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Should Standardized Tests Determine Who Is Held Back?


Share High-stakes testing in Louisiana will affect about one-third of the fourth- and eighth-grade students. Those students flunked math and reading tests in March and may be kept back this year unless they attend summer school and pass a second test in July. Included: Howard Gardner weighs in on the use of standardized testing as a tool for promotion or retention.

Nearly one-third of all fourth- and eighth-grade students in Louisiana may be held back this year because of the state's new high-stakes testing program designed to boost student competency in basic skills.

Students who flunked the reading and math standardized tests administered in March will have another chance to pass the tests in July after attending summer school. If they score at the "approaching basic" competency level or higher on the tests, the students will pass to the next grade if they have also met other school-district requirements. The state expects about half of those students to pass on the second attempt.


Are High-Stakes Tests the Answer?

Are standardized tests, especially high-stakes tests that link grade promotion and graduation, a Band-Aid to fix what is ailing schools? Many people think tests are a way to make educators -- and students -- accountable. Others disagree, saying one test is just that -- one test, only one indicator of what students have learned. Share with us your opinions about high-stakes testing on our message board.

The test is part of Louisiana's school-reform initiative. Students are tested in four content areas: English, math, science, and social studies. Only scores in reading and math are linked to promotion to the next grade.

"The notion of high-stakes testing was brought on as one component of Louisiana's overall reform efforts and not in isolation," said Scott Norton, director of standards and assessments for the Louisiana Department of Education. "Other parts of the comprehensive reform include rigorous content standards, new assessments, a school and district accountability program, a kindergarten through grade 3 reading and math initiative, and a new technology program.

"Through a combination of these efforts, we are beginning to see signs of improvement," Norton told Education World. "ACT scores are up, the number of students needing college remediation is down, norm-referenced test scores are up, the standards-based test scores are up, and the kindergarten through grade 3 reading scores have improved as well."

Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education professor, best known for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critic of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments, advises caution when educators emphasize the results of one test. "It is always risky to pin a life decision on one measure, and this is particularly true when it comes to the fate of a child," Gardner told Education World. "I am not in favor of social promotion per se; I am in favor of decisions about promotion being made on the fullest body of evidence, not just one strand."

MORE URBAN STUDENTS WILL STAY BACK

From the Education World Archive

Check out these other stories in Education World's "Are High-Stakes Tests the Answer?" series:

  • Are High-Stakes Tests Punishing Some Students?.

  • Some Teachers, Students, Parents Say No to Tests!.

  • How Important Should One Test Be?

    • This was the second year students took the tests and, in most school districts, student scores improved over student scores last year. Generally, however, large, urban school districts scored significantly lower compared with smaller, suburban school districts. For example, 63 percent of grade 8 students from the Orleans (urban) school district failed the math test, while only 10 percent from the St. Tammany (suburban) school district failed.

    "Regarding urban performance, I think that our state is not unique, in that disadvantaged students have not performed as well as some more affluent students," Norton said.

    Some educators believe the tests penalize urban children. "Poor kids almost always get a lesser education, and a test won't solve the problem," said Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, testing-reform advocacy group. Several factors affect poor children's academic performances, and more money doesn't always close the gap between their test scores and the scores of their white, middle class counterparts, Neill told Education World.

    AFT SUPPORTS STANDARDS TESTING

    "We were supportive of the Louisiana legislation," said Jamie Horwitz, speaking for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which supports standards testing. The organization's wants to make sure the state continues to financially support remedial services for those students who fail the tests, he said.

    The trend for high-stakes testing is on the rise. In 1996, only three states had promotion policies based on standardized tests; in 1999, 13 states had such policies, according to Making Standards Matter 1999: Executive Summary, an annual report by the AFT.

    The report also found that 28 states require high school seniors to pass an exit exam -- a test that requires students to achieve minimum competency -- to receive a high school diploma. Half of those states require students achieve at least tenth-grade standards or higher to earn a diploma.

    Louisiana is one of the few states requiring an exit exam for students in the fourth and eighth grades. The state expects to retain about 10 to 15 percent this year, a higher number than last year when about 6 to 8 percent were held back.

    ENDING SOCIAL PROMOTION

    The testing program by the Louisiana Department of Education takes aim at ending its long-standing practice of social promotion, which the state says is harmful to students and leads to higher dropout rates.

    The AFT supports Louisiana's policy to end social promotion. The organization maintains that students who pass to the next grade without learning are more likely to fail later in school.

    Not everyone agrees. "Grade retention doesn't work," said Neill, of FairTest. Research has found that retaining students raises dropout rates, he added.

    "This [retention] is a failed policy, but it doesn't stop politicians from jumping on the band wagon," he said. "The kids are hurt by this, and the testing profession warns that you don't make grade-retention decisions based on a test."

    The state has an appeals process for students who initially fail the tests. The process requires students meet several conditions to be promoted. Those conditions include:

    • attending summer school and taking the retest.
    • earning a grade of a B in the subject the student failed on the test.
    • meeting the school district's attendance requirement during the school year and summer school session.
    • passing a review of student work by the principal and the school committee.
    • receiving approval of the district superintendent.

    ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES ABOUT EXIT EXAMS

    Diane Weaver Dunne
    Education World®
    Copyright © 2000 Education World

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    06/09/2000