No Child Left Behind
Standardized testing has become the archetype of public education in the United States, and the results are generally accepted as valid assessment of educational accomplishment. With an increase in standardized testing the pressure to raise scores begins, which in turn can lead to score pollution, which alters the validity of test score results. Standardized tests are based in behaviorist psychological theories from the nineteenth century. While our understanding of the brain and how people learn and think has progressed enormously, tests have remained the same. Behaviorism assumed that knowledge could be broken into separate parts and that people learned by passively absorbing these parts. Today, cognitive and developmental psychologists understand that knowledge is not separable parts and that people (including children) learn by connecting what they already know with what they are trying to learn. If they cannot actively make meaning out of what they are doing, they do not learn or remember. But most standardized tests do not incorporate the modern theories and are still based on recall of isolated facts and narrow skills. (Fairtest.org, 2006). Should standardized tests be used to assess the quality of educators and/or the success of schools? There are two possible answers: The tests and testing methods are suitable, or the use of standardized tests should be evaluated and changed.
Independent and Dependent Variables
In order to develop an appropriate solution to the problem, the variables must be identified. The dependent variable is the variable whose value is the result or a function of the control or independent variables. (Cooper & Schindler, 2003). In the standardized test setting, the dependent variable is the measurement of a student's knowledge (or lack thereof), and the independent variable is the standardized tests.
Much of the research process of educational attainment has been guided by three questions: a) to what degree does achievement depend on factor is that are not under an individual's control? b) What are the social and psychological mechanisms of this dependence? and c) to what extent do ability, aspiration, and effort depend on factors other than the individual's experiences and previous achievements? (Entwisle, 1988) A study was completed in 18 states with to determine if the programs were affecting student learning. In analyzing the results, the findings suggest that in all but one case, student learning is indeterminate, remains at the same level, or decreases with the implementation of testing. Several states already administer tests which can have a significant impact on school assessment and funding.
"What Do Test Scores in Texas Tell Us?" (Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey & Stecher, 2000) raises serious questions about the validity of gains in reported scores. The paper also cautions about the danger of making decisions to sanction or reward students, teachers, and schools on the basis of test scores that may be inflated or misleading. Schools and districts use results from standardized testing as a tool to decide where more attention should be directed. Multiple-choice tests, the norm in standardized testing, are a poor yardstick of student performance. They do not measure the ability to write, to use math, to make meaning from text when reading, to understand scientific methods or reasoning, or to grasp social science concepts. Nor do these tests adequately measure thinking skills or assess what people can do on real-world tasks.
Standardized, multiple choice tests were not originally designed to provide help to teachers. Classroom surveys show teachers do not find scores from standardized tests very helpful, so they rarely use them. The tests do not provide information that can help a teacher understand what to do next in working with a student because the tests do not indicate how the student learns or thinks. (Fairtest.org, 2006).
Sample Size
Sample sizes were selected student populations who took the TAKS test (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, previously known as the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) and AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) from years 2000 to 2006.
Background and Research Approach
As previously stated, standardized testing has become the archetype of public education in the United States. These scores have become generally accepted as a valid form of educational accomplishment. Most states started their own testing due to the law that was passed by President George W. Bush, known as "No Child Left Behind".
Recognizing the universal importance of education, the federal government assumed a larger role in financing public schools with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965. Through subsequent reauthorizations, ESEA has continued to assist the states. In 2001, the reauthorization included No Child Left Behind, which asks the states to set standards for student performance and teacher quality. The law establishes accountability for results and improves the inclusiveness and fairness of American education. No Child Left Behind is the 21st-century iteration of this first major federal foray into education policy - a realm that is still mainly a state and local function, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers. (No Child Left Behind, 2006).
No Child Left Behind ensures accountability and flexibility as well as increased federal support for education. African American, Hispanic, special education, limited English proficient and other students were left behind because schools were not held accountable for their individual progress. Under No Child Left Behind, every state is required to set standards for grade-level achievement and develop a system to measure the progress of all students and subgroups of students in meeting those state determined grade-level standards. (NCLB).
Samples
Sample data from Arizona and Texas schools was compared, and the United States Department of Education website provided additional information.
AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards)
In Arizona, the state performed conclusive testing prior to implementation of the AIMS test. The Arizona Board of Education started tracking statistical data with a pre-AIMS test in 2001 and continued to track the statistical data when the AIMS test was passed into law. (Arizona Department of Education, 2006).
In 1996 the Arizona legislature passed a law that reflected a strong demand from the public that there be an objective measure to make sure that students with diplomas have the proficiencies expected of high school graduates. Newly adopted legislation relates to the graduation requirements of students with Individual Education Plan Programs (IEPs) or 504 Plans (refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies that no one with a disability can be excluded from participating in federally funded programs or activities, including elementary, secondary or postsecondary schooling). According to this amendment, students with IEPs or 504 Plans shall not be required to achieve passing scores on competency tests in order to graduate from high school unless a passing score on a competency test is specifically required in a specific academic area by the student's IEP or 504 Plan. (Arizona Department of Education, 2006).
The first analysis reviewed on Arizona scores includes a report on the Class of 2002, the first complete examination of the AIMS high school passage rate. The second analysis compares the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standard between 2001 and 2002. The third analysis compares the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standard over a two-year period (2000 to 2002). The data shown in this report for 2002 have been adjusted to accommodate for English Language Learners (ELL) to maintain consistency with the 2000 and 2001 data. In addition, the meeting or exceeding category in high school writing includes students who completed the requirement by obtaining a meets (an average trait score of 4 or more) on the extended writing portion of the assessment plus an approaches scale score overall. (Arizona).
Over the course of three years, approximately 88% of the Class of 2002 met or exceeded the standard on the high school reading exam and 73% met or exceeded the standard on the high school writing exam. In mathematics, only the results for 2001 and 2002 are shown because the 2000 AIMS high school mathematics assessment was not focused to concentrate on core mathematics skills and is not comparable to the content of the 2001 and 2002 assessments. The progress of the first high school cohort in mathematics will not be complete until after the 2003 assessment. (Arizona Department of Education, 2006).
The mean scale scores for reading across all grade levels tested show little change for grades 3, 5, and 8 over the three years of 2000, 2001, and 2002. For grade 10 there is a decrease from year to year. Grades 11 and 12 show little change from year to year. An increase from year to year for grade 3 reading was noted, with little change for grades 5 and 8, and a decrease from year to year for grade 10. Other than the increase at grade 11 from 2001 to 2002, grades 11 and 12 means are similar from year to year. 88% of the graduating class of 2002 met or exceeded the standards in reading in 3 years. 73% of the Class of 2002 met or exceeded the standards in writing in 3 years. (Arizona).
In elementary schools, percentage of students meeting or exceeding the reading standard increased or remained stable at all grade levels from 2001 to 2002 with the largest increase (3%) at fifth grade. Over 2 years (2000-2002), the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in reading has declined by 7% at fifth grade. The percentage of students meeting or exceeding the writing standard increased at all grade levels from 2001 to 2002 with the largest increase (5%) at fifth grade. Over 2 years (2000-2002), the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in writing has declined by 2% at third grade and 5% at eighth grade. For mathematics, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standard increased at all grade levels from 2001 to 2002 with the largest increase (6%) at third grade. Over 2 years (2000-2002), the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in mathematics has increased by 10% at third grade and 11% at fifth grade. (Arizona).
Texas TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills)
In 2005, TAKS results specific to the Dallas Independent School District were as follows: In grade 3, an overall gain in reading of 2.2 points was achieved in Reading, but the District lost 3.1 points in Mathematics. African American and Economically Disadvantaged subgroups received the lowest test scores in mathematics, while Whites experienced the lowest scores in Reading.
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