Debate: High-Stakes Testing (respond to my classmate work which means feedback)

Respond to your original post and provide your own opinion of high-stakes testing based on the evidence from the research and the responses of your classmates.  Did your thinking change after reading the research and your classmates’ viewpoints?  Share your concerns about high-stakes testing and how you think it may impact you as a future educator. 

By: Brandie Zerangue

I do not agree with high-stakes testing because these tests are unfair.  High-stakes testing have important consequences for not only students, but teachers and schools.  Low scores on these tests can prevent a student from progressing to the next grade, teachers could be fired, and schools could be closed (ProCon.org, n.d.).  Another reason I oppose testing is because they are truly unreliable.  A student could take the test and simply guess at the answers possibly getting them right and that does not prove that they actually know or understand what was taught to them.  The students are being pressured and stressed from these tests causing them to have anxiety and this may cause them to forget the correct answers as well.  Therefore, the scores on these tests can mislead us about genuine productivity (Nichols, & Berliner, 2008).  Lastly, the curriculum ends up being more of test preparation and then if the school scores low on these tests, the teachers are not teaching effectively and if they score high then they are doing their job.  It is not put into consideration that every child is different and teachers and schools  are being held accountable for students they never had much chance to teach (Nichols, & Berliner, 2008).

References

Nichols, S. L. & Berliner, D.C. (2008). Why has High-Stakes Testing so Easily Slipped into Contemporary American Life? The Education Digest, 74(4), 41-48. Retrieved from the Proquest database

ProCon.org.(n.d.).  Is the use of standardized tests improving education in America?  Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

Respond to your original post and provide your own opinion of high-stakes testing based on the evidence from the research and the responses of your classmates.  Did your thinking change after reading the research and your classmates’ viewpoints?  Share your concerns about high-stakes testing and how you think it may impact you as a future educator. 

By: Xiomara Garcia

a. Based on your research, provide at least 3 reasons for your position that is supported by the literature. You also want to provide solid examples to support each reason.

            High-stakes testing is a rather controversial topic in the realm of education. I personally oppose to high-stakes testing because “standardized tests are an unreliable measure of student performance. A 2001 study published by the Brookings Institution found that 50-80% of year-over-year test score improvements were temporary and "caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning” (ProCon.org).  I think testing is an unreliable measure of student performance because what if the students luckily bubbles in all the right answers and gets a perfect grade. Getting all the answers right doesn’t mean that the student is doing well in the classroom. Another reason why I oppose to high-stakes testing is that “instruction time is being consumed by monotonous test preparation. Some schools allocate more than a quarter of the year's instruction to test prep it takes away time from their class time” (ProCon.org) I think students should be spending more time learning different concepts rather than sitting for hours taking a test. Another reason why I strongly oppose to high-stakes testing is that standardized testing causes severe stress in younger students. According to education researcher Gregory J. Cizek, testing produces gripping anxiety in even the brightest students, and makes young children vomit or cry, or both”  (ProCon.org).  Students should not be having stress over testing; instead they should be given different opportunities where they can show that they are understanding the concept being taught. Perhaps, they can be given special projects, oral presentations or open ended- question to check for understanding.

Reference:

1.     ProCon.org.(n.d.).  Is the use of standardized tests improving education in America?  Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org/