It’s Back to School for Legislators Too
Student Assessment: Some Questions You Need to Ask
Improving education tops the charts of voter concerns. CPA legislator surveys find the
same trend. Gov. Gray Davis of California has pledged not to seek reelection if state test scores have not risen. To improve education, states are moving forward rapidly on steps to reward results and punish failure. "Accountability" is the word of the day and assessment is seen as the way to check progress.
Large-scale assessments, widely favored as the centerpiece of state reform and accountability efforts, provide a snapshot of how well students are doing as a whole. Frequently, the results are the only information used for teacher, school-level or district-wide accountability. States should be cautious about a "rush to judgement." Often, critical linkages are missing. For example, there can be short-circuits between what the students should know (the standards), the curriculum to help them learn and what is tested. The standards need to be firmly in place first.
Student assessment results are important data. But different types of tests yield different types of information. The trick is figuring out which combination of tests and assessments provide the most complete and accurate picture. Tests that are individually diagnostic are valuable for students, parents and teachers. District-wide or statewide tests tied to curriculum and standards are valuable for policymaking. No one test is the answer and no one test should determine the fate of a student, school, teacher or district. Assessment tools need to fit
the purpose.
The public is demanding accountability but their definition of appropriate measures of
accountability does not equate with test results. Education Week‘s Quality Counts `99 website, which reports on a series of focus groups across the country, notes that "only
a third of parents and a quarter of educators thought it made sense to use test scores as the main measure to hold schools accountable."
State assessment programs are growing rapidly. A report by the Council of Chief State School
Officers shows that two-thirds or more of the states have assessments in major subject areas for some grades (typically grades 4, 8, and 11). How meaningful are they unless the standards and curriculum are in sync? As these assessments multiply, policymakers should not make the leap and assume that they are synonymous with accountability.
Policymakers who use large-scale assessments to make judgements on the quality of teaching
or education and award incentives or impose sanctions have a special responsibility to ask questions. What is the purpose of the assessment? Does the test fit the purpose? Are tests aligned with standards and curriculum? Are they fair to all students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or economic status? Will the results be made widely available in a timely and
user-friendly fashion? Are stakeholders involved in the process?
For more information on student assessment,
contact Christine Hernandez or Jenny Long at CPA.
Student Assessment Tools & Resources
