Is the US Obsessed With Testing

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Testing Obsession? 1

Running Head: TESTING OBSESSION?

Is there a Testing Obsession in US Public Schools?

J. Autumn Barker

Strayer University

Education 510

Dr. Brand


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Standardized tests are tests given to students that are administered, scored, and

interpreted in a methodical and systematic way. Because many students sit for these

tests, a normative reference group can be created allowing for comparisons between

classrooms, schools, and regions (Arrington, 2008). With the passage of No Child Left

Behind, testing has taken on a more serious roll. Now identified as high-stakes testing,

these standardized tests have severe consequences should schools not pass at the states

assigned level. The school districts pass some of this pressure onto teachers and students

by requiring passage of tests to determine if students could be retained, to set the

curriculum standards, and in some cases, to determine if students would be granted high

school diplomas (Myers, 2008).

The No Child Left Behind policy mandates that each student be assessed in math

and English/reading in third through fifth grades, once in grades six through nine, and

then once more in grades ten through twelve. The act goes on to require that each state

set rigorous academic standards. The state sets the level at which they see fit and then

evaluate each schools annual yearly progress against the set levels. No Child Left

Behind expects that all students will be proficient by 2014. If schools do not meet the

prescribed level, meaning they have not met the annual yearly progress standard,

sanctions and penalties are imposed. Should this happen year after year, the penalties

become stiffer and harsher. Sanctions can include that students can leave the school,

teachers and staff can be removed, and schools can have their federal funding pulled and

ultimately be closed down (Myers, 2008).


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This sort of testing has lead to teachers doing everything humanly possible to

prepare their students for the tests. Because in some cases, teachers pay or job depends

on test scores, even more pressure is put on the instructors. Stress like this can lead to

teachers forgoing any skills or topics that will not be covered on the tests. This can also

lead to programs such as band, art, and even social studies being cut because these

subjects are not emphasized on the tests. Teachers can also start to teach the test, cutting

life skills and enrichment activities out of the classroom. Classroom assessments also

begin to look like the standardized tests, assessing the students the same ways as the state

evaluation do. This cuts creativity and critical thinking to a minimum (Myers, 2008).

The undue pressure takes a toll on instructors and students. Teachers leave the

education field, burned out from the continuous testing. Students also suffer. With one

test discounting an entire years worth of work or in the case of senior exit exams, many

years of work, students are experiencing test anxiety and decreases in their levels of

motivation. Myers (2008) states that a students attitude toward assessment plays a

considerable role in testing performance. Because many districts and teachers take a do-

or-die outlook on testing, anxiety levels have skyrocketed, leading to lower student

performance and poor test scores. High-stakes testing also decreases student motivation

levels and can also increase dropout rates (Amrein & Berliner, 2003). Many assume that

the rewards and consequences assigned with the high-stakes tests motivate those who are

unmotivated. However, this has the opposite effect. Students become more unmotivated

and ultimately are less likely to critically think about subjects. When the tests have such

huge meaning, teachers are less likely to encourage student exploration on the topics in

class. This stops students from becoming lifelong learners and can estrange students


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from their own learning. When asked about testing, students draw a dim picture of their

feelings. They see them selves and their peers as anxious, angry, bored, pessimistic, and

withdrawn (Amrein & Berliner, 2003). Is this the way as educators, as policy makers, as

parents, we wish to have our students feel about learning, testing, and assessment?

Clearly the obsession over one test score has gone overboard. There must be a better

way.

With students quoted as saying Im so sick of caring about those tests,

undoubtedly there is a problem. Robert Sternberg, dean of Tufts Universitys School of

Arts and Sciences agrees. The problem is not the tests themselves. They are assigned a

value way beyond what they actually have. It has become more like a cult (Strauss,

2006). The question lies in how this problem is combated. Without a doubt, the high-

stakes testing policies are to blame for reducing motivation to learn, driving both teachers

and student from schools, and leading to all-in-all, less educated people. There are better

predictors of student achievement than one test score. Though testing costs less and

makes teachers and students appear busy, it will not better educate students (Amrein &

Berliner, 2003). RAND Corporation was used to account for differences in achievement

scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. When RAND

held constant family income and education level, there were four consistent and powerful

predictors of NAEP achievement state spending per student, pre-kindergarten

participation, class size, and the teacher feeling as if they had all the necessary resources

to do their jobs (Sacks, 2000). With information of this nature, it is undoubtedly time to

abandon the high-stakes testing. Rather than punishing schools, teachers, and students

when poor performance occurs, more formative testing should be done. This type of


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testing could result in more appropriate reforms, fiscally, intellectually, and socially,

making much more of a positive difference to those schools (Amrein & Berliner, 2003).

The pressure and stress put on the teachers and students with high-stakes testing is

unfair. The obsession of the USs educational system and government officials who

continue to press for only test scores and the high-stakes assigned to the tests are only

harming the students. When looking more clearly at the test results, giving support to

students, teachers, and schools is the only way this obsession can be reversed and a

healthier relationship between students and testing can be created.


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References

Amrein, A.L. and Berliner, D.C. (2003). The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Student

Motivation and Learning.Educational Leadership, Feb. 2003, pp. 32 38.

Arms, E. (n.d.) What Every Parent Should Know About Standardized Testing.

Retrieved June 13, 2009, from http://family.go.com/parenting/pkg-

learning/article-205674-what-every-parent-should-know-about-standardized-

testing-t/.

Arrington, E. (2008). Testing and Evaluation. Research Starters: Academic Topic

Overviews. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from EBSCO Research Starters database.

Austin, A. (2008). American High School Students Dont Know Who Hitler Was.

Retrieved June 13, 2009, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/american-high-

school-students-dont-know-who-hitler-was.html.

Cooper, G. (2007). Definition of Assessment. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from

http://tep.uoregon.edu/workshops/teachertraining/learnercentered/assessing/defini

tion.html.

Myers, S. (2008). High-Stakes Testing. Research Starters: Academic Topic Overviews.

Retrieved June 13, 2009, from EBSCO Research Starters database.

Sacks, P. (2000). High-Stakes Tests are Leaving Schools and Students Consumed by a

Cult of Measurement. The School Administrator, Dec. 2000, nn pp.

Strauss, V. (2006). The Rise of Testing Culture. The Washington Post, A09. Retrieved

June 13, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2006/10/09/AR2006100900925.html.


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Is the US Obsessed With Testing