Getting the Stink Out of Standardized Tests

“Smelly socks.” That’s what one Texas student said came to mind when he thought about the TAKS test. There could be a more pleasing olfactory reaction for such students in the future.

For quite some time, those of us opposed to so much emphasis being placed on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test in our public school system have been at somewhat of a loss when it came to what would constitute a proper use for such a test. Many agree it’s not so much the test but its high stakes nature that causes it to drive the curriculum and be over-emphasized.

Now it looks like North Carolina might show us the way out.

We all want accountability in our public schools. That’s sort of like being for a strong national defense and against terrorism. Have you ever heard anyone argue for a weak national defense or in favor of more terrorism? Well, school accountability has risen to that same sort of sacred cow status; no one’s out there fighting for unaccountable schools.

However, many do believe we’ve missed the boat by making public school accountability all about the TAKS test and believing that ensures it. As I’ve pointed out before, there’s nothing to prove a correlation between passing scores on standardized tests and actual learning.

The other big complaint about the TAKS test that you’ll hear from education experts like State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, is that it’s a baseline test that fails to reward excellence or major improvement.

For instance, if a student were to get a perfect score on the test, his achievement would be no more meaningful than that of a student who passes by one point; all the accountability police care about are passing scores and failing scores.

Likewise, let’s say a student works like crazy on his reading and his score jumps two grade levels. Most of us would see that as tremendous improvement that should be recognized as such. Well, if it’s still not enough to bring that student all the way up to his grade level, not only will the improvement not be recognized but the student will be deemed a TAKS test failure.

So what’s a possible solution? The Texas Legislature opted to replace the TAKS test in high school in the future with a series of end-of-course exit exams.

That’s certainly an improvement, but North Carolina may have found a better idea. They’re experimenting with “growth testing.” Instead of having one high stakes pass/fail baseline, the emphasis will be on improvement — in other words, maintaining accountability by measuring growth in learning.

That student who moves up two grade levels would no longer be a failure; his growth would be viewed as a success.

My hope is that the North Carolina pilot program will be viewed as a huge success, and states like Texas will then want to move away from high stakes testing and toward a growth model. It could be just the detergent needed for the “smelly socks” system we currently have.

(Originally published by Examiner Newspaper Group)