Every regular reader of this blog knows the answer or answers to the question that is the title of this post?
Standardized testing is being misused.
It is designed to measure how a student can read or do math in comparison with others in the same grade or age.
It is not designed to measure teacher or school quality.
It is not designed to trigger school closings.
It should not be used to stigmatize or brand students. It is a diagnostic tool.
This article by Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times ties together the growing demonstrations of resistance to the misuse of testing. It ties the Los Angeles school board election to the anti-testing movement.
The tests produce the data that are used to punish students, teachers, principals, and schools. The tests and the data they produce are the lifeblood of the privatization movement.
The privatization movement can’t do any better than public schools on their sacred testing measures. They are willing to take the chance (nay, certainty) of recreating a dual school system. But the privatizers know that once they destroy public education, it will take decades to put it back together again, if ever.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Actually, I just finished reading @ The Chalkface saying that the issue goes way beyond the uses (and abuses) the tests are put to. The problems come from the tests themselves (the means), not just the ends. We need to stop relying on tests period. Even when they “confirm” our beliefs. Anyway, he said it better than I can, so here’s him saying it: http://atthechalkface.com/2013/03/04/the-education-games-endure/
Dienne, The Chalkface could not be more correct. The tests are NOT “standardized” because they are NEITHER valid nor reliable. The scoring of extended response questions has been an outrageous exercise in subjectivity and guesswork (BTW, has anyone seen Pear$on’$ latest, COLOR (what’s up with those balloons?!) help wanted ads? Once again, I must promote the book Making the Grades: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry by Todd Farley. AND–read him on the Huffington Post Education–NOTHING has changed (well–they have gotten worse, actually–COMPUTERS scoring WRITTEN tests!) if you dare to think anything has gotten better. Pineapple Hare, what say you?
Education Termination is a fable for our time. It tells the story of how top politicians solve our public schools crisis. Teacher-free, student-less schools become the norm. STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES SOAR, property taxes plunge, and the politicians get reelected! Yes, it could happen here.
Read how at http://www.mountainmaninsights.org Click on Education Termination. Start laughing – and crying!
I think that it’s empirically demonstrable that these tests aren’t even valid and reliable as tests of reading, writing, and math abilities, much less of teacher and school performance. What’s next–shall we use the tests to measure the performance of the the neighborhoods the schools are in? the cities and towns? Crazy.
“That which can be measured, can be managed.”
Although bound up with the profiteering which is at the heart of so-called education reform, the overuse/misuse of high stakes testing is also about power and control.
Like the Taylorist use of “scientific management” in the early twentieth century to seize control of the labor process from skilled industrial workers, corporate education reform is about controlling the workplace and stripping teachers of their autonomy. It serves economic and political ends, and is a crude form of social engineering, as well.
Standardized testing was not intended to serve all its many misused purposes. But even as a measure of an individual student it has enormous imitations. The score is “accurate” only within a very broad range==a so-called year on or off, and in 1/3 of the cases wider than that. That’s its statistical range of reliability. However, since it only covers a certain percentage of the skills and aptitudes involved in reading or math it may not reflect how well the students have done on what they primarily DID study. Nor does it take into account that some work best under timed pressure, and some worse. This wouldn’t show up on reliability studies. etc etc. In short it’s even a lousy messenger regarding how one particular child is doing–and rarely useful diagnostically unless the teacher had the feedback–actually items answered wrong and right–immediately so he could match it with the kids, do some follow-up interviews, and try other ways of reteaching it. That’s what good in-class assessment aims at. Such assessment is not, honestly, intended for the purposes of judging students, but rather of judging the effectiveness of one’s teaching. And, if we don’t keep peering over teacher’s shoulders, it might discourage cheating–and might replace all the more critical daily observational and relationship-building skills that good teaching demands. The greatest moments are when a student actually says–I’m totally lost, or I’m confused, or why doesn’t this way seem to work for me, or…. It’s ignorance displayed that we should cheer about, not ignorance disguised.
Let’s not forget the student level factors during the assessments themselves…I watched 5th graders slowly melt down today during their science tests. There is NO WAY the test completed today is an accurate measure of what these children know.
Testing is to education what bloodletting is to medicine. It appears to help the subject in small amounts, but too much kills the individuals impacted. However, bloodletting was the accepted practice in medicine until common sense and advanced knowledge of health and medicine finally prevailed. Teachers must continue to expose the false measures of testing to give hope for the education of our students. Perhaps as we gain more understanding of how children learn based on brain research, we will be able to leave behind an archaic understanding of measuring learning based on standardized test results.
Here is my question. Every single one of us believes that standardized testing is ineffective at best and destructive & harmful at worst. So why are we not taking to the streets? Protesting on the Capitol steps? Mention gun control and thousands of people carry signs and demonstrate. Why are we so reluctant to do more than comment on blog posts? (I include myself in this…)
@ Amy Brougher Milstein
I think the same think every single day. I am willing to lead the revolution! But, I fear there are far too few people paying attention and informed. What do we need to do to open the eyes of the 99%? There is no way the masses would be ok with these reforms. But, you cannot defend what you are unaware of. So, I guess it is important for states and local communities to do what they can to educate. Starting by having the PTA/PTO in your district distribute an informational flyer to all families is a start. Doing that as a whole state is even better. I think when this national movement gets going we need to have our own ‘think tank’ (virtual) bringing together all the minds that “get it” and come up with a plan to circumvent the media and roll out the message across the country. The time is now.