Why all parents should be concerned about the negative effects of SOL testing
You cannot measure a love for learning or a joy of
knowledge or a passion
for life. You cannot measure those things with a standardized test but you
can sure kill them.
The negative effects of high stakes testing affect all of Virginia’s children. Even if your child has passed an SOL test, you should still be concerned about the over-emphasis on high stakes test result scores change what happens in the classroom.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
Test taking tricks replace teaching for deep understanding.
Most multiple choice questions do not measure more complex thinking skills the way essays and performance tasks do. Colleges and universities want students who can think and reason.
In an effort to raise test scores, schools tend to ignore the standards that cannot be measured by multiple choice and that aren't on SOL tests. Consider this standard:
English 5.1: The student will listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject-related group learning activities.
This standard is not covered by SOL tests because it can't be measured by a multiple choice test item. Thus, a school can ignore this standard to focus instead on the standards known to be covered.
Stress happens
One of the side effects of the rush towards accountability-by-test-scores can be stress for children. While there are times when teachers and schools intensify this fear by the way they approach the tests, many times children develop stress independent of the way their teachers and parents behave.
Does passing the SOL tests mean my child is doing fine?
Not necessarily. Your child might be doing fine in school or she might not. How can you find out for sure? Here are some other, better ways to determine how well your child is doing in school:
1. Look at her completed work.
2. Help your child with her homework and ask her questions about it to see how well she seems to be understanding it. card.
3. Ask your child’s teacher.
4. Look at her report card.
5. Check out her attitude about school. Is she enjoying school, dreading it, or simply bored?
6. Look at her standardized test scores. Yes, good tests, when used carefully and interpreted correctly, can play a role in showing how your child is doing in subjects tested.
When you look at standardized test scores, consider the following:
*
Test scores are just an estimate. Scores are not precise and the labels based on the scores are not precise.*Every test has a margin of error. Different versions of the test, the number of questions on the test, simple mistakes like filling in
the wrong bubble, or even a child's mood on a given day can affect his or her score.
*Random m
easurement error affects all tests scores. Misclassifications of children by test scores happens for about 9% of all SOL tests given.*Sometimes the test results are just plain wrong. Errors in scoring do occur.
And finally, keep in mind this statement which is printed on the test results of all Stanford 9 tests (another standardized test published by Harcourt Educational Measurement):
Please keep in mind that this test is only one indicator used in assessing a student’s achievement. The school has additional information about how the student is performing in class.
High stakes tests really lower the standards.
*by turning complex learning standards into testable, more superficial "skills"*by forcing schools to ignore parts of the curriculum that won't be tested by the state
*by diverting scarce educational resources to practice tests, SOL test coach books, test security measures, test administration, and scoring
*by squeezing out more complex forms of classroom assignments and assessment
*by squelching the teachers’ and students’ spirit of adventure and risk-taking, creativity and inquiry
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."