Creating a portfolio of assessments would allow schools to truly see what a student can do without creating a ridiculous amount of stress on all involved. It is time for a change! ATPE works hard to reduce standardized testing for public school students.
See TeachtheVote. Back to Magazine Contents. What can we do about all this testing? Oh No! Summative tests, such as a final exam that measures how much was learned but offers no opportunities for a student to improve, have been found to be less effective.
Teachers should tread carefully with test design, however, as not all tests help students retain information. Though multiple choice tests are relatively easy to create, they can contain misleading answer choices—that are either ambiguous or vague—or offer the infamous all-, some-, or none-of-the-above choices, which tend to encourage guessing. While educators often rely on open-ended questions, such short-answer questions, because they seem to offer a genuine window into student thinking, research shows that there is no difference between multiple choice and constructed response questions in terms of demonstrating what students have learned.
All students do not do equally well on multiple choice tests, however. Researchers hypothesize that one explanation for the gender difference on high-stakes tests is risk aversion, meaning girls tend to guess less. Giving more time for fewer, more complex or richer testing questions can also increase performance, in part because it reduces anxiety. Known by various names proficiency-based, competency-based , they require students to produce work that demonstrates high-level thinking and real-world applications.
Examples include an experiment illustrating understanding of a scientific concept, group work that addresses complex problems and requires discussion and presentation, or essays that include analysis of a topic.
Portfolio-based assessments emphasize the process of learning over letter grades and normative performance. Portfolios can be made up of physical documents or digital collections.
They can include written assignments, completed tests, honors and awards, art and graphic work, lab reports, or other documents that demonstrate either progress or achievement.
Portfolios can provide students with an opportunity to choose work they wish to reflect on and present. Determining which systems of evaluation work best in specific circumstances and is an ongoing challenge for education administrators. Addressing the most critical challenges facing educators, including fair and accurate assessment of academic achievement, requires administrators with exceptional leadership and policy expertise.
Discover how the Online EdD in Education Policy and Leadership at American University prepares educators to create equitable learning environments and effect positive change.
EdD vs. In collaboration with districts, states can identify and support schools and students in need. The Education Department does provide states with the opportunity to give shorter, remote or delayed test versions based on the impact that the pandemic is having on schools, but this is not enough.
It does not help the current crisis at hand. The decision is not based on research or a sound understanding of how assessment, accountability and reporting are relevant to improving student outcomes. Negative consequences include the loss of valuable opportunities to learn due to testing preparation, the narrowing of curriculum to focus on tested standards, and the stigmatization of students and schools as failing or in need of intervention based on faulty interpretations of what test scores actually mean.
The notion that testing during the pandemic is important for the advancement of educational equity is also misleading.
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