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Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do Phillip & Joan Harris www.themythsofstandardizedtests.com 1

The Myths of Standardized Tests

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The Myths of Standardized Tests. Why They Don ’ t Tell You What You Think They Do Phillip & Joan Harris www.themythsofstandardizedtests.com. Purpose of our Presentation. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do

Phillip & Joan Harriswww.themythsofstandardizedtests.com

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Page 2: The Myths of Standardized Tests

To explain why standardized tests are inappropriate to evaluate student learning, teacher effectiveness and district quality.

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Page 3: The Myths of Standardized Tests

An overview of how we got here

Beginnings of testing (ESEA)

Minimum Competency

National standards/state tests

No Child Left Behind/Blueprint

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Page 4: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Student knowledge can be assessed by a limited number of questions in a limited amount of time.

Student achievement/learning can be measured by scores on standardized tests.

Tests are objective and the numbers are thought to be absolute.

Test scores provide citizens the information they need to know about their schools.

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Page 5: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Punishment and rewards motivate people.

High stakes improve performance.

An indirect measure of knowledge or skill (test) is better than a direct measure (actual performance).

Tests predict future success in school and in life.

Student test scores can be used to evaluate teachers.

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Page 6: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Confusion about accountability and evaluation.

Accountability is about transparency.

Evaluation is what policymakers mean when they say accountability.

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Page 7: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Whatever equity issues there are, they weren’t caused by the public education system.

How tests are designed.◦Sampling

◦Norm Referencing

◦Cut Scores

We can’t achieve equity if the “measuring device” is flawed.

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Page 8: The Myths of Standardized Tests

If we want to have all children reach the same standard we need to vary time, methods, and resources.

If we are really committed to having all children achieve at a similar level we need to understand how children learn and the conditions needed for learning to occur.

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Page 9: The Myths of Standardized Tests

Become informed about Standardized Tests that are used to make decisions in classrooms, schools, and states.

Demand that the purpose of state assessment be made public.

Become aware of the differences between accountability and evaluation.

Be a part of the conversation to discuss the purpose of public education.

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Page 10: The Myths of Standardized Tests

1. Harris, Phillip, Bruce M. Smith, and Joan Harris. The Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do. Lanham, Md., Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

2.  Koretz, Daniel. Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008.

3.  Popham, W. James, The Truth About Testing: An Educator’s Call to Action. Alexandria, Va.: ASCD, 2001. Transformative Assessment. Alexandria, Va.: ASCD, 2008.

4. Nichols, Sharon L. and David C. Berliner. Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America’s Schools. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Education Press, 2007.

5. Rothstein, Richard, with Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder. Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right. New York: Teachers College Press, 2008.

6. Kohn, Alfie, The Case Against Standardized Testing. Heinemann, 2000.

Bonus

1. A defense against the darks arts of value-added measurement. John Ewing, “Mathematical Intimidation: Driven by Data,” Notices of the AMS (American Mathematical Society), May 2011, pp. 667--73.

http://www.ams.org/notices/201105/rtx110500667p.pdf

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Page 11: The Myths of Standardized Tests

 FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-IC STUDY COMBINED WITHTHE EXPERIENCE OF MANYYEARS.

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