Using any standardized achievement test for a purpose for which it was not designed violates nationally - accepted standards of the testing profession, of the state of Illinois and the U. S. Department of Education, and the guidelines of the test makers themselves (see Attachment 2 — PURE Fact Sheet: «Testing professionals oppose
use of standardized test scores as sole or primary measures in high - stakes decisions»).
We oppose high - stakes standardized tests that falsely and unfairly label students of color, students with disabilities and English Language Learners as failing,
the use of standardized test scores as basis for refusing to fund schools or to close schools, and the use of student test scores in teacher and principal evaluations, a practice which has been repeatedly rejected by researchers.
Not exact matches
Jackson had access to each student's
scores on the statewide
standardized test, and he
used that
as a rough measure
of their cognitive ability.
And, when research
uses standardized tests to measure homework's impact, she continued, it is difficult to gauge how much
of the overall improvement or decline in
test scores is due to student learning in the classroom context
as opposed to student learning from homework.
Infants would be examined by medical providers at regular intervals for the presence
of atopic dermatitis (
using standardized scoring methods)
as well
as food allergic symptoms and other allergic disease (confirmed by IgE
testing), and not just the presence
of allergic sensitization.
After extensive research on teacher evaluation procedures, the Measures
of Effective Teaching Project mentions three different measures to provide teachers with feedback for growth: (1) classroom observations by peer - colleagues
using validated scales such
as the Framework for Teaching or the Classroom Assessment
Scoring System, further described in Gathering Feedback for Teaching (PDF) and Learning About Teaching (PDF), (2) student evaluations
using the Tripod survey developed by Ron Ferguson from Harvard, which measures students» perceptions
of teachers» ability to care, control, clarify, challenge, captivate, confer, and consolidate, and (3) growth in student learning based on
standardized test scores over multiple years.
As explained in a guest blog this year by by FairTest's Lisa Guisbond, these measures use student standardized test scores to track the growth of individual students as they progress through the grades and see how much «value» a teacher has adde
As explained in a guest blog this year by by FairTest's Lisa Guisbond, these measures
use student
standardized test scores to track the growth
of individual students
as they progress through the grades and see how much «value» a teacher has adde
as they progress through the grades and see how much «value» a teacher has added.
Nor are voucher schools generally required to give parents the information necessary to determine whether the schools are meeting the needs
of their children, such
as standardized test scores (which the schools might not even administer to all their students), curriculum
used by the schools, or teacher qualifications.
Specifically, we predicted the percentage
of students at the district and school levels who
score proficient or above on their state's mandated
standardized tests, without
using any school - specific information such
as length
of school day, teacher mobility, computer - to - student ratio, etc..
• Value - added results, which have recently been touted
as a better way to
use standardized test scores, are actually no more accurate than year - to - year comparisons
of different groups
of students.
At the same time, their silence gives tacit support to arguments by traditionalists that
standardized testing should not be
used in evaluating teachers or for systemic reform (even when,
as seen this week from American Federation
of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and others critical
of the state education policy report card issued by Rhee's StudentsFirst, find it convenient to
use test score data for their own purposes).
Bucking a national trend, the new system will not
use standardized test scores as a direct measure
of performance.
KNOWLEDGE BRIEF 15 by Stephen Raudenbush Student
scores on
standardized tests are
used as measures for teacher accountability, but, arguably, helping children
score well on an achievement
test is
of little value in itself.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has just asked for a «pause» in implementation
of a controversial new teacher evaluation system that
uses student
standardized test scores to assess teachers
as well creation
of a task force to study the implementation
of the Common Core State Standards.
While the Department will likely add more academic performance measures in the future, for 2014 officials also included the level
of participation in state assessments, achievement gaps between students with disabilities and the general population
as well
as scores on the National Assessment
of Educational Progress, a
standardized test used to gauge academic growth across the country.
But the bill's requirement that the student
scores from the
Standardized Testing and Reporting programs be
used as part
of the evaluation drew bipartisan opposition and signaled the coming struggle that is likely to be waged.
The Performance Evaluation Advisory Council,
as the group is called, recommended eliminating the
scores in the calculation
of teachers» performance ratings, but continuing to
use the
standardized tests to help set goals for teachers and to shape professional development plans.
And hopefully, this time there will be a «reformer» out there who will explain how
standardized test scores are supposed to be interpreted and
used as part
of the teacher evaluation process?
The MTA opposes any
use of standardized tests when
scores are:
used as criteria for the reduction or withholding
of any educational funding;
In a guest editorial in Educational Leadership 20 years ago (April 1989), Art Costa suggested five approaches to «reassessing assessment»: (1) reestablish the school
as the locus
of accountability; (2) expand the range and variety
of the assessment techniques
used; (3) systematize this variety
of assessment procedures by developing schoolwide plans for collection and
use of information; (4) reeducate legislators, parents, board members, and the community to help them understand that
standardized test scores are inadequate indicators
of the quality
of schools, teachers, and students; and (5) remind ourselves that the purpose
of evaluation is to enable students to evaluate themselves.
Brown and the State Board balked at the stipulation that the state require districts to
use standardized test scores as a measure
of student academic growth when evaluating teachers.
So, in the minds
of the education reformers, the definition
of «rather than focusing on mandates from bureaucrats,» is to mandate yet another set
of standardized tests that will be given to all students, starting in middle school and then throughout high school, and then
using the
test, which has shown NO statistically relevant improvement
as one - quarter
of the entire «School Performance
Score» that parents and policymakers are supposed to
use to determine which schools are succeeding and which schools are failing.
The state has proposed
using English language arts and math
standardized test scores in grades 3 to 8, science
test scores when available, an English learner indicator, high school graduation rates, suspension rates, chronic absenteeism, college and career readiness, school climate, parent engagement and school conditions
as part
of its evaluation.
Many schools
use student
scores on
standardized tests for making decisions in terms
of grouping and class placement
as well
as other generalizations about the student.
Gary: with all due respect for those who post here, thank you for your patience with nit - picking, e.g., we could argue interminably over the
use of the terms «validity» and «reliability» and «bias»
as they are
used generally and
as they are
used in very specific ways by psychometricians when talking about the construction and administration
of standardized tests and the inferences that could be drawn about
test scores.
Much
of the discussion about the
use of student
standardized test scores to evaluate teachers has centered on how unfair the «value - added» method is to teachers because it is unreliable and can — and does — label effective teachers
as ineffective too often.
Using «Multiple Measures» Does Not Reduce
Testing: Combining standardized test scores with other kinds of information in teacher evaluation systems — known as the «multiple measures» strategy — does nothing to reduce the disruption testing brings to school routines and student le
Testing: Combining
standardized test scores with other kinds
of information in teacher evaluation systems — known
as the «multiple measures» strategy — does nothing to reduce the disruption
testing brings to school routines and student le
testing brings to school routines and student learning.
Rather than
using only
standardized test scores to calculate a school's letter grade, the new letter grade ratings will also consider how
scores for subgroups
of students
scores change over time,
as well
as graduation rates and Advanced Placement
test scores.
Judicious
Use of Test Scores:
Used judiciously, data from relatively infrequent, low - stakes
standardized tests has some value
as a snapshot
of student abilities that can diagnose areas
of strength and areas that need improvement.
The Times can say that
using standardized test scores to evaluate teachers is a sensible policy and Obama can say it and Education Secretary Arne Duncan can say it and Emanuel can say it and so can Bill Gates (who has spent hundreds
of millions
of dollars to develop it) and governors and mayor from both parties, and heck, anybody can go ahead and shout it out
as loud
as they can.
Policies that
use standardized test scores as the most important accountability measure for schools, teachers or students, and / or expand the
use of standardized testing in our schools.
In a study
of three districts
using standards - based evaluation systems, researchers found significant relationships between teachers» ratings and their students» gain
scores on
standardized tests, and evidence that teachers» practice improved
as they were given frequent feedback in relation to the standards.
The letter grade is based 80 percent on the school's achievement
score (which
uses various data including student performance on end -
of - grade and end -
of - course
standardized test scores) and 20 percent on students» academic growth (a measure
of students» performance in relation to their expected performance based on the prior year's
test results), resulting in a grade
of A, B, C, D, or F. «Low - performing districts» are those with over 50 percent
of their schools identified
as low - performing.
Research done over the past decade,
as well
as the perspective
of Connecticut's public school educators on the
use of the current teacher evaluation guidelines, has shown time and again how inappropriate it is to base the evaluation
of a teacher on
standardized test scores.
«Multimetric accountability systems should
use formative assessments, evidence
of student learning, and progress toward personal growth objectives to measure student and teacher success rather than rely on
standardized test scores as the primary reference point.»
The lawsuit demands that L.A. Unified follow a state law, known
as the Stull Act, that directs school districts to
use evidence
of student learning in job performance reviews, including state
standardized test scores.
As a result
of Superintendent Scarice's leadership, the democratically elected members
of the Madison School board, with the participation
of teachers, parents and the community, developed a model teacher evaluation system that did not include the
use of standardized tests scores.
The district's performance review system for teachers and administrators — which is in its second year
of testing and development —
uses standardized test scores as one measure
of how much a teacher has helped students progress.
But when the researchers compared California schools districts, based on their English learners»
standardized test scores and mastery
of English proficiency, and then followed up with site visits and interviews with administrators, they discovered that many
of the most successful districts viewed the Common Core
as a means to higher achievement for these students, and
used strategies in line with its goals to achieve their good results.
And Cizek conceded that the incentives to cheat have increased with a decade
of education policy that
uses scores on narrow
standardized tests as a factor in many school managerial decisions, such
as school funding, and in some cases, teacher pay.
However, to the dismay
of teachers, Governor Cuomo balked at a proposal by legislators to impose a two - year moratorium on the
use of Common Core
standardized test scores in teacher evaluations, saying, «There is a difference between remedying the system for students and parents and
using this situation
as yet another excuse to stop the teacher - evaluation process.»
Mental health issues such
as attention difficulties, delinquency, and substance
use are associated with lower academic achievement and attainment.77 Likewise, experiencing trauma is associated with lower
standardized test scores and an increased risk
of being diagnosed with a learning disability or behavioral disorder.78 When children experience trauma, it not only affects their own learning but also that
of their classmates.
I
use this example because a vast majority
of education equity attention today is focused on this «gap»
as measured in
standardized test score comparisons.
It took more than five months and the intervention
of a mediator to craft an evaluation that factors in
standardized test scores,
as well
as Academic Growth Over Time, a controversial mathematical formula
used to measure student progress.
I've previously posted about studies that have found that the laser - like focus on raising student
test scores often identifies teachers who are good at doing that, but those VAM - like measures tend to short - change educators who are good at developing Social Emotional or «non-cognitive skills» (see More Evidence Showing The Dangers Of Using High - Stakes Testing For Teacher Evaluation; Another Study Shows Limitations Of Standardized Tests For Teacher Evaluations; Study Finds Teachers Whose Students Achieve High Test Scores Often Don't Do As Well With SEL Skills and SEL Weekly Upda
test scores often identifies teachers who are good at doing that, but those VAM - like measures tend to short - change educators who are good at developing Social Emotional or «non-cognitive skills» (see More Evidence Showing The Dangers Of Using High - Stakes Testing For Teacher Evaluation; Another Study Shows Limitations Of Standardized Tests For Teacher Evaluations; Study Finds Teachers Whose Students Achieve High Test Scores Often Don't Do As Well With SEL Skills and SEL Weekly Up
scores often identifies teachers who are good at doing that, but those VAM - like measures tend to short - change educators who are good at developing Social Emotional or «non-cognitive skills» (see More Evidence Showing The Dangers
Of Using High - Stakes
Testing For Teacher Evaluation; Another Study Shows Limitations
Of Standardized Tests For Teacher Evaluations; Study Finds Teachers Whose Students Achieve High
Test Scores Often Don't Do As Well With SEL Skills and SEL Weekly Upda
Test Scores Often Don't Do As Well With SEL Skills and SEL Weekly Up
Scores Often Don't Do
As Well With SEL Skills and SEL Weekly Update).
Research demonstrates that social and emotional learning programs raise students»
standardized test scores by an average
of 11 percentile points, while improving attitudes, behavior, and interpersonal communication, and decreasing problematic conduct, such
as drug
use, high - risk sexual interaction, and aggression.