Conceptualizing Teaching to the Test Under Standards-Based Reform

Abstract

Teacher and school accountability systems based on high-stakes tests are ubiquitous throughout the United States and appear to be growing as a catalyst for reform. As a result, educators have increased the proportion of instructional time devoted to test preparation. Although guidelines for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate test preparation exist, they are outdated and need revision. The current article proposes new guidelines within the framework of standards-based assessment. It also examines the test preparation practices in 32 third-and fifth-grade classrooms and examines the relationship between student test performance and test preparation activities using a two-level Hierarchical Linear Model. Instruction on tested objectives using items like those presented on the state test, decontextualized practice, and teaching test taking skills offered no student achievement benefit relative to general instruction on the state standards leading us to conclude that test preparation was not beneficial.

Test Preparation in the Accountability Era: Toward a Learning‐Oriented Approach

“…Test preparation is generally associated with activities inside and outside classes that help students be ready for exams. These activities usually focus on familiarizing students with test format, acquainting them with instructions included on the test, and also providing training on time management skills (Welsh, Eastwood, & D'Agostino, ). The term test‐taking skills is usually used to refer to these procedures.…”

Initial Considerations When Applying an Instructional Sensitivity Framework: Partitioning the Variation Between and Within Classrooms for Two Mathematics Assessments

“…Although it might be a good choice to select the state assessment as a measure of the influence of instruction, the assessment might not be equally effective at detecting such influence depending on the grade level. This variation raises questions that can be empirically investigated such as whether instruction or standards (or both) are more aligned with the assessments in particular grade levels compared to others (Bhola, Impara, & Buckendahl, 2003;Herman, Webb, & Zuniga, 2007;Webb, 2007;Welsh, Eastwood, & D'Agostino, 2014).…”

A primer on standardized testing: History, measurement, classical test theory, item response theory, and equating

“…Often, instructors decontextualize the material to the students with an intention to artificially inflate the test scores. 12 Such a phenomenon is known to researchers as ''teaching to the test'' and is often controlled for by psychometric procedures. 13 Kohn 14 claimed that admission tests (such as the SAT and ACT) are ''not very effective as predictors of future academic performance, even in the freshman year of college, much less as predictors of professional success.''…”

“…28,29 At the same time, the scores for a repeat test taker will vary from 1 administration to another, and, usually, improved performance may be seen on a second measurement occasion, even if different questions are used. 12 This is due to the known phenomenon called the practice effect, 30 which is defined as an increase in an examinee's test score from 1 administration of the same assessment to the next in the absence of learning, coaching, or other factors that are known to increase the score. 31 Other sources of measurement error may include temporary or momentary fatigue, fluctuations of memory or mood, or fortuitous conditions at a particular time that temporarily affect the outcomes measured by the test.…”