The Integrated Algebra Test Sampler Fall 2007 Essay

Similarly, many teachers, statewide, feel that these exams that no significant value towards a student’s overall intelligence. According to a survey by both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Scholastic, of more than ten-thousand public school teachers, this report has found that teachers

Successful ACT test takers may have no interest in college, yet they may be accepted and attend on scholarship money from the school because of the high ACT scores. This student might waste time and money in college because he or she has no real interest in school; he or she was simply good at taking multiple-choice tests. An essay question addressing and assessing the student's potential and desire to learn might have caught the unmotivated student before he or she entered college. Multiple-choice questions determining reading comprehension and grammar skills can easily be substituted with a different,

According to Table 1.2, the following categories fell within close range to the mean: number sense, attends to print, basic reading, articulation, communication (receptive), matching, pre-writing, colors, and shapes. It is evident through this data analysis that most students are at the emerging stage of ability levels, implicating that they require some level of prompting to ensure they produce a correct response. It is concluded that students require continued instruction with addition, reading, and working independently are skills that require continued instruction. Division, multiplication, graphing, and telling time were areas that all students found to be the most challenging, thus these findings confirmed my original assumptions,

Also, since objective testing cannot measure understanding and application on real-life situations, all assessments will be take-home, essay type with a rubric that teachers will provide while they explain about the homework assignment after the lecture (Woolfolk, 2015, p. 579). This is for easing students’ anxiety on assessment, especially since ELL students have language issues and the content of this seminar can be seen as harder for them than what they have experienced in any other regular ELL classes. Furthermore, the assessment on the mock conference will be considered as a performance assessment that requires students to lead the activity and produce outcomes that demonstrate their understanding on the material (p.

* I work with large groups of learners, with a diverse age range, who might not have been in a learning or classroom environment for many years. Therefore, it’s essential that I conduct a thorough initial assessment along with college initial innumeracy and literacy assessments to identify potential barriers to learning and remove them as far as possible.

Presently there is a rising number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering into classrooms all over the country. According to the three research studies that I utilized, there are several varied assessment approaches for teaching ELLs in reading (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). English Language Learners (ELLs) consistently struggle with some aspects of reading because, they lack background knowledge in terms of the generalized text selections, which they are often given (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). The data across all three journal documents agrees that there is an achievement gap where ELLs

standardized tests is that they lack a level of comprehension and are incapable of succeeding in the educational system. This belief is especially prevalent in regards to high stakes tests such as college entrance and high school graduation exams because the focus is on the test score. The perception is that these scores are the sole indicator of the student’s knowledge of a subject and their ability to succeed at a higher level of education. Therefore,

The use of standardized testing to measure students’ knowledge is an inaccurate reflection of their capabilities. By being forced to take a test that does not effectively show their abilities, students become overstressed, and the tests themselves do not promote true academic achievement. Rather than learning about subjects in order to gain knowledge, students simply memorize facts and formulas to get a decent test score. Standardized tests are not an appropriate measure of student performance, only benefit certain groups of students, and do not prepare students for the real world.

The data from the 3rd grade FSA ELA assessment reflects four tested areas that include Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge, and Language and Editing. The data indicates that Integration of Knowledge is the lowest performing area for 3rd grade students in the 2016-2017 cohort. There was a total of 8 questions on the FSA ELA assessment in the area of Integration of Knowledge. Students who scored an overall level 1 scored a mean average of 1.95 in this area. Students who scored an overall level 2, scored a mean average of 2.38 in this area. Students who scored an overall level 3, scored a mean average of 3.79 in this area. Students who scored an overall level 4, scored a mean average of 4.47 in this area. Students

Standardized testing has made a huge impact not only on our educational system, it has also had a negative impact on certain groups of students. One of the groups of students that have been affected by standardized testing the most are English Language Learners (ELL). ELL’s are expected to take and pass a test that they are not able to read and understand. It is not fair to make students take a test in a language that they are still learning and will not be able to comprehend. Although there are modified tests for ELL’s to take hardly any of them can qualify for it. They are left taking a test they are not able to understand. Different accommodations should be made to help the ELL’s who do not qualify for the modified test, but are also not qualified to take the regular test.

There are some students that are strong test takers and some that are not. There are multiple methods to assess a student that does not require them to memorize facts or terms that may or may not be presented on a test (teaching to the test). Teachers are more aware of their student’s reading levels by providing appropriate classroom assessments and instruction throughout the year. The standardized tests more or less provide positive and negative data that can negatively impact students’ self-esteem and motivation by providing labels making reading a negative experience. Teacher and student morale can decrease as well as funding depending on the scores of these tests or single indicators of student and teacher achievement (Afflerbach, 2012). The time, energy and money that are used to prepare students and teachers do not seem to justify the benefits of taking standardized

This literacy gap affects students’ abilities to access core textbooks and communicate and write effectively within the various subject areas. The literacy gap catches up to many of our students as they enter high school and feel overwhelmed by the challenges of increasing academic standards and more difficult vocabulary. Because they not only lack the language that will help them access and understand their classes, many students struggle with content-area reading and writing in these subjects. This could be an easy fix if the instructors that stood before these students were able to take the mastery of their content and adapt it as it deems appropriate for the young minds they are partly responsible for. Children who lack the academic language of school struggle to meet literacy requirements, and they often feel overwhelmed in the classroom. This is just the beginning of the spiral because once the students have met that stage of being overwhelmed, they often begin thinking of the short term way of dealing with this, which could be anything from completely giving up and having the grades that show this or actually dropping out.

As one test ends, both students and teachers begin to prepare for the next. Instead of seeking to gain knowledge and fuel curiosity about the world, scholars are more concerned about memorizing the definitions of vocabulary words likely to appear on the next examination. Throughout their years of education, many students have experienced the effects of over testing. A typical American student takes an average of 112 mandated standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade (Layton). America’s competitive desire to keep up with other countries academically has led to over testing, which narrows curriculum, creates a stressful environment for students and teachers, and decreases creativity. To combat this issue,

40 percent of students which are the majority of student read from their textbooks preparing for the exam, and just 24.8% who are read before coming to class. (Baier, K., Hendricks, C., Warren Gorden, K., Hendricks, J.E., & Cochran, L. (2011). That means students

Currently, instructors are pressured by state education department to adjust school curricula to meet the expectations of the standardized test. Educators alter the curriculum to “match the [standardized] test” (“How Standardized”). Therefore, instructors are limited and classroom instruction is focused around test preparation for the annual standardized test. Teachers are forced to abandon their creative lessons and “teach the test,” or concentrating only on the material that will be evaluated (“How Standardized”). This frequently involves taking multiple choice tests that are formatted identically to the standardized test and only memorizing facts, formulas, and items included only on the standardized tests (“How Standardized”). Even though test scores may improve, students are not learning how to think critically and perform better in other subjects that are not on the test (“How Standardized”). Instructional time is limited in the other subject areas such as science, social studies, music, and art. Instructors feel “handicapped” and plead to state officials abandon these standardized tests for the sake of the “quality of the instruction in American schools” (Zimmerman 206). School curricula are being modified only to prepare students for a single test, not for education the students need in the future.