Accountability History

The use of standardized examinations have long been debated in American society. In fact, the last several years have seen an immense shift from the prioritization of standardized testing to more holistic measurements of student achievement. Despite this shift, many school districts across the nation and college/university entrance requirements still place a significant, if not pivotal, emphasis on test-taking and standardized exam results. Throughout this paper, I will explore 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) arguments for and against its practice, as well as 3) situate the consequences of its use in one of the three philosophical goals of schooling. All of this will subsequently paint an investigation into the purpose of schooling in American society.

While standards and assessments tell us whether students are gaining the skills and knowledge they need, accountability systems say that if they aren’t, schools and districts have to take steps to improve. This expectation of action is critical if we want all students to graduate high school ready for whatever they wish to do next – be it attend college, train for a job that will allow them to support a

These tests will provide teachers and administrators a diagnosis of how the school is performing and in which areas the school needs to improve on. This will also inform policymakers which schools are doing well and why. Then that technique can be applied to schools in which the scores were not meeting standards. President Bush and the U.S. Congress have challenged educators to set high standards and hold students, schools and districts accountable for results. (Dept. of Ed, 2004)

Welner (2014) states that “standardized assessments are linked to curriculum standards and performance standards and tied to specified consequences” (p. 39). Welner discuses that the standard-based testing in American schools are a mess and need to be untangled because of the consequences of underperformance. Schools are defunded, teachers and principals are laid off, and schools are marked as ‘failing’. There needs to be a reform in schools that need academic improvement and the way to figure out which schools need development is by testing the students. Jones & King and McLaughlin & Overturf provide different feedback on standard-based testing. According to McLaughlin & Overturf (2012), “Using formative assessments is not only an effective way to monitor student progress, but also a viable way to glean information for planning future instructions” (p.157). In order for teachers to know if their lessons are effective or not, teachers give standard-based tests and assessments to their students. Without tests, student progress cannot be tracked in a concise manner. Jones & King (2012) agree that by building new assessments and curricula, American schools are redefining success (p.37). That success can also come at a price when dealing with more rigorous standards that are new to the

Standardized testing had only been added to America’s public education curriculum when “the common school movement began in earnest in the 1830s in New England as reformers… began to argue successfully for a greater government role in the schooling of all children” (“Common School”). “By 1845 in the United States, public education advocate Horace Mann was calling for standardized essay testing” (Mathews), because he believed that “political stability and social harmony depended on universal education” (“Common School”), and that these tests would help teachers “find and replicate the best teaching methods so that all children could have equal opportunities” (Gershon). There weren’t any other well known attempts at standardized testing until “the College Entrance Examination Board—… or SAT—began in the 1920s” (Gershon). Later “in the 1960s, the federal government started pushing new achievement tests designed to evaluate instructional methods and schools” (Gershon), because the Cold War “fueled a space race and increased pressure on U.S. schools to show improvement” (Mathews). However, it wasn’t “until the mid-1970s, when the College Board revealed that average SAT scores had been falling since 1963” (Mathews), that the country realized “public school standards were too low” (Mathews). This is the reason why “Congress created the National Assessment Governing Board” (Mathews), an organization which ”established new standards for the National Assessment of Educational

Have you ever felt the pressure of high-stakes testing as a student, a teacher, an administrator or even as a parent? The goals of federal and state governments of high stakes testing are to improve schools. The government believes if there are negative consequences tied to standardized test performance then teachers and students will work harder which will increase test scores. The use of standardized testing dates back several decades but with the passing of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, high stakes testing is mandated nationwide. The article, High Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Updated Analyses with NAEP Data, is a follow-up study about the relationship of high-stakes testing accountability and student achievement.

Standardized Testing is not as reliable as many would like to believe, especially since recent legislation has turned the annual event into high-stakes testing. These high-stakes tests are used to evaluate learning and teaching in the classroom, identify students for special programs or grade promotion, and hold accountable educational institutions, with the consequences ranging from holding a student back, to a teacher losing their job, to an entire school closing down (StateUniversity, n.d.). Standardized testing has become an unfair "one size fits all" approach that has opened the door to unethical practices that ultimately render these tests invalid for the purpose of evaluating an educational institution as a whole. Variations to the standardized

Standardized tests have been a piece of education dating back to the 1800’s. Letdowns in education have been blamed on teacher quality, rising levels of poverty, tenure policies, and more so the widespread use of standardized testing. Many different typed of standardized tests are being used, but the ones that have triggered the most controversy are the high-stakes assessments. While past generations of students in America have had to go through tests, the tests were not given so frequently and they did not play such a obvious role in education. Exams used to be given mostly to determine where students would be placed or what kind of assistance they needed, but lately scores have been published in the papers and used as the main standards for judging teachers, children, and schools. Through my research I have found that there are just as many people for standardized tests as are against.

Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education, said “We must take care to make our public schools once again the pride of our nation” (Ravitch 260). At this point in time, the testing process that most, if not, all schools have adopted is proving to be an impediment to our education system that many are not proud of. Students today are more focused on getting the grade rather than the knowledge and experience that is needed for their future. Standardized testing, in a nutshell, could be a positive policy for today’s students. The execution of these baseline tests are not conducive to learning or measuring a student’s true ability or intelligence due to the emphasis on passing tests instead of actual learning and critical thinking skills, as well as having the same parameters for every student regardless of their situation. The current state of our standardized education system is leaving our students with a massive educational impairment.

Standardized tests have been around for hundreds of years. The test originated in the 1800’s. The test was created by Horace Mann. The test was to decide how students were mastering their current level of work and whether they should proceed to the next level. There were no negative consequences associated with the tests or scores. After the publication of the Coleman Report (Coleman et al., 1966), which took an in depth look into the education system and analyzed how the education system affected student achievement, the use of standardized achievement tests for accountability became the trend. It was all about everyone involved in the education of a body of students should be held accountable for the learning and teaching of those students. The teachers and others involved had to answer to the political bodies that were providing funding for the education system. In 2001 the No Child Left Behind Act was passed under the administration of President Bush. The act is based on improving instructional outcomes for students with disabilities. The

Under the current policy of No Child Left Behind, standards and assessments rest tightly at the national education policy, and remain the strongest force on policy and practice. However, despite the important role of high-stakes testing in the effort to improve America’s public education system, there have been numerous effects on schools, teachers, and students.

In recent changes occurring in many different states, questions have been rising about school requirements and regulations. Now is the time that school districts are determining whether to change the curriculum or to modify the way objectives are carried out. One major issue being discussed is standardized tests. Standardized tests are tests that require all students taking the test to answer the same set of questions, so it can be scored equally in every state or county that is taking it. These tests are meant to test a student’s knowledge and understanding, but over the past few years that is not the case. Standardized testing as a government requirement should be limited because not all assessments truly test student learning and

The notion of accountability of government and schools lies at the heart of standardized testing (Norris,

Although testing has been around for a long time, I instinctively believe that testing doesn’t give a clear picture of student’s achievement. Thus, I make strong connection to the following quote: “A central question has been whether accountability policies and standardized testing helping or harming those children the polices are most often designed to serve” (Skrla, p.11). For instance, when I analyzed and interpreted the TAPR of Richard J Wilson Elementary school, I found valuable information that all teachers should know at the beginning of every school year. Specifically, when I examined the categories of testing and the students’ performance on individual TEKS. This practice would allow teachers to have a clear picture of what exact skills and content knowledge students are expected to achieve throughout the school year.

The United States has been focused on accountability and enforcing an academic reform in the education field. The academic reform is holding students, teachers, principals, and schools responsible for their achievement. There are different systems in the United States to measure the achievement and making sure the schools are up to par. The system talked about in “Houston, We Have a Problem: Teachers Find No Value in the SAS Education Value-Added Assessment System” is the SAS EVAAS model. The SAS EVAAS model was one of the first models and is said to be one of the most reliable models used.