Views from the Classroom: Teachers' Opinions of Statewide Testing Programs

Abrams, Lisa; Pedulla, Joseph J.; Madaus, George F.

doi:10.1353/tip.2003.0001

Cited by 21 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…imply that students are passive test takers. Moreover, many studies outlined that these types of tests tighten the content that teachers teach in their classes (Abrams et al, 2003;Firestone et al, 1998) and do not provide teachers with a clear idea into student actual learning (Black & William, 1998). While performance-based assessments such as rubrics, checklists, portfolios, and reflections, encourage the student to display, his or her best work because they are designed to promote students' participation in the tests.…”

Section: Mathematics Test Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment Techniques and Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Abosalem¹

2016

IJSEDU

170

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Improving students' higher-order thinking skills is a collective experience; one teacher of a specific subject cannot alone improve the higher-order thinking skills, and it is a collaborative process between all subjects' teachers and can be taught for all levels of studying (Lawson, 1993;Shellens, & Valcke, 2005). Moreover, Benjamin (2008) argues that these skills can be developed in a cumulative fashion as students' progress through their courses and subjects and other experiences they get from their institutions. As well, by including their subjects by problem solving, critical thinking and decision making activities will help students enhance their higher-order thinking skills. In this paper a mathematics test in fractions was constructed and analyzed for both grades 8 and 9 to make sure how teacher-made tests are constructed and how much of them agreed with the Bloom's Taxonomy levels. The test consists of five sections or content areas the test was analyzed according to the behavior matrix. The results showed that all test items measure the lower three levels in Bloom's taxonomy which agrees with Stiggins, R. J., Griswold, M. M., and Wikelund, K. R. (1989) results that most of teacher-made tests measure the lower levels in Bloom's taxonomy. Moreover, 57.14% of the test items are applications and 28.57% are recognition items. These numbers are consistent with Boyd (2008) study, which indicated that the majority of teachers' assessment items focused on the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Moreover, Boyd concluded that 87% of the teachers' items that have participated in this study used level 1 of the taxonomy in 2003-2004, and this percentage increased to 86% in 2005-2006. These numbers reflect the tendency of the assessment methods used in schools to ask students to recall information or to do routine question, which will not help students in improving their higher-order thinking skills.

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Section: Mathematics Test Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment Techniques and Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Abosalem¹

2016

IJSEDU

170

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“…Secondly, it prompts questions as to the foundation for young people's critique of existing learning approaches. Even in the context of high stakes testing and the prevalence of 'teaching to the test', variation is found between individual teachers and across subject areas in the extent of teacher-led instruction (Abrams, Pedulla and Madaus 2003;Diamond 2007). Such variation could provide a 'resource' for students to contrast student-centred learning conditions in some classes with more didactic approaches in others.…”

Section: Social Reproduction and High Stakes Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High stakes testing and student perspectives on teaching and learning in the Republic of Ireland

Smyth

Banks

2012

Educ Asse Eval Acc

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There is now a well developed literature on the impact of high stakes testing on teaching approaches and student outcomes. However, the student perspective has been neglected in much research. This article draws on a mixed method longitudinal study of secondary students in the Republic of Ireland to explore the impact of two sets of high stakes examinations on student experiences. The analyses are based on surveys completed by 897 lower secondary students and 748 upper secondary students, along with 47 lower secondary and 53 upper secondary group interviews with students. Findings show the presence of impending high stakes exams results in increased workload for students, with many reporting pressure and stress. Throughout their schooling career, students clearly favour active learning approaches. However, for some students, particularly high-aspiring middle-class students, these views change as they approach the terminal high stakes exam, with many showing a strong preference for a more narrowly focussed approach to exam preparation. This article highlights how students shift from a position of critiquing exam-focused teaching methods as inauthentic to accepting such methods as representing 'good teaching'.3

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“…Anxious, stressed, and pressured is how these teachers perceived the persistent effect of federal, state and local mandates on them (Jones et al, 1999;Madaus &Russell, 2011;NYSED, 2004;Pedulla, 2003). These feelings were noticeable throughout the interviews and the observations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others expanded their curriculum and engaged in student-centered pedagogies, resulting in an increase in their students' test scores (Au, 2007;Cimbricz, 2002). Many studies report that high-stakes testing affects teachers' practice negatively in different ways as high-stakes testing takes time away from sound pedagogical practices and limit the use of a variety of student-centered pedagogical practices (Hinde, 2003;Menken, 2006;Murillo & Flores, 2002;Pedulla, et al, 2003;Russell & Abrams, 2004).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Some teachers and students abandoned good teaching practices resulting in the weakening of creative and higher order thinking skills (Cunningham & Sanzo, 2002;Lewis, 2009). Studies in the most affected environments are urban school settings with large numbers of minorities and students from low socioeconomic status (Herman & Golan, 1991;Pedulla, et al, 2003;Sunderman, Tracey, Kim, & Orfield, 2004;Kozol, 2005;Watanabe, 2007). According to Boardman and Woodruff, (2004) high stakes testing affected the implementation, fidelity and maintenance of new teaching methods.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Ethical Teacher in a High-Stakes Testing Environment

Arroyo-Romano

Benigno²

2016

JSE

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Increasing accountability expectations are causing teachers to rectify their responsibilities, to themselves, to their students and to the school administrations in which they work. Teachers have been torn between the responsibility to provide a quality education that reflects their knowledge and their training in their content area and to prepare their students for mandated assessments. State and District mandated assessments can have an impact on the delivery and the content of the curriculum in the classroom. These assessments can be the impetus for teachers to make specific decisions regarding the focus of their instruction and the delivery of their content. Teachers often feel obligated to emphasize the testing information at the expense of the specific curricula content. This adjustment in their curriculum can create an ethical dilemma for the teacher with regard to the emphasis of their instruction and the delivery of their instruction.Discussed in the manuscript are the perceptions of two teachers regarding curriculum planning and the implementation of the curriculum. The relationship between teacher perception, ethical concepts and the implementation of instruction in the high stakes testing environment were explored in the study. The results of the study indicated that the teachers in the study felt obligated to provide a quality education for their students. However, the results ISSN 2162-6952 2016 www.macrothink.org/jse 57 also indicated that the pressures of the mandated assessment did have an effect on the delivery and preparation of their instruction. This decision to compromise created an ethical dilemma for the teachers in the study. Journal of Studies in Education

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Views from the Classroom: Teachers' Opinions of Statewide Testing Programs

Cited by 21 publications

References 4 publications

Assessment Techniques and Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Assessment Techniques and Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills

High stakes testing and student perspectives on teaching and learning in the Republic of Ireland

The Ethical Teacher in a High-Stakes Testing Environment

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