Some tensions that arise with high stakes standardized testing include the students and teachers. For the teachers, they are put under a lot of pressure for their students to do well. If their students don't do well, then they could possibly lose their job which would also header their opportunities in getting a job at another school. For the students there is tension because their scores on the test could decide on weather or not they can go to college. This put a lot of pressure on students regardless of their social economic status. If their parents want them to attend an Ivy league school, then they have to do well. If their family is in need of financial aid, then they might have to go to college and earn a degree to help support their family.
High stakes testing measures student intelligence and then that information is used to see how well the teachers and the school are performing in student learning. If the level of achievement is not up to par, then the teachers are evaluated and could possibly lose their jobs.
It is hard to decide why a student failed the test based on their score. It could possibly be because of factors they can not help such as a disability or English is not their first language. It could be that the test was worded confusingly or was unclear of the question was asking. It could also be because of the teacher. They might not have prepared their students well enough for the test. This is why I don't care for these standardized tests because there are many factors that go into student achievement and I don't think it fair to only score right or wrong answers.
In regards to your question...
ReplyDeleteI am not really sure why the NCLB act is of such controversy, but I feel that maybe it makes schools feel "nervous" as they are being held accountable for children's successes. I feel that this act bridges the gap between those of high achieving, high socioeconomic status with those of lower achieving, low socioeconomic statuses. Children must be tested each year from 3rd grade-8th grade then once in high school. Schools must report scores and meet certain standards. If the schools do not meet these standards or are not making progress, then issues can arise. Another issue is that is so many students are high-achievers than those that could be very low-achieving could be "masked" and overlooked. In an article I read about this, it said that students of different ethnicities often score lower and are just overlooked because so many other students perform well. So, this can be beneficial in certain situations, but there are improvements that need to be made to the NCLB act.
I like that you addressed that english may not be the students first language because that is not something that I initially thought of when I was answering the last question. That is another reason why I believe that you can not base ones intelligence strictly on testing. A student may understand the questions but they may not fully understand the questions that deal with American culture.
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