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Standardized Testing

University of the People

EDUC 5220 Curriculum Design and Instructional Decision Making – AY2023-T5

Unit 7: Curriculum and Evaluation

Instructor: Dr. Manisha Sharma

July 31, 2023

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No Child Left Behind, or by its acronym NCLB, is a federal law of the United States

approved in 2001, where the responsibility is given to school districts and states to improve

public elementary and secondary schools and, therefore, student performance, through major

changes in the curriculum. Through NCLB, states are required to administer annual standardized

tests in reading and mathematics to public school students to demonstrate student progress and

achievement for promotion to the next grade level (Duignan, B., et al., 2008).

According to Au (2007), he refers to these tests as high-skates testing because their

results will impact students, teachers, administrators, communities, schools, and districts, by

linking the scores of these standardized tests to passing grades and graduation from the school.

high school. It will also have a significant impact on accountability, as well as tenure and salaries

for teachers and school administrators. This will grant a categorization of the schools based on

these results, which will be public.

My definition of standardized tests is one where the same questions are administered to

all students in the same condition. These questions are prepared by experts with the objective of

evaluating specific skills and knowledge. Generally, they are multiple choice and are usually

administered by computer, although in some cases it is done on paper (Staff, W., 2023). Students,

in addition to receiving the same questions, also have the same time and the same form of

grading. Beginning in elementary school, American students are already required to take these

standardized tests. Already in high school and if they consider attending university, they should

take standardized tests such as the SAT or the ACT, which are used to determine the academic

preparation of students for higher education (Burrows, B., 2022).

The benefits that I find in these standardized tests is that they provide a quality

curriculum, because it guarantees that in all schools nationwide, students are receiving the same
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basic knowledge and skills that will guarantee what they need when they graduate. This also

leads to equality and equity, where low-income populations that have been neglected by

traditional education systems will have access to schools with the same educational standards. In

this way, potential bias is eliminated because the tests are objectively scored and unbiased. Also,

the instructional measure is more effective, because schools share their instructional methods,

including high- and low-ranking ones, which encourages cooperation throughout the education

system, providing information on where teachers should be further trained and additional

funding in improvement of school educational programs (Staff, W., 2023).

Other benefits of the application of standardized tests, according to the study by Au

(2007), is that these tests encourage more student-centered instruction, where the teacher helps to

pass the test questions, but only focused on the areas topics to be evaluated in these exams,

excluding others no less important. For these student-centered instructions, teachers can evaluate

their pedagogy and include teaching methods that help and facilitate students' understanding of

non-mastered content concepts. In turn, teachers appropriately integrate the content through the

literacy skills that the tests require for their content. Finally, state authorities, as Au (2007)

mentions, rely on the results of these standardized tests so that schools are responsible for how

they implement the school curriculum. If students do not achieve the results expected by the

school administration, the responsibility will fall on the teachers. In my opinion, although the

teacher is responsible for the teaching, I think that there may be other external factors that play

against it, negatively affecting the teacher.

Au (2007) discusses some disadvantages of standardized tests. In the results of the

investigation, he observed that schools were reducing the hours of instruction in science and

social studies because these subjects were not prioritized in standardized tests, while they put
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more effort into teaching the subjects to be evaluated. In my opinion, this affects the educational

quality of the students, since it is reducing the importance of subjects that can also be

fundamental and useful in the future of the students.

Stakes tests affected curricular ways of knowing, because instruction was influenced by

the test. Teachers structured the knowledge they taught, which led to teaching subjects such as

mathematics and science based only on the collection of procedures and facts, instead of

expanding to conceptual, thematic and scientific thinking (Au, W., 2007, p. 260). Another

element that Au (2007) found was the pedagogy of teachers, who changed their instructional

practice due to testing, where instructional strategies were teacher-centered or the topic of

student-centered instructional strategies.

Other factors are overtests, where it is estimated that students can spend up to 19 hours or

more taking these tests each year, not including the time spent preparing for these tests. This can

also generate anxiety in the students examined by the pressure that these tests generate.

Additionally, many school districts evaluate teachers based on their results, which can affect

teacher salaries and opportunities for promotion. Also lost instructional time where teachers

focus on teaching to the test instead of providing other, more meaningful hands-on opportunities

and experiences for students (Staff, W., 2023). The evaluations are not the only thing that allows

certifying whether a student knows or not, since the teacher knows more about how a particular

student conducts an investigation. A way must be found to combine the results of external tests

and those of the judgments of well-informed teachers (Atkin J.M., et al., 2001).

In conclusion, despite some inconveniences that arise, I believe that standardized tests

should continue to be applied in schools, because they measure the performance and academic

progress of students and prepare them for their future incorporation into society.
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References

Atkin J.M., Black P., Coffey J., (Eds) (2001). Chapter 1 An Introduction to Assessment

in the Science Classroom (pp. 7-10), Chapter 3 Assessment in the Classroom (pp.

23-58) and Chapter 4 The Relationship Between Formative and Summative

Assessment In the Classroom and Beyond (pp.59-78). In Classroom Assessment

and the National Science Education Standards. National Academy Press:

Washington, DC. https://www.nap.edu/read/9847/chapter/1

Au, W. (2007). High-Stakes Testing and Curricular Control: A Qualitative

Metasynthesis. Educational Researcher.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/30137912?searchText=High-Stakes+Testing+and+Cu

rricular+Control+A+Qualitative+Metasynthesis.&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBa

sicSearch%3FQuery%3DHigh-Stakes%2BTesting%2Band%2BCurricular%2BCo

ntrol%253A%2BA%2BQualitative%2BMetasynthesis.&ab_segments=0%2Fbasi

c_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Add0b207a0d69a9e1f8ddb

37fc22c5615

Burrows, B. (2022, June 9). What is a Standardized Test? Study in the USA.

https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/1284/what-is-a-standardized-test

Duignan, B., & Nolen, J. L. (2008, September 9). No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/No-Child-Left-Behind-Act

Staff, W. (2023b). What is standardized testing? the pros and cons and more. We Are

Teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/standardized-testing/