The Effects of Middle School Standardized Testing: Teacher Perceptions

by

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE1

Introduction2

The History Of Standardized Testing3

Student Achievement and the Block Schedule5

Middle School Test Georgia CRCT10

High-Stakes Testing15

What are High-Stakes Tests?19

Evaluation of Standardized Tests as High-Stakes20

Standardized Testing22

Reasons for Standardized Testing27

The Factors of Standardized Testing32

No Child Left Behind33

Pros and cons of NCLB34

NCLB wavier35

Impact of High-Stakes Testing and Accountability Policies on Schools37

Morale of Teachers42

Teachers' Attitude44

Summary47

REFERENCES52

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature essential to the study of grading practices and their connection with standardized testing achievement. The effect of the current high-stakes testing atmosphere on children and teacher's perceptions in the United States was the basis of the focus for this study. High-stakes standardized testing was a much publicized issue in the United States during the end of the twentieth century and into the first decade of the twenty-first century. Originally established to provide accountability and ensure the educational system was responsive to every child regardless of socioeconomic, race, gender, or ethnic representation, questions have now arisen concerning the effects and value of standardized tests and the consequences of focusing on test scores for the educational system and individual students.

Many states attached a broad range of consequences for students, teachers, and schools based on standardized test scores. Students unable to score at benchmark levels might be retained, which had a direct correlation to dropout rates. Teachers might be required to teach a curriculum based on the scope of the test, which reduced the curriculum. Schools failing to attain the benchmark for percentage of passing students could be penalized monetarily, reorganized, or closed. Because standardized testing has permeated the educational environment throughout the United States, this study sought to collect student responses that described individual, personal perceptions concerning standardized assessment.

Introduction

The current wave of assessment-based school accountability reform combines two traditions in American education - public accountability and student testing. This combination has changed what schools do and how they do it (Yonezawa and Serna 2002). We have also witnessed significant shifts in practices related to student assessment. Efforts to redesign how we assess students are seen in large-scale testing and in investigations of alternative assessment formats. In many cases, assessment reform has become the driving force behind improvement efforts (Seifert and Assouline 2007). The following innovative practices are also widely evident:

Local and state educators are developing new accountability systems based on local or national content and performance standards;

Teachers are gathering more varied information to determine whether students have met standards;

Students are collecting portfolios of work to demonstrate what they know and are able to do;

Districts and states are rethinking retention and promotion policies and the measures to make such decisions; and

Test publishers are incorporating a wider variety of assessment formats in their products (Rinn 2007).

Johnston and Hawken (2008) further attests that while it has been difficult for educators to unseat practices that have been well entrenched for many years; the progress that has been made in current assessment reform has laid ...