High Stakes Testing Essay

B. High stake testing determines if a student will move forward a grade or not.

High Stakes Testing has been overly integrated in the education systems. High-stakes testing are used to determine grade retention, school curriculum, and whether or not students will receive a high school diploma (Myers, 2015). Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, high stakes testing has become the norm and mandating that students must pass a standardized test before moving up in grade. As a special education director, the focus is to ensure the student’s accommodations are being followed. Accommodations help increase students’ academic performance. “Both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) call for students with disabilities to participate in the general education curriculum and in testing programs to the maximum extent possible for each student (Luke and Schwartz, 2010).” Throughout the years, high stakes testing is becoming more common than ever before. The reality is high stakes testing is one indicator in evaluating children with specific needs. This paper will discuss, the violation of the statutory language regarding assessment based on IDEA, the strategies and goals of a remediation, staff training, common Core and PARCC assessment, and funding for the remediation plan under IDEA.

High stake test means that the results test can have major consequence for a student (Armstrong, Henson, & Savage, 2015). This is part of the reason the ESSA wants to change standardized testing. The ESSA wants to change standardized testing because high stakes testing is nerve racking for student and for teachers. The ESSA has proposed that schools should break these high stakes test, into parts that will be taken throughout the year. At the end of the year the separate test scores will be added up and averaged. Whatever the average score will then turn into their final score. Another one of the changes that the ESSA wants to put into place is to put a limit on the amount of alternative assessments that are given to students with disabilities (Strauss 2016). The ESSA states that they will “cap at 1 percent the proportion of students in a state who can be administered an alternative assessment for students with the most sever cognitive disabilities” (Strauss 2016). The ESSA, however will be lineate in the amount of students that need an alternative assessment as long as the state seeks a wavier to expand the amount of students that can take alternative assessments (Strauss

There are too many external factors that could influence a child’s test score, yet, we’ve allowed standardized testing to determine a child’s future. “For example, test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do.” (Kohn, 2000) The high amount of value American society places on standardized testing can cause a high amount of anxiety, which can be associated with a fear of failure. “While the pressure to perform well can act as a motivator, it can also be devastating to individuals who tie their self worth to the outcome of a test.” (Test Anxiety) Test anxiety can manifest itself in the form of an anxiety attack, which can cause symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and brain fog, among a multitude of other uncomfortable manifestations. Anxiety, along with many other factors, can alter a student’s ability to display their full potential. (Test

Education keeps evolving through time. However, it has been stagnant lately. We are in the period where high-stakes tests are one of the largest aspects in education. It has been like that for a few decades now. A large group of people seem to think that this is the perfect time for change. There are a lot of arguments going around opposing the implementation of high-stakes testing and vice versa. While doing the synthesis paper and proposal, I have noticed that most sources tend to talk about the collateral damage of high-stakes testing instead of its perks. As a result, I decided to interview an admissions officer, because I needed to hear from someone that should support the use of high-stakes testing. I needed to be able to understand both

High stakes testing lengthens customary discrimination and contributes to the achievement gap between whites and minorities. The powerfully embedded stereotype that African Americans execute poorly on high stakes tests unfortunately deters numerous African Americans' testing capability. Research has revealed that minorities statistically consume poorer high stakes test scores than whites due to the prevailing, concealed predispositions in the improvement and management of standardized tests and understanding of his/her scores (Berlak, 2001). Due to that prevailing stereotype, the success gap will not start to close until existing principles and evaluation examinations are considerably restructured. Today, an abundant more extensive population of students takes the standardized tests, and much of the dissimilarity in their performance replicates contradictory levels of prospect. This is not reasonable or respectable in a civilization that is progressively differentiated

I consider high stakes testing to be the biggest impact on my classroom each year and the issue that causes the biggest impact on my third graders. Testing is important to measure what and how well students learn and it also gives teachers and

Nichols, Glass, and Berliner (2012) states that “high stakes testing is the process of attaching significant consequences to standardized test performance with the goal of incentivizing

Teachers are expected to teach the students, so the test scores increase each time the test is taken. However, not every student is a great test taker, which then causes a negative reflection upon the teacher in charge of preparing the student. These results also impact the school, as they do not get funding if their students perform poorly on certain standardized tests. In school, students are taught from a young age that school should be enjoyable, they should be creative, innovative, and find a love for learning. Unfortunately, standardized tests, are not equipped to measure the above mentioned ways of learning..

“Pushing Back Against High Stakes for Students with Disabilities” is an article that focuses on the shortcomings of certain assessments such as the testing required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that is unfair for children with learning disabilities. The author brings to bear that unfair testing is frustrating for the children and has no value-add for their education. She continues by touting the fact that teachers cannot slow down and give extra time for topics that are difficult for the students but must move on due to the time constraints of the school year and policies of the school systems. The author calls for resistance to the mandated testing and demand a change to the system that is frustrating the education of children with learning disabilities but does not provide viable alternatives or methods to achieve them.

Testing accommodations for high-stakes tests have recently become a topic of conversation among state and federal legislators. In addition to those higher up, classroom teachers of exceptional students (special needs) have begun to question the validity of tests for their students. Due to the rising number of high-stakes tests that are administered, there have been a number of research studies completed in order to help prove whether or not accommodations are even worth the time. Accommodations can include extended time, read-aloud sessions, test response style, etcetera. In the studies that are mentioned, different types of accommodations were provided, different age groups in different areas of our country. These studies, while having a wide range of age in their participants, all agree on the fact that accommodations should be provided for tests. These studies provide important data

The stress for high test scores has been put on teachers so heavily that teachers have started cheating, reporting false scores and or giving their students answers to the tests. “In the year 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia there were 11 teachers convicted of racketeering” (Armstrong), because they cheated on the standardized tests. These instructors were told that if their class failed to meet a certain requirement on the test they would be punished by having their pay decreased. If the teacher’s classes met or exceeded the requirement then the teachers would be given a raise as a reward for teaching the students the information on the test. The teachers are so worried about their salary that they are willing to cheat on a test. There can be reasonable doubt that the students they gave answers to truly retained or learned any of the information taught to

Students are stressed. But, what is the goal of these tests? Are we trying to make students compete with one another to see who gets the higher score? Or are we preparing them for life outside of school? Maybe at one time these tests were used to measure how well the future leaders of our countries were learning, but now it is no longer like that. These tests seem to show no post-school value except to find the most successful kids and give them scholarships to college. Going along with this, everyone, depending on their grade, is required to take the same exact test. Despite their different ways of thinking, students are grouped together and the ones who are different are “wrong” simply because they were unable to learn it due to the way they were taught. Holding every single student to the same standards avoids the fact that everyone has a different mindset and each person may excel in different subjects. This poses a question: when will the system change? Students are held to such enormous pressure that when they meet the standards, they are convinced they’re stupid, and I struggle with this, too. However, it would be easier if all of the intimidation encountered when we are testing would just be withdrawn and students can be able to take a test, try their best, and if they don’t succeed, they can continue to work hard because, after all, a test shouldn’t determine how

There are many different types of standardized tests used in schools around the country, but “high-stakes” achievement tests in US elementary and secondary schools have produced

High Stake Testing- According to our textbook, high stake testing involves all students including those with disabilities participating in a standardized summative common assessment, which is mandated by the federal government. (Salend, 2016, pg 454) These assessments are used to measure mastery of benchmarks in the curriculum. (Salend, 2016, pg 454) These assessments are used and analyzed in order to make important decisions. The results of high stake testing can be used to make decisions about a student’s education program and promotion. They often are used to measure teaching effectiveness. The use of high stake testing is highly controversial. Many argue these tests are not an accurate depiction of a student’s abilities. Not every student is a good test taker, and other means of assessments could be used to measure student’s skills and abilities. It may also cause pressure on students as well as cause testing anxiety and lack of motivation in some students. (Salend, 2016, pg 455) Other consequences of high stake testing is that is puts too much reliance on a test to measure teacher effectiveness. It also puts a lot of pressure on teachers since they are often evaluated based on the results of students performance on the test. This may lead to teacher’s teaching to the test and may limit their creativity and time spent on other content outside of the test. There are alternative testing assessments and testing accommodations available for students with disabilities.