This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Monty Neill, Divine Anjeh, Larry G. Grimes, Vicky Giouroukakis, Randall Curren, Andrea Honigsfeld, Netta Weinstein, John Polesel, Yan Jin, and Lisa M. Winfield.
(2012). The Art of Education, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Dr. Robert F. Sabol, professor of visual and performing arts at Purdue University says that art education has suffered some serious setbacks since No Child Left Behind–the landmark federal education law that put a greater emphasis on high-stakes testing. Since No Child Left Behind became law in 2002, school systems–under increased pressure to raise student proficiency rates in the "core" subjects of reading and math–have less money to spend on materials such as paint and clay, and art instructors have less time to teach students what to do with those things, a Sabol study found. But now–as the Obama administration grants states more flexibility under No Child Left Behind and state and local educators work to implement a new set of education standards known as the Common Core State Standards–art educators are hopeful that they can restore art education to what they believe is its rightful place. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, State Standards, Art Education, Federal Legislation
(2006). Preparing Teachers to Beat the Agonies of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review. Many principals and teachers have concluded that high-stakes testing, particularly the kind of high-stakes testing which has been mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, is doing grave damage to education and to the lives of children. Parents and other community members likewise worry about the consequences of schools focusing on test preparation. In this article, the author discusses the preparation of teachers to work effectively with alternatives to high-stakes testing, which has been mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act and is doing grave damage to education and to the lives of children. Among other things, the author discusses why standardized tests are poor tools for evaluating these important kinds of learning. The author also discusses how formative assessment can have a powerful impact, and how affluent kids get the skills they need for life. [More] Descriptors: Student Evaluation, Formative Evaluation, Summative Evaluation, Academic Standards
(2009). Undermining Quality Teaching and Learning: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on High-Stakes Testing, Theory and Research in Education. Using tests to compare nations, states, school districts, schools, teachers, and students has increasingly become a basis for educational reform around the globe. Although tests can be informative, "high-stakes testing" (HST) is an approach to reform that applies rewards and sanctions contingent on test outcomes. Results of HST reforms indicate a plethora of unintended negative consequences, leading some to suggest that HST corrupts educational practices in schools. Although there are many accounts of these negative results, SDT supplies the only systematic theory of motivation that explains these effects. In what follows we describe the motivational principles underlying the undermining effects of HST on teachers and learners alike. [More] Descriptors: Educational Change, High Stakes Tests, Rewards, Sanctions
(2012). Teaching Evolution: A Heuristic Study of Personal and Cultural Dissonance, ProQuest LLC. Darwinian evolution is a robustly supported scientific theory. Yet creationists continue to challenge its teaching in American public schools. Biology teachers in all 50 states are responsible for teaching science content standards that include evolution. As products of their backgrounds and affiliations teachers bring personal attitudes and beliefs to their teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore how biology teachers perceive, describe, and value their teaching of evolution. This research question was explored through a heuristic qualitative methodology. Eight veteran California high school biology teachers were queried as to their beliefs, perceptions, experiences and practices of teaching evolution. Both personal and professional documents were collected. Data was presented in the form of biographical essays that highlight teachers' backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and practices of teaching evolution. Of special interest was how they describe pressure over teaching evolution during a decade of standards and No Child Left Behind high-stakes testing mandates. Five common themes emerged. Standards have increased the overall "amount" of evolution that is taught. High-stakes testing has decreased the "depth" at which evolution is taught. Teacher belief systems strongly influence "how" evolution is taught. Fear of creationist challenges effect evolution teaching strategies. And lastly, concern over the potential effects of teaching evolution on student worldviews was mixed. Three categories of teacher concern over the potential impact of evolution on student worldviews were identified: Concerned, Strategist, and Carefree. In the final analysis teacher beliefs and attitudes still appeared to he the most important factor influencing how evolution is taught. [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: Evolution, Science Instruction, Biology, Science Teachers
(2001). A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Phi Delta Kappan. Argues that instead of raising academic standards, high-stakes testing has weakened them. Descriptors: Academic Standards, Accountability, Elementary Secondary Education, High Stakes Tests
(2006). Connected Learning and the Foundations of Psychometrics: A Rejoinder, Journal of Philosophy of Education. This paper continues an exchange between its author and Andrew Davis. Part I addresses the attribution and ontological status of mental constructs and argues that philosophical work on these topics does not undermine high stakes testing. Part II examines the significance for testing of the connectedness of meaningful learning. Part III addresses the high stakes in high stakes testing in connection with the risk entailed by limited scoring reliability. It concludes that there is no straightforward relationship between the magnitude of what is at stake for students and teachers and the threshold of acceptable reliability in scoring. [More] Descriptors: Learning, Psychometrics, Relevance (Education), High Stakes Tests
(2017). Group Differences in Test-Taking Behaviour: An Example from a High-Stakes Testing Program, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice. This study investigated whether different groups of test-takers vary in their reported test-taking behaviour in a high-stakes test situation. A between-group design (N¬ =¬ 1129) was used to examine whether high and low achievers, as well as females and males, differ in their use of test-taking strategies, and in level of reported test anxiety and motivation. The results showed differences between high and low achievers on a number of test-taking strategies, where high achievers reported using successful strategies to a higher extent. There were also gender differences: females, for example, reported using random guessing to a higher extent than males. Further, low achievers, especially females, reported significantly higher levels of test anxiety than high achievers, and high achievers reported slightly higher levels of motivation when compared to low achievers. To conclude, test-taking behaviour might bring additional variance to test scores, whether or not this is irrelevant variance is discussed. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, High Achievement, Low Achievement, Gender Differences
(2003). High-Stakes Research, Education Next. Disputes results of study by two Arizona State University researchers that found high-stakes testing has a negative impact on student achievement and dropout rates. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Accountability, Criticism, Educational Research
(2011). Fundamental Concerns in High-Stakes Language Testing: The Case of the College English Test, Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. The College English Test (CET) is an English language test designed for educational purposes, administered on a very large scale, and used for making high-stakes decisions. This paper discusses the key issues facing the CET during the course of its development in the past two decades. It argues that the most fundamental and critical concerns of large-scale high-stakes testing are test validity and fairness as defined in the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999). The CET has a current annual test population of over 18 million, and the results of the test, intentionally or unintentionally, may affect university graduates' employment opportunities, the conferment of a bachelor's degree, and the granting of a residence permit in big cities. The CET test developer, therefore, has been taking measures to make sure that no test taker will be potentially disadvantaged by such factors as test content, test condition, response mode and format, scoring of constructed-response items, and use of test results. Considerable care has been given to the test's validity as well as its operational standardization, which is critical to fairness in high-stakes testing. The paper begins with an overview of the major developmental stages of the CET since its inception in 1987 and the standardized procedures involved in the CET design, item construction, test administration, test form equation, scoring and score reporting. Following the introductory part, the paper discusses in turn the CET validation efforts in the late 1990s, major revisions of the test with a view to aligning its content and task format with the College English curriculum requirements, and the recent research on the validity of the newly developed internet-based CET, a central focus of which has been on possible biases against test takers who are less proficient in computer operation. Validity and fairness, however, cannot be exclusively addressed in psychometric and technical terms. The use of the test in a particular social context or with particular groups of test takers may be valid and fair or invalid and unfair. In the final part, the paper concludes with a brief discussion of the political dimension of high-stakes testing, with a special focus on Messick's (1992) unified construct validity argument, which views validity not as a feature or a possession of a test, but a process to validate in a multifaceted approach the uses and interpretations of tests and their scores (Davies, 2003). [More] [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Language Tests, Measures (Individuals), Graduates
(2014). The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on Curriculum and Pedagogy: A Teacher Perspective from Australia, Journal of Education Policy. Debates continue about how high-stakes testing regimes influence schools at all levels: their impact on teaching practices, distribution of resources and curriculum provision, and whether they achieve the intended increases in student achievement in targeted areas. In 2008, the Australian government Introduced a national testing scheme, the" National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy" (NAPLAN), in which all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are required to participate, and a national website, "MySchool," was established in 2010 to publish the results of all schools. This paper reports on the first national study of educators' views on the impact of NAPLAN on Australian schools and students. Over 8000 educators from all states and territories participated in the study, and the findings indicate that the testing regime is leading to a reduction in time spent on other curriculum areas and adjustment of pedagogical practice and curriculum content to mirror the tests. The findings suggest that the modification of teaching and curricular practices is in response to concerns regarding the use and reporting of NAPLAN data and the potential impact on schools. This confirms findings of researchers in other countries on the capacity of high-stakes regimes to distort teaching practices, constrain the curriculum and narrow students' educational experiences. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, High Stakes Tests, Educational Practices, Curriculum Design
(2010). High-Stakes Testing and English Language Learners: Using Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Literacy Practices in the High School English Classroom, TESOL Journal. This multicase study investigated the impact of high-stakes testing on the literacy practices of teachers of high school English language learners (ELLs) in three Long Island, New York, school districts, in one of the most racially and socioeconomically segregated regions of the United States. The goal of the study was to explore what kinds of literacy tasks and materials were implemented in order to develop ELLs' literacy skills and prepare them to be successful on the state's high-stakes English exam. Findings indicate that all four teachers participating in the study engaged in (a) instructional activities and materials that directly prepared students for the state's high-stakes exam (teaching to the test) and (b) culturally and linguistically responsive practices. It is also apparent from the data that teachers were addressing the duality of helping students succeed on the exam and preparing them to become lifelong learners by reflecting on the impact of high-stakes testing on students' diverse needs. [More] Descriptors: Testing, Second Language Learning, High Stakes Tests, Lifelong Learning
(2008). Systems Thinking and Students: Relationships, Student Achievement, and the Curriculum, AASA Journal of Scholarship & Practice. The surge of high-stakes testing and accountability has been felt in Texas and all across the country. Every state is demanding to some degree or another that administrators and teachers increase their workload, alter their teaching, rearrange the curriculum, adjust professional development, and implement improvement programs in order to raise test scores. Various government entities from the national to the state level want to prove that America's system of education is working; however, for all the high-stakes testing and consequent desperate measures, including aligning the curriculum to instruction and assessment, there has been very little improvement in student learning. What, then, can be done to improve student performance and increase student motivation with regard to their academic performance in this high-stakes testing world? Building relationships starts with every adult in a community and in a school–from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between. Building relationships can invigorate a staff with a new sense of purpose and mission–a knowing that a difference can be made for all students. This article discusses the importance of reaching out, making contact, and building staff-student relationships throughout schools, even with students not in classrooms. Education is, after all, a fundamentally human endeavor. [More] Descriptors: Improvement Programs, Testing, Academic Achievement, High Stakes Tests
(2006). The Implications of High Stakes, State-Mandated Academic Tests on the Educational Future of LEP Students, Online Submission. This study seeks to investigate the implications of high stakes state-mandated testing on the educational future of language minority learners. It sets off with a definition of high stakes state-mandated testing and proceeds with an in depth review of the incidence and ramification of high stakes testing and its impact on Less English Proficient (LEP) learners. The paper equally chronicles some direct consequences of the institutionalization of high stakes state-mandated testing on students in particular, and school districts in general. [More] Descriptors: Language Minorities, Testing, High Stakes Tests, Limited English Speaking
(2003). High-Stakes Testing and Students: Stopping or Perpetuating a Cycle of Failure?, Theory into Practice. Examines research on high stakes testing and its relationship to student outcomes, presenting data from Massachusetts and North Carolina on state trends related to high stakes testing. Findings suggest that non-white, non-Asian students, and students with special needs and English language learners, are the groups most deeply affected by high stakes testing. The article offers suggestions on the appropriate uses of testing for educational decision making. Descriptors: Disadvantaged Youth, Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation Methods, High Stakes Tests
(2013). High Stakes Testing Policy Issues in Education: An Analysis of Litigation Involving High Stakes Testing and the Denial of Diplomas, ProQuest LLC. This study analyzed the legal documents of cases involving the denial of a high school diploma as the result of not passing a high stakes exam in public education. The qualitative extrapolation of consistent themes in the court documents revealed information regarding the court's interpretation of the intersection of state authority to establish diploma requirements, and the rights of the students who were denied their diploma. The results of the study were influenced greatly by the case law evolution, and therefore presented a historical a caption of analysis as well as the intended content analysis. The independent issues presented to the courts were examined and discussed, as well as the differences between rulings involving students with disabilities and regular education students, and differences by judicial regions. The results of the analysis inform the reader of the history of high stakes testing and the constitutionality of the policy during different decades and under federal legislation regarding subgroups of students. [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, Educational Policy, Court Litigation, Graduation