Post date: Apr 06, 2014 2:12:24 PM
Testing has assumed a prominent role in recent efforts to improve education. As discussed in class, a hot topic among Florida educators is the over abundance of required standardized testing in schools. In addition to the yearly reading and math FCAT assessment, Florida students must also take the Florida Writes in grades 4, 8 and 10 as well as the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) 3 times per year in grades K-12. Critics claim over testing has many adverse effects and that alternatives, such as informal classroom tests, are sufficient for assessing progress between annual tests.
In Chapter 16 of the text, Measurement and Assessment in Teaching, Miller and Linn (2013), compare standardized tests to informal classroom tests. They deduct that standardized tests, “are especially useful for measuring general educational development, determining student progress from one year to the next, grouping students, diagnosing learning disabilities, and comparing achievement with learning ability” (pg. 405). Additionally, Miller and Linn (2013) say that informal classroom tests are better for, “measuring learning outcomes unique to the particular course, the day-to-day progress of students, and knowledge of current developments in rapidly changing fields” (p. 405-406). While the above statements regarding the differences between tests are true, the main issue is that the frequency of standardized testing is interfering with valuable instructional time.
As a former Florida 3rd grade teacher, I experienced the negative effects of over testing. I felt like a good 6-8 weeks of the school year was spent on testing and intense test preparation for the FCAT. Then, after FCAT week, it seemed like the quality of educational time until the end of the school year was devalued since “the test” was over. And, that was just the main FCAT. There was also the time spent on the Florida Writes and/or Clay Writes (county writing assessment given yearly) and FAIR tests. It literally felt like we were in test mode all the time. In my opinion, sticking to one annual standardized test to assess yearly progress is adequate. Teachers can dedicate the rest of the school year to quality instruction and informal assessments.
References
Miller, David M., Linn, Robert L., and Gronlund, Norman E. (2013). Measurement and
Assessment in Teaching, pg. 405-406.