are discussed, and directions for future research on the influence of anxiety on test performance are provided. [More] Descriptors: Accountability, High Stakes Tests, Group Testing, Test Anxiety
(2017). Sisyphean Neoliberal Reforms: The Intractable Mythology of Student Growth and Achievement Master Narratives within the Testing and TFA Era, Journal of Education Policy. Neoliberal discourses defining and measuring "student achievement" and "teacher success" through myopic high-stakes testing-driven criteria for "accountability," can perpetuate the very inequities these reforms purport to address. Nested within a five-year inquiry using grounded theory to investigate experiences of Teach For America (TFA) Corps members learning to teach during a district-wide testing cheating scandal, the researchers used Atlas.ti, to analyze 5897 daily reflections written during a yearlong, field-based, initial certification course. Iterative phases of constant comparative analysis utilized a multi-rater/multi-stage/multi-year analysis. This manuscript focuses on the dominant theme of "Student Growth and Achievement," as defined, conceptualized, and experienced by 38 TFA novice teachers and the co-occurrences of this theme with other dominant themes within this data-set. Findings indicate circumscribed understandings of student growth and achievement which shaped teacher and student engagement, including: (a) narrowing of the scope of teaching by spending significant time atomizing testable skills, drilling students, and administering tests, (b) creating limiting expectations and deficit views of learners, families, and communities when the drill-then-test pedagogy did not produce high test scores, and (c), causing and exacerbating affective distress for teachers and students. Implications for policy-makers, TFA, and educational leaders worldwide are considered. [More] Descriptors: Neoliberalism, Grounded Theory, Academic Achievement, Cheating
(2017). Curriculum Policy Reform in an Era of Technical Accountability: "Fixing" Curriculum, Teachers and Students in English Schools, Journal of Curriculum Studies. Drawing on a Levinasian ethical perspective, the argument driving this paper is that the technical accountability movement currently dominating the educational system in England is less than adequate because it overlooks educators' responsibility for ethical relations in responding to difference in respect of the other. Curriculum policy makes a significant contribution to the technical accountability culture through complicity in performativity, high-stakes testing and datafication, at the same time as constituting student and teacher subjectivities. I present two different conceptualizations of subjectivity and education, before engaging these in the analysis of data arising from an empirical study which investigated teachers' and stakeholders' experiences of curriculum policy reform in "disadvantaged" English schools. The study's findings demonstrate how a prescribed programme of technical curriculum regulation attempts to "fix" or mend educational problems by "fixing" or prescribing educational solutions. This not only denies ethical professional relations between students, teachers and parents, but also deflects responsibility for educational success from government to teachers and hastens the move from public to private educational provision. Complying with prescribed curriculum policy requirements shifts attention from broad philosophical and ethical questions about educational purpose as well as conferring a violence by assuming control over student and teacher subjectivities. [More] Descriptors: Curriculum, Educational Policy, Educational Change, Accountability
(2017). "More [Time] Is Better or Less Is More?" Neoliberal Influences on Teaching and Learning Time, Journal of Education Policy. This article examines the neoliberal influences on "Port City Schools" (PCS) unique district-wide extended learning time (ELT) initiative. Despite the recent popularity of ELT in urban schools, there have been few qualitative studies that question how stakeholders make sense of ELT on the ground. This research fills that gap in the literature by exploring ELT programming across PCS's choice and neighborhood K-8 schools. The interview and observation data reveal an inherent tension between "more time is better" in the enrichment-filled choice schools and "less is more" in the intervention-filled neighborhood schools. Findings illuminate the ways in which school choice, neighborhood segregation, and high stakes testing push the district to use ELT to boost test scores in the lower performing neighborhood schools, while the choice schools are given flexibility in ELT programming because they are meeting expectations for student success. Because neoliberalism fails to take into account the strong relationship between test scores and socio-economics and school choice and segregation, it leads to a cycle of inequality in which children in the choice schools receive a well-balanced curriculum and children in the neighborhood schools get test preparation during ELT. Fixing this system could fix inequalities in ELT programming across all schools. [More] Descriptors: Neoliberalism, School Districts, Qualitative Research, Urban Schools
(2014). Mobile Phones for Spain's University Entrance Examination Language Test, Educational Technology & Society. Few tests were delivered using mobile phones a few years ago, but the flexibility and capability of these devices make them valuable tools even for high stakes testing. This paper addresses research done through the PAULEX (2007-2010) and OPENPAU (2012-2014) research projects at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia and Universidad de Alcalá (Spain) to provide a powerful but low cost delivery system for the foreign language paper of the Spanish College Entrance Examination (henceforth PAU). The first project, PAULEX, intended to create a robust mobile platform for language testing while the second, OPENPAU, examined the specific applications of ubiquitous devices to create more dynamic forms of assessment. This paper focuses on the projects' design, testing theory, and technical evolution including visual ergonomics. The current results demonstrate the technical and didactic feasibility of mobile-based formal assessment that aligns student needs with the kind of inferences that the mobile based language test should provide academic authorities. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, College Entrance Examinations, Language Tests, Handheld Devices
(2014). The Mathematical Experiences of Black Males in a Predominantly Black Urban Middle School and Community, International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology. There is a growing body of research focused on the mathematical experiences of Black males in the United States of America. This research has emerged to challenge the dominant narrative in mathematics education focused on Black males' low performance on international, national, and state standardized tests. There is very little research that has explored the impact of high-stakes testing in mathematics on Black males in urban areas. Using qualitative research methods, this study examines the middle school mathematics experiences of four Black males and provides insight into their responses to challenges they face in urban communities, schools, and math classrooms. Critical race theory was used to illuminate Black males' desire to be challenged in the classroom and describe the community, school, and classroom conditions that impact their lived realities and mathematics experiences. [More] Descriptors: Males, African American Students, Urban Schools, Middle School Students
(2011). High Stakes Testing of African-American Male Student Performance on Middle School Assessments, ProQuest LLC. The driving force behind high-stakes-testing may be attributed to the issue of education reform. In the last decade, high-stakes testing has generated intense controversy among educators and parents. The use of high-stakes testing in making decisions about student promotion and graduation is both controversial and significant. The purpose of the proposed quantitative correlational analysis was to investigate the extent to which middle school student scores on the ELA and Mathematics exams correlate to a set of demographic variables and the extent to which student accountability influences that relationship for African American male middle school students when there are high stakes attached to the test results. The study investigated the correlation between race, gender, and grade level testing to the scores of middle school students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades on ELA tests and Mathematics exams. The study also investigate the effects of high stakes on the correlation of ELA test and Mathematic exam scores according to grade level among middle school African American male students caused by requiring 8th graders to pass ELA and Mathematics 8th grade exams in order to move on to high school. The study presents the results of a Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests used to determine normality in the data; the Spearman's rank correlation was used to analyze the three demographic variables; and an ANOVA was conducted to compare the mean scores of participants on achievement scores according to grade level, race and gender. The results were not statistically significant. [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: High Stakes Tests, African American Students, Males, Middle School Students
(2014). Factors Influencing Principals' Retirement Decisions: A Southern US Perspective, Educational Management Administration & Leadership. This study, conducted in one state in the United States, replicated similar research from over a decade ago to compare principal demographics and reasons for remaining or leaving the profession. Demographics have trended with the nation. Principals are older, more diverse and are largely eligible for retirement within the next five years. Similar demographics are noted in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The reasons for retiring have changed dramatically since the first survey. External mandates were the number one reason for retirement. Another reason included spending more time with their family. Around the globe, other countries are considering national initiatives, such as accountability and high-stakes testing or national curriculum standards. This study may provide a cautionary note regarding the impact on principal role and retention. Thus, while the study occurred in the United States, the policies that influenced principals' reasons for choosing to retire or stay in the profession appear to have global implications. [More] Descriptors: Principals, Retirement, Surveys, Federal Legislation
(2008). Why Has High-Stakes Testing So Easily Slipped into Contemporary American Life?, Phi Delta Kappan. High-stakes testing is the practice of attaching important consequences to standardized test scores, and it is the engine that drives the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The rationale for high-stakes testing is that the promise of rewards and the threat of punishments will cause teachers to work more effectively, students to be more motivated, and schools to run more smoothly–all of which will result in greater academic achievement for all students, but especially those from poverty and minority backgrounds. Although it is certainly arguable, the authors believe that, to date, there is no convincing evidence that high-stakes testing has the intended effect of increasing learning. By contrast, there is a growing literature suggesting that the unintended consequences are damaging to the education of students. In this article, the authors offer five reasons–and their thoughts on each–for why high-stakes testing has been so easily embraced by a culture looking for a way to judge and monitor the progress of the public schools. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Testing, Standardized Tests, High Stakes Tests
(2014). No Time for the "Airy Fairy": Teacher Perspectives on Creative Writing in High Stakes Environments, English in Australia. This paper discusses a research project undertaken to examine teachers' perceptions of creative writing in the senior English curriculum. It was a case study undertaken in a state high school in Melbourne under the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). The project investigated the challenges facing English teachers as they prepare students to write creatively in VCE, the impact of high-stakes testing on creative writing, and the impact of teachers' epistemological beliefs about writing on their teaching of creative writing. One key finding was the way in which distinctions are made between writing taught at the senior levels and conceptions of creative writing in the junior years of high school. The study also revealed the paradox that teachers find it difficult to facilitate good writing development within high-stakes assessment environments. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Creative Writing, English Curriculum, Secondary School Teachers
(2014). Navigating between a Rock and a Hard Place: Lessons from an Urban School Teacher, Education and Urban Society. The educational accountability movement in the United States under No Child Left Behind has negatively affected urban teachers because of high-stakes testing, narrowed curriculum, and scripted pedagogy. Such conditions have led to teacher stress, burnout, and attrition. Missing from the scholarly literature are the ways in which teachers work to overcome these conditions. This article offers a self-study that examines an urban elementary teacher's journey as he navigated both within and against the structural mandates of No Child Left Behind. Using Anthony Giddens's theory of structuration, the author elaborates on four key factors–strong teacher preparation, cultivation of caring relationships with students and families, collaboration with other teachers, and development of an informal contract with administration–that ultimately were responsible for his success and well-being. [More] Descriptors: Urban Schools, Teacher Attitudes, Teaching Experience, Elementary Education
(2006). High Stakes Testing and the Structure of the Mind: A Reply to Randall Curren, Journal of Philosophy of Education. "High stakes testing" is to be understood as testing with serious consequences for students, their teachers and their educational institutions. It plays a central role in holding teachers and educational institutions to account. In a recent article Randall Curren seeks to refute a number of philosophical arguments developed in my "The Limits of Educational Assessment" against the legitimacy of high stakes testing. In this reply I contend that some of the arguments he identifies are not mine, and that others survive his critique. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Educational Assessment, Educational Philosophy, Reader Response
(2014). Improving Teaching and Learning: Three Models to Reshape Educational Practice, Education. The work of schools is teaching and learning. However, the current educational culture is dominated by three characteristics: (1) the mechanistic view of organization and its practice based on the assembly line model where students progress along a value added conveyor; (2) the predominance of the Essentialist philosophy of education, in which the teacher-centered classroom transfers bits of "essential" knowledge to students; and (3) the high stakes testing mentality, which believes in the rigid and frequent testing of students to ensure learning and enforce accountability. Three models are presented that demonstrate the limitation of the testing mentality and highlight the other educational options available to students and schools. Acting on the three models has the potential to improve teaching and learning by providing a learning environment characterized by deep, complex, active and generative learning at the expert level. [More] Descriptors: Educational Practices, Models, Educational Change, Change Strategies
(2008). Why Has High-Stakes Testing so Easily Slipped into Contemporary American Life?, Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review. High-stakes testing is the practice of attaching important consequences to standardized test scores, and it is the engine that drives the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The rationale for high-stakes testing is that the promise of rewards and the threat of punishments will cause teachers to work more effectively, students to be more motivated, and schools to run more smoothly–all of which will result in greater academic achievement for all students, but especially those from poverty and minority backgrounds. Although it is certainly arguable, the authors believe that, to date, there is no convincing evidence that high-stakes testing has the intended effect of increasing learning. By contrast, there is a growing literature suggesting that the unintended consequences are damaging to the education of students. In this article, the authors offer five reasons–and their thoughts on each–for why high-stakes testing has so easily become a part of contemporary American life. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, At Risk Students, Minority Groups, Teacher Educators
(2017). Social Reproduction and College Access: Current Evidence, Context, and Potential Alternatives, Critical Questions in Education. Social reproduction theory identifies schooling as a primary means for the perpetuation of the dominant class's ideologies, values, and power. The ability to access college is so closely tied to these constructs that it contributes to this dominance and marginalization. Social stratification is not only mirrored in higher education, but the exclusion of individuals from lower income families and people of color fosters oppression within educational environments. Through a review of recent research and evidence, we highlight the factors contributing to the attainment gap, the question of how social class and stratification influence college access and choice, and resultant associated personal and social costs. We find that current pedagogical practices, high-stakes testing, student and family expectations, and historical oppression all contribute to a lower level of college access and limited choices for lower socioeconomically situated students and students of color. We also find that the costs to society remain numerous and substantial and can manifest themselves as limited inclusion of non-dominant groups in higher education. [More] Descriptors: Access to Education, Social Theories, Social Stratification, Higher Education