The use of high-stakes assessments is a controversial issue in public education today. A high-stakes assessment is a test with important consequences for the test taker (something “at stake”) and is the basis of a major decision.
A high-stakes test is any test that:
is a single, defined assessment,
has a clear line drawn between those who pass and those who fail, and
has direct consequences for passing or failing (something “at stake”).
A test may be “high-stakes” based on consequences beyond the individual test-taker. For example, testing has direct negative consequences not only for failing students, but potentially serious consequences for their schools, including loss of accreditation, funding, teacher pay, teacher employment, or changes to the school’s management.
High-stakes assessments are usually standardized tests, in which all examinees take the test under reasonably equal conditions, with the expectation that standardization affords all examinees a fair and equal opportunity to pass.
There are many people who believe that high-stakes standardized testing is a necessary element of the educational system for the following reasons:
High-stakes tests clarify student performance expectations and hold students accountable. All students are measured using the same test.
Because these tests are required for promotion and/or graduation, students work harder and are motivated to learn.
The use of high-stakes testing holds educators accountable and provides measures of comparison. Teachers are more motivated to improve student achievement when tests have consequences.
High-stakes tests are often criticized for the following reasons:
High-stakes assessments have led to a narrowing of the curriculum, where increasing emphasis is placed on the content of the test, at the expense of deeper content and other valuable subjects, e.g., art, music, language.
If teacher evaluation is based in large part upon student gains on tests, teachers will focus on “teaching to the test,” which may improve test specific skills but also displace other skills important to real learning.
High-stakes testing creates more incentive for cheating. If the test results are used to determine the teachers’ pay or continued employment, or to evaluate the school, then school personnel may fraudulently alter student test papers to artificially inflate student performance.
1. Please share your perspectives on the use of high-stakes assessments in public education.
2. Should teacher effectiveness be evaluated on the basis of student achievement?
3. Comment on the two attached “High-Stakes Assessments Cartoons.”
