Local Impact of State Testing in Southwest Washington

Authors

  • Linda Mabry Washington State University Vancouver
  • Jayne Poole Washington State University Vancouver
  • Linda Redmond Washington State University Vancouver
  • Angelia Schultz Washington State University Vancouver

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v11n22.2003

Keywords:

Testing Effects, Teacher Attitudes, Washington

Abstract

A decade after implementation of a state testing and accountability mandate, teachers' practices and perspectives regarding their classroom assessments and their state's assessments of student achievement were documented in a study of 31 teachers in southwest Washington state. Against a background of national trends and standards of psychometric quality, the data were analyzed for teachers' beliefs and practices regarding classroom assessment and also regarding state assessment, commonalities and differences among teachers who taught at grade levels tested by the state and those who did not, teachers' views about the impact of state assessment on their students and their classrooms, and their views about whether state testing promoted educational improvement or reform as intended. Data registered (1) teachers' preferences for multiple measures and their objections to single-shot high-stakes testing as insufficiently informative, unlikely to promote valid inferences of student achievement, and often distortive of curriculum and pedagogy; (2) teachers' objections to the state test as inappropriate for nonproficient speakers of English, for students eligible for special services, and for impoverished students; and (3) teachers' preferences for personalized assessments respectful of student circumstances and readiness, rather than standardized assessments. Teachers' practical wisdom thus appeared more congruent than the state testing program with measurement principles regarding (1) multiple methods and (2) validation for specific test usage, including usage with disadvantaged subgroups of test-takers. Findings contrasted a distinction of emphasis: state focus on "testing students" as distinct from teachers' focus on "testing students."

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Linda Mabry, Washington State University Vancouver

Linda Mabry is an associate professor at Washington State University Vancouver, where she specializes in assessment of student achievement, program evaluation, and qualitative research methodoloby, and a member of the boards of the American Evaluation Association and the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment.

Jayne Poole, Washington State University Vancouver

Jayne Poole is a graduate student in Education at Washington State University Vancouver, where she is researching the reading- writing connection, and a kindergarten teacher of eleven years in Longview, Washington.

Linda Redmond, Washington State University Vancouver

Linda Redmond, a recent Masters in Education graduate of Washington State University Vancouver, has taught in the public schools of Washington state for twenty-two years and is currently an elementary music specialist in Longview, Washington.

Angelia Schultz, Washington State University Vancouver

Angelia Schultz, a newly certificated teacher with a BA in English and a graduate student in Education at Washington State University Vancouver, currently works as a substitute teacher. Her interests include the consequences of high stakes testing and test- driven accountability.

Downloads

Published

2003-07-17

How to Cite

Mabry, L., Poole, J., Redmond, L., & Schultz, A. (2003). Local Impact of State Testing in Southwest Washington. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11, 22. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v11n22.2003

Issue

Section

Articles