High Stakes Testing: Anxiety for Teachers and Students

We prepare for it all year. We think about it every day. In Georgia, it is called the CRCT. It happens every spring and we all breathe a sigh of relief when it is over. Until, the scores come back. This year, I chose to fill a teaching spot in third grade at my current school. I knew that third grade was a critical testing year, but was ready for the challenge. I proudly told my administrator "All my students will pass." I taught the standards, analyzed test data, re-taught when necessary, and engaged students in test-taking strategies. I felt prepared and ready. The test came and my confidence soared. Then, we received our scores. I was thrilled to learn that 100% of my reading class passed, but shocked to learn only 70% of my homeroom students met or exceeded the state's goals for third grade. We had a number of failures across our grade level. My team was devastated by learning that 30% of our third grade students failed. Overall we had 30 students to fail. This means 30 students whose summer is now altered and 30 students who face possible retention. According to the law, we had left children behind.

Haladyna asks the same questions in his article "Perils of Standardized Achievement Testing" that all educators ask. What should we do about the test? If the outcomes of the test are so critical, should we have higher standards for the test? Do we need to place so much emphasis on test scores (Haladyna, 30)? I add my own questions: "Are the teachers alone responsible for test results?" "Are the outcomes of test scores the only evaluation for successful teaching? Also, "Is the test the only measure of student intelligence? "Do you have to be intelligent to do well on standardized tests?" Can a

student be intelligent and not do well on standardized tests?" Haladyna writes, "Standardized achievement test scores provide one valid source of information about student learning (Haladyna, 30). Well said, but as teachers we know the bottom line for many districts is test scores.

The anxiety of my situation still looms. I try to tell myself there were many variables to the testing outcomes. However, in truth I feel responsible for the consequences. The results revealed some students did not learn the content necessary for achievement. Haladyna is his article questions the automatic approval of test results. He writes, "We need to investigate standardized achievement test scores before endorsing and accepting them as unquestionable truth" (Hadalyna, 34). He stated many factors: instruction, test preparation, test development, test administration, test scoring, test setting, and the students themselves in regards to contribution of results (Hadalyna, 35).

In my situation, I am still reflecting on the various parts of the testing failures. It is hard to focus on the positive when the outcomes provide much anxiety to future success. There are no set answers. Reflection and debate is considerably baffling. The questions are there for the asking and the answers are far from understanding.

Reference:

Haladyna, Thomas (2006). Perils of standardized achievement testing. Educational

Horizons, Fall, 30-43.