How-to-Study Blog » Testing

Teacher Pay and Student Achievement

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:39:17 +0000

There is an increasing federal trend to attempt to have school districts link teacher salaries and merit awards to student achievement on standardized tests. On the one hand, this appears reasonable. Like any professionals, teachers should be held accountable for their effectiveness. Student achievement seems to be a logical benchmark. On the other hand, the same student is often taught by more than one teacher. How can we parcel out the contributions to achievement in this case? Further, standardized achievement tests are far from perfect indicators of what students learn. They tend to be narrow in focus, and value rote recall rather than insight and deep learning. There is also the accompanying pressure on teachers to teach specifically to what standardized tests measure. This issue has been a major issue for a number of years now. What are your thoughts?

Who Pays for Special Education?

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:20:48 +0000

On June 22, the Supreme Court ruled that parents of special-education students may seek reimbursement from public schools for private school tuition, even if their child never received special-education services in public school. The decision centered on a Oregon high school student who had struggled throughout public school. The boy had been evaluated for learning disabilities, but was found ineligible for special-education services. His parents enrolled him in a private residential school for his junior year of high school. Testing at that time found the boy to have attention deficit hyperactive activity disorder and other disabilities.

The Supreme Court ruling squarely puts the onus on the public schools. It will require the schools to intensify their efforts to identify disabilities as early as possible, and to ensure the validity of their evaluation procedures. It can also, unfortunately, open the floodgates for parents to question the results of school evaluations and to enroll their child in expensive private schools in the expectation that the public schools will have to pay in the end. This is a loaded issue. What are your thoughts?

8th Grade Exam Delayed

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:56:59 +0000

The College Board announced on May 14th that is has delayed the release of a new standardized test designed to help eighth graders prepare for rigorous high school courses and college. The College Board describes the test (ReadiStep) as an assessment and instructional tool. They state that the test is not to be used for any college admission purpose.

The College Board cited school districts’ finances as the reason for the delay. However, the proposed test has drawn sharp criticism from organizations such as FairTest, which opposes the use of standardized tests. These groups fear that ReadiStep would push college admission testing hysteria all the way down to middle school.

The College Board intends to go ahead with the test once the financial crisis eases. Aside from the question of finances, how do you feel about such a test?