It's all about accountability. Test scores are something that the public can easily attach meaning to--even if that meaning is based on a test that really doesn't reflect learning well. It's the issue of taking a complex scenario and breaking it down into a quantifiable statistic. The argument is really about testing validity. It's hard to say that high stakes test has any--externally or internally.
I really don't think the "public" looks at test scores. They are reported to the state and the school board. Not a flood of people at the school board meetings or reading the newspaper articles about test score results. Now, the public will be interested in how the football team is doing. If I think about a school in Iowa that I have never been to or a community in Iowa I have never visited, I am going to make a judgement on if it is a "good school" or "nice town" based on how many times I have heard of that school or town in a state football or basketball final.
It's all about accountability. Test scores are something that the public can easily attach meaning to--even if that meaning is based on a test that really doesn't reflect learning well. It's the issue of taking a complex scenario and breaking it down into a quantifiable statistic. The argument is really about testing validity. It's hard to say that high stakes test has any--externally or internally.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think the "public" looks at test scores. They are reported to the state and the school board. Not a flood of people at the school board meetings or reading the newspaper articles about test score results. Now, the public will be interested in how the football team is doing. If I think about a school in Iowa that I have never been to or a community in Iowa I have never visited, I am going to make a judgement on if it is a "good school" or "nice town" based on how many times I have heard of that school or town in a state football or basketball final.
ReplyDelete