April 2008 — News
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Accountability, Yes. Teaching to the Test, No.
Since the 1950s, standardized test scores have been used to compare and rank schools, districts, states, and now nations, according to Rick Stiggins (2007), founder of the Educational Testing Service's Assessment Training Institute. In a commentary on assessment myths, he posed a question that has probably been discussed since standardized testing was chosen as the large-scale measure of effectiveness of schools: "Are we helping students and teachers with our assessment practices, or contributing to their problems?" (p. 28).
The public wants an accountability system that works the way it should so that key stakeholders will know whether state academic content standards have been met. When assessments are properly designed, how can we not defend the things we identify that are important for students to know and be able to do? But, which assessments are we referring to? The single once-per-year standardized test? I cringe when I hear teachers say they find themselves teaching to their state test, when instruction should to be focused on the standards.
The controversy surrounds what critics say is a system that is not working the way it should. In answering the above question, there is little doubt in educators' minds that the current system mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has contributed to problems. Students are caught in the middle. In some cases, teachers voice fears about losing their jobs, if their students don't perform well on those standardized tests. Unfortunately, such testing has become synonymous with NCLB. The consequence: What gets left behind in key decision making are the "day-to-day classroom assessments, which represent 99.9 percent of the assessments in a student's school life" (Stiggins, 2007, p. 28).
Old System Flawed
I can understand the granular focus on standards in the current movement. One might say that school districts themselves have historically contributed to problems encountered with learning, although it is shocking to even say that. This certainly has not been their intent. It came as no surprise when Stiggins (2007) noted that for decades teachers typically have not been thoroughly trained during their pre-service preparation or while teaching to assess accurately and use assessment productively. Having taught for over 30 years in more than one state and in several school districts, I've seen many instances of poor teaching practices, inconsistencies in what is taught, and great differences in classroom grading procedures. I have heard teachers say, "Just let me alone in my classroom to do my own thing. I know what is important for these kids to learn." Collaboration among teachers was minimal, and even if they wanted to, the teaching day was scheduled in such a way as to make this nearly impossible to do. Thus, two teachers of the same subject might differ considerably on what they deemed important, resulting in assessments that also varied in content and difficulty.
