Q & A: Research-Based Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About High-Stakes Testing

Research Q & A: Standardized tests and their impact on schooling

1.  What is the role of high-stakes testing in school improvement?

Testing has been part and parcel of school reform policy for over a decade. Nearly every state has its own approach to standards-based reform, but they share three key components:

• High standards for what all students should know and do; 

• Tests aligned to the standards to gauge student progress; and

• Accountability for schools based on the results. 

While the particulars vary from state to state, the goal is the same: to make sure our schools are providing all students with the education they need to lead meaningful, productive lives in the new century.

Each state, with the exception of Iowa, has developed a set of standards that defines this education for its students. States administer tests as a check on the academic program in order to assure the public that schools are meeting their obligation to teach the state standards. Teachers’ grades are valuable indicators for students and their parents, but what grades mean can vary a lot from school to school and even from classroom to classroom. Research has shown, for example, that student performance earning an “A” in high-poverty schools would be given a “C-” or “D” in low-poverty schools. Standardized state tests, therefore, provide a valid, external measure that can be compared across schools and districts.

High stakes is a relative term because some states established higher stakes than others. Consequences for schools or districts range from public reporting—with its attendant possibility for public praise or censure—to financial rewards for good performance, to a complete state takeover for persistent bad performance. NCLB has extended federal accountability measures based on test scores to all schools and districts that accept Title I dollars, which are intended to supplement the educational program for students from low-income families.

Standards-based reform, including testing for results, enjoys widespread support as a school improvement strategy among policymakers, educators, and the general public. Even so, many observers express concern that an over-reliance on standardized tests will skew classroom instruction toward content and skills that can be most easily tested at the expense of critical thinking and creativity. Some critics further maintain that there is a limit to how much schools can compensate for distressed family circumstances, charging that the current high-stakes environment is unrealistic and unfair to schools.

Still, many others support high-stakes testing arguing that it casts a needed spotlight on the underachievement of many American students, in particular low-income and minority youth whose low achievement has previously been hidden behind school and district averages. Proponents point to the gains such students are showing on these tests as proof that the strategy is working to close achievement gaps. They maintain that anything less than a system that enforces high standards for all is unfair to students.

It’s important for school districts and their communities to be aware of both the promise and the pitfalls of high-stakes testing. Even though districts are bound to state and NCLB requirements, they still have some latitude in determining how to best prepare their students. This will include passing the state test, of course, because the results tell the community whether their children are able to compete with their peers across the state. But in the end, their success will not be defined by the test alone but by other attributes the community and the outside world value as well. 

2.  What are standardized tests?

Standardized tests are large-scale tests that are administered to students and scored in the same manner. Students take the same test in the same conditions and, if possible, at the same time so that results can be attributed to student performance and not to differences in the test or the way it is given. Because of this, the results of standardized tests can be compared across schools and districts.

Standardized tests are typically developed and administered by commercial test publishers who assure that the test is a fair and valid measure of student knowledge and skills.

The term “standardized testing” is sometimes used as a shorthand expression for machine-scorable, multiple-choice tests. But standardized tests, or assessments, can take many forms and can include open-ended short answer questions or longer essays.

3.  What makes a standardized test high stakes?

A high stakes test has consequences attached to the results. For example, students may be promoted to the next grade, graduate from high school, or be admitted to college based on their scores on standardized tests. Standardized tests can also have high stakes for schools and districts. NCLB requires all schools and districts to make "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) as measured by their students’ scores on the state tests—standardized tests aligned to state standards. Failure to make AYP can result in various sanctions, from allowing students to transfer to a higher-scoring school to a complete restructuring of the academic program and staff.

Not all standardized tests have high stakes. In addition to their state test, many districts use other standardized tests to monitor student progress, diagnose areas of strength and weakness, and provide feedback used by educators so they can reflect on their practices and by parents for more information about their child’s progress. Such "low stakes" tests can be an important part of good instruction.