Appropriate and Inappropriate Forms of Testing, Assessment, and Accountability

Abstract

Policy makers have focused on promoting test-based accountability systems as a tool for correcting a wide variety of educational problems, including low standards, weak motivation, poor curriculum and instruction, inadequate learning, and educational equity. This article argues that the appropriateness of testing, or any other form of assessment, as a solution to such problems should be guided by one primary motivation: whether it enables all students to function at the highest possible level in the wider world. This motivation provides a standard for evaluating the effectiveness of assessment policies. The article looks for evidence that test-based accountability systems, when applied to various educational problems, enhance or impede diverse students’ ability to use their minds well. The evidence is, at best, mixed. This article argues for a more balanced use of assessments that can incorporate instructionally timely and useful information about students’ performance and concludes with guidelines and recommendations for appropriate test use.

When One Size Does Not Fit All—The Special Challenges of Accountability Testing for Students with Disabilities

“…The ultimate test of the tests will be found in a study of the extent to which the students taking the test do better on other tests and assessments or, most important, in employment or higher education (Kornhauber, 2004). Some evidence has been accumulated, indicating improved instruction and improved performance for students with disabilities (Ysseldyke et al, 2004).…”

“…The consequences, particularly the local-level consequences, of accountability data make a difference in the potential intentional or inadvertent corruption of the system. The greater the consequences associated with testing, the greater the potential for corruption (see Kornhauber, 2004).…”

Merging Large-Scale Assessment Data for Secondary Analysis: Experiences with EQAO’s Data

“…In addition, we needed to bear in mind that students, parents, teachers, school administrators, government officials and other stakeholders interpret data from large-scale assessments to plan for improvement, guide decision-making, allocate resources and/or set educational policies (Coburn & Talbert, 2006;Kornhaber, 2004;van Barneveld, Stienstra & Stewart, 2006). Thus, the strategy of having some or all of the items on a large-scale assessment count towards course grades needed to be examined thoroughly to determine its overall effectiveness by first properly merging the data.…”

Leading Student Assessment

“…However, more authentic forms of assessment, so named because they emulate actions associated with an assessed field or discipline, seem to be losing out to standardized tests, due, in part, to cost, which is substantially lower for mechanically scored standardized batteries (Kornhaber 2004). Assessment (a core feature of most accountability programs) is a critically important aspect of schools and learning, but there is a distinct difference between assessing and purely "testing."…”