FACT SHEET: TESTING
Teachers, Parents and Standardized Testing
As millions of California public school students settle in for the start of the new school year, parents and the media come to teachers with a host of important questions, including inquiries about the fairness of the state's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) system.
To answer some of the questions, the 335,000-member California Teachers Association is providing this fact sheet. Testing research can also be found by clicking the "Testing - Get The Facts" icon on the home page of the CTA website: www.cta.org.
"Teachers want tests that are fair and aligned to our state standards, and to what we teach in our classrooms," said CTA President Barbara E. Kerr.
TESTS THAT ARE FAIR
- CTA and parents support fair testing and student assessment. CTA polling of voters, shows, however, that only 29 percent strongly approve of using standardized testing to measure student performance, and that a majority of voters feel that the state's testing system does not do a good job of measuring student performance.
- Research by the Business Roundtable, a national association of CEOs of top U.S. corporations, concludes that testing should not be used as the sole measure for graduation, to punish students, teachers or schools, or to "label the performance of schools." Its polling found that 71 percent of parents and the public believe standardized tests can't measure many important skills children should learn.
- Teachers believe tests are only one tool, and that the state should also evaluate achievement based on students' written work, attendance, and classroom performance. A CTA survey of teachers shows 82 percent agree that the STAR program is not a successful motivator for student achievement, and 74 percent feel that the kind of teaching that will boost these test scores is not the kind that best encourages student learning.
API PROBLEMS AND FLAWS EXPOSED
- Test results should not be the sole data used in the Academic Performance Index, especially when the STAR program does not take into account the challenges that face our Schools of Greatest Need. CTA research found that 94 percent of elementary school children in the bottom 10 percent of schools (based on API rankings) qualify as low-income, compared with zero percent in the top 10 percent of highest-scoring elementary schools. Lower-performing schools are also more overcrowded, have fewer credentialed teachers and have more children still learning to speak English. (The CTA research is at www.cta.org/GreatestNeed/)
- A recent investigative report by the Orange County Register found a 20-point margin of error in the calculations of the API rankings. This means many schools are wrongfully denied additional state funding that is based on increases in API scores. The news series also showed the reward money often went to more affluent schools and schools with fewer minority children. (See the Orange County Register series at http://www.ocregister.com/features/api/text_version/index.shtml)
- About 1.5 million English Language Learners are still tested in English and their scores computed as part of the state's high-stakes Academic Performance Index. CTA believes that English learner students who have not shown proficiency in English should be tested in their dominant language.
HOW TO FIX THE SYSTEM
- CTA sponsored legislation this year, AB 2347, which would have helped fix the state's testing system. In its final form, it would have required the state to develop the STAR exam in at least two languages by the 2006-07 school year, provided accommodations for special education students and assured that the panel that reviews the state's assessment program would consist of at least 55 percent teachers. The bill died Aug. 21 when the Senate Appropriations Committee failed to act on it.
- Teachers believe there is far too much emphasis on high-stakes testing and that it's hurting instruction. They spend roughly one out of every nine school days preparing for and administering these standardized tests.
- Testing is a huge industry with its own priorities. The contracts for California's STAR testing program and high school exit exam are worth up to $225 million for Educational Testing Services, the nation's largest testing firm. ETS anticipates total revenue for fiscal 2002 of $700 million.
- Despite the flaws in the testing system, teachers and students are making good progress. STAR results released in August showed gains for the fourth straight year in student achievement in English-language arts and math. The limited California Standards Tests scores linked to actual standards showed improvement over 2001, and these scores in middle and high school grades grew as much as 5 percent. SAT-9 math scores were higher in every grade tested, and reading scores in grades 2-6 were improved. (State's news release is at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr02/yr02rel28.asp
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