Action Proposal: Standardized Testing in America
Location
Bell Hall 013
Start Date
29-3-2016 3:00 PM
End Date
29-3-2016 3:50 PM
Type of Presentation
25 minute Scholarly Work Presentation
Proposal for Presentation
Standardized testing continues to aide itself as one of the leading concerns in American Education. No Child Left Behind Act (2004) was initially developed “to ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals while being educated in safe classrooms by well-prepared teachers” (Hall, 2010). Since NCLB (2004), standardized testing has seen a definite influx within the classroom, and American students have since become “the most tested and least examined” (Wiggins, 1993). The immense amount of standardized testing has slowly crippled American classrooms for parents, students, administrators, and teachers alike. The arguments surrounding high stakes testing have since issue created divergence among all systems and sectors in the educational realm. Previous research indicates that standardized testing before No Child Left Behind (2004) required less time in the class and produced the same results. This past year, the National Council of Teachers of English, also known as NCTE, completed research explaining that the "effects include changing the nature of teaching, narrowing the curriculum, and limiting student learning" (NCTE, 2014, p. 1). In addition, the state of Indiana implemented a newly reformed version of their standardized state test, the ISTEP+. Is this test a better model for all parties (students, teachers, and policy makers) or is there a better model to assess student achievement in a world of high-stakes testing?
Action Proposal: Standardized Testing in America
Bell Hall 013
Standardized testing continues to aide itself as one of the leading concerns in American Education. No Child Left Behind Act (2004) was initially developed “to ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals while being educated in safe classrooms by well-prepared teachers” (Hall, 2010). Since NCLB (2004), standardized testing has seen a definite influx within the classroom, and American students have since become “the most tested and least examined” (Wiggins, 1993). The immense amount of standardized testing has slowly crippled American classrooms for parents, students, administrators, and teachers alike. The arguments surrounding high stakes testing have since issue created divergence among all systems and sectors in the educational realm. Previous research indicates that standardized testing before No Child Left Behind (2004) required less time in the class and produced the same results. This past year, the National Council of Teachers of English, also known as NCTE, completed research explaining that the "effects include changing the nature of teaching, narrowing the curriculum, and limiting student learning" (NCTE, 2014, p. 1). In addition, the state of Indiana implemented a newly reformed version of their standardized state test, the ISTEP+. Is this test a better model for all parties (students, teachers, and policy makers) or is there a better model to assess student achievement in a world of high-stakes testing?