Blog Post
- Discuss one question or confusion you have from reading Module 30.
I was confused about the test preparation part that said old exams are not to be given to students. I don’t understand why it is a bad thing. I think being able to see old exams would be beneficial so the student could see the format of the test and how the questions are asked, which can lower test anxiety. When I took the ACT in high school, we used practice exams to study which was very helpful, so why can’t students do that with these standardized tests?
- What are some of the tensions that arise (for students, teacher, and schools) from high stakes standardized testing? Why do these arise?
Tensions arise because these are very important tests that determine funding for the school as well as bonuses to teachers and publicity to the school if the school does well. However, serious consequences can be involved for schools that fail, including staff replacement and even total school takeover by the state. For teachers and the actual school, it can be very stressful, since they are not the ones actually taking these tests, the students are. They have to hope that they taught well enough that the students learned and can do well on the tests. Students can feel additional pressure from the school and teachers as well, causing anxiety.
- What are high stakes tests measuring, exactly? Are they measuring intelligence or something else? How do you know?
High stakes tests are measuring student performance in the curriculum from the given school. I don’t think results are measuring intelligence of any individual, but of the school as a whole. Not only is the student being assessed due to their scores, the teachers and entire school board can be too. You can’t really judge a student’s intelligence based on standardized tests because some people just don’t test well that way. I think it really just measures the amount of funding a school will get and just checking in to make sure it isn’t failing due to NCLB.
- If a student fails a standardized test (gets a 50% score), is it because of the test or the student? How do you know?
I don’t think it is possible to know. Some students know that a certain standardized test isn’t factored into their grade and it is just for the school, so they lack any motivation to care about it and just rush though it. Some students may just not know the information due to inadequate teaching or they are just not so good at taking tests. Maybe the test was written in a way that was confusing to the student, or the school board had put a lot of pressure on the students to do well which caused stress and anxiety. It is impossible to know the real reason since it could be so many as well as a combination.
Some people think that studying from old exams is a form of cheating. I think that it can be really helpful because it does give you an idea of the format of the exam, as well as what material may be covered. Obviously students should learn more than what they see on the exam because perhaps (and hopefully) the exam has changed over the years. Perhaps if teachers don't change their exams year to year would consider it a bad thing for students to look at the old exams. I took sample SAT/ACT exams as well. I think it's helpful because you can see how certain questions will be phrased, as well as gain an understanding of the format. It was great for practice SATs to take a sample exam because then you could see how much time you took on each part/practice keeping a steady pace throughout the exam. I guess I'm just agreeing with what you commented about!
ReplyDeleteIf a student gets the old test, they are likely to believe that the questions will remain the same. The teacher will have to rewrite the test if they want to test knowledge over memorization of the old test. I believe that it is very important to know the format of the test though. This will help the student know what to study for. A teacher can give practice questions and tell how many of each type of question will be on the test.
ReplyDeleteThe questions may be the same from previous tests, but I do agree that it is important for students to know the formatting. This can be done through practice tests or just explaining what it will look like. You don't necessarily need an old test to learn the formatting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying about how students may lack motivation. In my school I do not remember my teachers making a big deal out of the tests and I never felt pressured to do extremely well on them. I was always just told to do my best.
ReplyDelete