Running head: STANDARDIZED TESTIING 1

Standardized Testing
Chiaki Yoshida
Ivy Tech Community College

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I found two articles and I would like to give my comments to each of them. One is
headlined Ex-Schools Chief in Atlanta Is Indicted in Testing Scandal, and the other is Seattle
High Schools Teachers Toss Districts Test. Both articles show two different ideas to
standardized tests which different types of educators have. Although those are necessarily
positive ideas to the standardized tests, I think that both show the educators ideas based on the
incidents that happened recently.
The first article, Ex-Schools Chief in Atlanta Is Indicted in Testing Scandal, described
that cheating had been done by teachers in an elementary school. It happened in Venetian Hills
Elementary School in southwest Atlanta. In the fall of 2010, Jackie Parks, a third-grade teacher,
agreed that she got involved cheating. In this case, cheating means that teachers got together in
a locked, windowless room every afternoon during the week of the states standardized tests,
and they raised students scores by erasing wrong answers and making them right. This article
stated that cheating had been going on at least since 2004 (Winerip, 2013). It has continued for
more than nine years. Jackie Parks, one of the accused teachers, said that they even thought
cheating was one of their jobs. Why did they keep cheating? Because, those standardized tests
are used for two reasons: to measure the students achievement and knowledge level, the
teachers achievement. So many educators conspired in this cheating. Not only Jackie Parks as a
teacher, but also a superintendent, Beverly L. Hall was one of them who ordered the answer
changes.
Positions and personal situations of two educators deeply connected in this case. In
addition, standardized tests purposes closely connected to this case, too. This case disclosed the
negative characteristics of the standardized tests.
Dr. Hall, first started working as a teacher. She kept being promoted and became a
principal, and then a deputy superintendent. Finally, she became the superintendent. During the
past decade, she taught the 52000 students, many of them poor and African American in that
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area. By raising test scores, she could raise her fame. In 2009, she was named the
superintendent of the year in 2009 and she was invited to the White House by the secretary of
education. In addition, as teachers, principals, and superintendents whose students had high test
scores can receive tenure and thousands of dollars in performance bonus. In this case, 34
educators including Dr. Hall and Jackie Parks conspired to cheat, hide cheating, or striking
against whistle-blower. It was reported that Dr. Hall earned more than 500, 000 dollars as
performance bonuses while she was superintendent. It is true those kinds of incentives actually
boosted educators to get involved in cheating (Winerip, 2013).
Moreover, this article explained that teachers are always under constant threat from
principals who threatened they would be fired if they did not realize the testing targets set by
the superintendent. Each school has indicated target scores of the standardized tests. Those are
notified by a superintendent. The superintendent gives the target scores to the principal, and
then, the principal give them to teachers. This is a relationship in a hierarchical society. If
teachers can not realize target scores, they would be threatened under fire from upper
supervisors. Jackie Parks has been working as a teacher for 17 years. She could not refuse
getting involved in cheating, because as a single mother, she did not want to lose her job as a
teacher. It is obvious that a person like her could not refuse to cheat if she will lose her job.
After school scores increase even if it is by cheating, another thing would happen to a
school negatively impact the students. A new principal was assigned in Parks Middle School in
Atlanta. He was Christopher Waller, who was one of the 35 named in Fridays cheating
indictment. After he became the principal of that middle school, the test scores increased.
Eighty six percents of eighth graders achieved proficiency in mathematics compared with 24
percents the previous year, and 78 percent in reading compared with the previous years 35
percent. Then, Parks Middle School is not regarded as a school necessary to be improved, and
as a result, the school lost 750,000 dollars in financial aid from the state and federal
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government intended to support students who were still deficient. By cheating and intentionally
increasing scores, the school looses funds, students deficiencies were disguised, and a schools
diagnosis was biased (Winerip, 2013).
The article also wrote that cheating has increased at school districts all around the
country. It is because standardized tests have become a major means to evaluate teachers,
principals, and schools as well as students. Two more cases are added as examples of another
type of cheating. In El Paso,TX, a superintendent ordered to remove children who got low
scores from classes to improve the test scores. In Ohio, some schools withdrew names of
low-performing students even if they were in school. More cheating cases have been going on
currently (Winerip, 2013).
The second article, Seattle High Schools Teachers Toss Districts Test is about
teachers boycott to not give students a standardized test. It happened in January, 2013, in
Seattle. According to the article, all school teachers in Seattle rejected to give students a
standardized test that was specified by the district. Teachers thought the test was of no use and
was a waste of valuable time for teaching (Dornfeld, 2013).
In Seattle, students have to take a standardized test called the Measures of Academic
Progress (MAP) up to three times in a year, from kindergarten to ninth grade. The school
district uses the test to measure the students knowledge achievement about math and reading.
In addition, students should take one more standardized test required by the state. The article
taught us three problems with standardized tests; one is that standardized tests have become
assessment measure for teachers as well as students, the second is the test results are not openly
disclosed, and the third is that the tests do not match with district or state curricula (Dornfeld,
2013).
At the same time, the MAP is also regarded as the measure to assess teachers teaching
ability. By measuring students abilities, teachers skills are supposed to be measured.
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Kit McCormick, who is an English teacher at a Seattle high school, said, Weve lost a
whole lot of class time. I dont know what the test was about, and I just see no use for it at all.
Here is a reason why she said so. Because, teachers never have a chance to see the test which
students took. So, teachers had no idea how they interpret students scores (Dornfeld, 2013). If
teachers can not actually see students tests, it is true that teachers cannot figure out what they
should deal with students next to improve them.
Kris McBride, who is the Seattle schools academic dean, said, A major problem with
the test is that it doesnt seem to align with district or state curricula. She found that their
Algebra 1 students took the math tests, but their tests were all filled with probability and
statistics. This means that tests which students were not included in their curriculum and did
not meet knowledge level students had.
Recently, criticizing standardized tests is a trend nationwide. This article wrote that the
boycott in Seattle would cause another movement (Dornfeld, 2013)..
Students also support this movement. Alicia Butler, who is 16 years old and a junior at
Seattles high school, agreed to take the state test to graduate and the SATs for entering a
college. However, she does not agree that the MAP test is regarded as a measure to assess
students and teachers too much. Furthermore, she does not want teachers to be hurt by the MAP
test (Dornfeld, 2013).
If only educators who raised students scores are highly evaluated, cheating by
school-wide involvement never disappears. If the standardized test is a unique way to assess
students, teachers, and schools, and it is emphasized too much, low-performance students
would be neglected. I think that the standardized test should be just a way to find how much
students achieve. Then, teachers can know what to do next for the students by examining the
actual test results. The test result should be disclosed to students and teachers. It should not be a
waste of time.
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References
Dornfeld, A. (2013, January 17). Seattle high schools teachers toss districts test. National
Public Radio. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://www.npr.org/
2013/01/17/169620124/seattle-high-schools-teachers-toss-districts-test
Winerip, M. (2013, March 29). Ex-schools chief in Atlanta is indicted in testing scandal. The
New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com
/2013/03/30/us/former-school-chief-in-atlanta-indicted-in-cheating-scandal.html?pagew
anted=all&_r=1&