High Stakes Testing as Detrimental

High Stakes Testing as Detrimental to Learning

Most teachers and administrators agree that it is important to measure student learning within schools. Performing tests, obtaining results, and analyzing these results can help schools make decisions about curriculum, faculty, and environment, among other variables. Obtaining test results can help schools better cater to their students, producing more capable learners. But what is the best way to obtain these results. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates high stakes testing as the assessment method through which students' learning is viewed. High stakes testing has even been called the "backbone" of No Child Left Behind (Nichols, n.d, para. 4). High stakes tests can be defined as assessments that are used to make influential decisions on students' lives, such as whether they will advance to the next grade or graduate. Beckette and Brown argue that most teachers do not support high-stakes testing (cited in "Pros and Cons," 2006, para. 3). In fact, there are many arguments against high-stakes testing, though some argue that carefully designed high-stakes testing can be beneficial in shaping "school curriculum and reform" ("Pros and Cons," 2006, para. 5). In this essay, the author will argue that high stakes testing has a negative effect on student learning. This will be accomplished through the following three arguments:

High stakes testing encourages teachers to teach to the test instead teaching the skills that students need to obtain competency in a field.

High stakes testing encourages students to view the test, rather than learning itself, as the ultimate goal of education.

High stakes testing disadvantages those with learning disabilities.

I. High stakes testing encourages teachers to teach to the test instead of teaching the skills that students need to learn to obtain competency in a field.

Because teachers are assessed based on the performance of their students on high-stakes tests, they have an incentive to teach material that they know will be on the tests, rather than teaching the students material that will most impact their academic, professional, and personal lives. Those who are in favor of high-stakes testing suggest that "teachers need high-stakes tests to know what is important...to teach." Also, those in favor of the assessment practice suggest that teachers need the tests to "motivate them" (Amrein and Berliner 2002). Although some teachers fit this description, the vast majority do not. Teachers, especially seasoned ones, learn through trial and error, through previous teaching experiences, through working with students one-on-one, and through the practices of their peers. Every classroom is different, and the pace of a classroom and structure of assignments and students must be based, in part, on students. Teachers who are motivated to teach only what they know will be on the test will be a disservice to students, as they do not encourage students to practice critical thinking skills and reasoning necessary for their futures. Instead, these teachers simply encourage the memorization of what will be on tests so that both the students and teacher will perform satisfactorily.

II. High stakes testing encourages students to view the test, rather than learning itself, as the ultimate goal of education.

Just as teachers who are assessed through the performance of their students on high-stakes tests have a tendency to teach to the test, so to do students tend to view passing the test as the ultimate goal of education. Because high stakes test scores are seen as so important, they produce stress, and cause students to think of them as the primary goal of education. High stakes test scores are beginning to define more and more decisions. Some families even make the decision to move based on test scores because realtors "use school test scores to rate neighborhood quality and this affects property values" (Amrein and Berliner 2002). Thus, high-stakes testing is a very important event to students and their parents. In addition, students know that they will not be able to move ahead a grade or graduate on time if they do not pass these tests. Because of this, high stakes testing is likely to create a great deal of stress. When faced with this stressor, it becomes primary in students lives. Some suggest that students who face high stakes testing also face risks of dropping out, as "fear of failing a graduation test increases the liklihood that low achievers will leave school" (Heubert 2002). Thus, students faced with fear and stress, are overwhelmed, concentrating on the test rather than on the goals of learning. They cannot concentrate on school work, understanding the importance of learning and education, because of stress that forces some to focus only on the test and others to drop out.

III. High stakes testing disadvantages those with learning disabilities.

In addition to lowering the teaching capacity of some teachers and students' focus on the value of education, many scholars argue that high stakes testing can be harmful to those with learning disabilities. First, many argue that students with learning disabilities receive different curriculum than students without learning disabilities, making it impossible for students with learning disabilities to do well on the same tests given to their peers. Furthermore, many students do not receive the aid that they need when taking tests, such as hearing aids or visual aids, and some students are kept in environments that do not promote their learning (Cortiella 2004). Many students with learning disabilities are very bright, but the tests are designed to evaluate only those skills that they have not mastered. While this applies to all students, it is especially significant to students with learning disabilities, whose test scores are used by themselves and their parents, in come cases, to make judgements about their futures. Learning disabled students who are perfectly capable of functioning and succeeding in the classroom can be prevented from graduating because of test scores. What this does is prevent the success of capable young adults who are being told that they cannot succeed when, in reality, they can do so. Thus, students with learning disabilities often struggle when it comes to high stakes testing because schools fail to give them the tools they need to succeed.