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Teaching to the Test. Are standardized tests a help or a hindrance?. By Mary Lamping.
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Teaching to the Test Are standardized tests a help or a hindrance? By Mary Lamping
'It is our dream that students will ...experience their classrooms as invigorating, even inspiring environments - places they look forward to going to and places they hate to leave. It is our dream that they will come to know themselves as masters of various crafts...It is our dreams that ...they will come to love the process of learning itself... by making it their own.' Paideia Schools
What is Standardized Testing? What does it actually mean for a test to be standardized? Cronbach (1960) argued that standardized tests were those in which the conditions and content were equal for all examinees.
How do I fit in? One of our students once remarked, "I would do so much better on this test if it were my size." He was referring neither to the number of questions nor the font size; his meaning referred to the poor match between his ways of knowing and those valued on the exam. We suspect that many students of color feel this same sentiment. Quintero, Kelly; Cooks, Jamal
My Project I sent out a survey among teachers where I work to get their thoughts on standardized testing. I interviewed these teachers after I looked over the surveys . I hope to show their thoughts and how what they do affects literacy and if what they do is better than the test.
Cont. • What is your opinion of standards? • I think standards are necessary as a guide for teachers to direct their teaching. However, they are not always “monitored” in a fair way. • In what ways do standards help teachers with content? • Standards help teachers direct their content so that the concepts that the educator is teaching are developmentally appropriate and fluid with the curriculum throughout the previous and subsequent years. • How can teachers use the standards for measurement of student achievement? • The standards are the concepts that should be achieved/mastered during that grade or school year. The teacher can measure if the students are meeting those standards or are ahead or behind them.
'It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time'. Margery Williams
References Good, Thomas L (01/01/2008). "46. Standardized Tests" in 21st century education : a reference handbook (1-4129-5011-2, 978-1-4129-5011-4), (p. 423). Teachers Place Little Value on Standardized Testing: Survey finds other assessments deemed more important Rebora, Anthony. "Teachers Place Little Value on Standardized Testing." Education Week 31.26 (2012): 14. ProQuest Research Quintero, K., & Cooks, J. (2002). Teaching to the test when one size doesnt fit all. Voices from the Middle, 10(1), 60-61 . http://search.proquest.com/docview/213932538?accountid=2909 Gee, James. "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics."Literacy, A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, Ed. Kintgen, Ed. Kroll and Ed. Rose. Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2001. 525-544. Print. (Gee 525-544) Peck, Wayne, Linda Flower, and Lorraine Higgins. "Community Literacy." Literacy, A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, Ed. Kintgen, Ed. Kroll and Ed. Rose. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martins, (Peck, Flower, and Higgins 572-588) Bartholomae, David. "Inventing the University." Literacy, A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, Ed. Kintgen, Ed. Kroll and Ed. Rose. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2001. 511-524. Print. (Bartholomae 511-524) Delpit, Lisa. "The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourse."Literacy, A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, Ed. Kintgen, Ed. Kroll and Ed. Rose. 1 sted. Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2001. 545-554. Print.