Content Descriptions
- The Observational Study of Standardized Testing in Kindergarten
- Testing Bias and Testing Validity
- Minority Students vs. Standardized Testing
- Bias in Testing Questions
The Observational Study of Standardized Testing in Kindergarten
- Districts specifically attempting to raise standardized testing scores had a higher rate of teacher procedural variation, unauthorized repetition, and cues for correct answers.
- Procedural variations define as “variations which could change the substance of the test and/or the children’s performance.”
- Teachers involved in a program to raise achievement for low socioeconomic towns had high variation percentages of 44% and 14% compared to the other schools in the study which had a variation percentage averaging 2.8%.
- Teachers involved in the achievement program had cueing the correct answer percentages of 24% and 9% compared to the other kindergartens with a percentage averaging 1%.
- Districts in lower-middle class towns had a higher rate of procedural variation than wealthier districts. These variations make the tests incomparable.
- In one instance, “At no time during the testing of 17 children in three separate testing sessions did this teacher instruct the children to close their eyes and listen. The teacher simply read the names of the objects for each item while the children with their eyes open selected the matching choice box. Obviously, this omission rendered the test invalid as a measure of the auditory memory construct.”
Testing Bias and Testing Validity
- Quote collection:
- “Biases and inequities certainly exist – but standardized tests do not merely reflect their impact; they compound them.”
- “These tests tend to reflect the language, culture, or learning style of middle- to upper-class whites. Thus scores on these tests are as much measures of race or ethnicity and income as they are measures of achievement, ability, or skill.”
- Many of the states have now begun programs that seek to “align” school curriculum with the standardized test given. The purpose of this is to not waste time teaching topics that students will never be tested on. This not only undermines the value of education, but it undermines the value of standardized testing. The purpose of these tests are to evaluate curriculum as well as the students so aligning the curriculum would ruin that purpose.
Minority Students vs. Standardized Tests
- Standardized testing is merely a way to rationalize discriminatory practices. Some view low minority test scores as a way to show that minorities are intellectually inferior to whites. Rather, it is argued that the tests favor white people and that accounts for the difference in scores.
- Traditionally, those writing the exams are middle class white people. Their style of thinking, values, and dialect varies greatly from someone from a lower socioeconomic class. White middle-class writers bring in their own biases which reflect the type of schooling they received.
- “In one study of black fourth graders, using Gray’s Oral Reading Test, it was found that when the test was scored according to the regular key, 46 per cent of the errors made by the total group could be attributed to dialect difference.”
- In many reading portions, there are questions that are meant to be answered based on “common knowledge” instead of the passage given. “Common knowledge” in many cases means white middle class common knowledge.
Bias in Testing Questions
A plant’s fruit always contains seeds. Which of the items below is not a fruit? A. Pumpkin B. Orange C. Apple D.Celery
- This is an example of a question from a 6th grade standardized test. This question reaches beyond academic knowledge and moves more towards lifestyle knowledge. A child that wasn’t exposed to pumpkins or celery would get this wrong whereas a child who has eaten all of them should know the answer. “Common knowledge” is a big form of bias.
Working Hypothesis 1
Standardized tests are not a reliable and accurate way to measure student achievement. The stakes that are being put on these tests are tremendously misleading considering the bias and inequity surrounding them. High-stake testing undermines the vast goals of schools in creating well rounded students beyond academics.
1a. Working Hypothesis 2
Standardized testing reflects areas of inequity in school quality but does not create the bias. The bias already exists and standardized testing only brings it to light and is a way to measure it. Therefore, the tests could be beneficial to identifying the inequities and improving school quality in areas that perform low on standardized tests.
2. Topics for Smaller Papers
Definition/Classification Argument
The idea that standardized tests create an equal playing field for students is a misunderstanding among many educators. The word equal would have to be redefined in order to be correct.
Cause/Effect Argument
Research could be done to analyze the effect that low/high standardized test scores have on college admission.
Rebuttal Argument
Differences in scores among different economic groups reflects only the difference in intellectual abilities not other environmental factors.
3. Current State of the Research Paper
I feel like I have good sources so far for my paper that provide a lot of research that backs up my thesis. My opinion on my topic has not changed since I started but is now backed up by many studies. I’ve also found that my topic is a lot more complex than I had thought and there are a lot of idiosyncrasies that I had not considered before. I think I have a pretty good understanding on the topic now that I’ve done some research on it.
Rowan Counterintuitive 