Richard K. Munro, a veteran high school teacher in California, posted an interesting comment about the uses, abuses, and misuses of standardized tests:
“A highly qualified teacher knows his or her subject material. He or she also knows what works with students and what units are very difficult for students (Industrial Revolution/ Russian Revolution, “Cold” War; or in English conventions of grammar or literary devices). Putting too much emphasis on “the scantron God” (standardized testing) takes away from the teacher’s class and eventually makes his or her grades meaningless. If the grades become meaningless then classroom motivation and discipline decay too. If all the emphasis is “accountability” the temptation for administrators or teachers to cheat or let the students teach is enormous.
“We have an APEX program on the computer so students can make up credits. I only know the program indirectly from students and from subbing occasionally in that room. I find it amazing that students who are completely incompetent can pass all their APEX tests in just weeks and get credits for a Semester or Two Semester class. But then who is really taking the tests? Students tell me there is a black market business to log in with someone else’s ID and take the test. The time to do this is when the classroom teacher is absent. The teacher of record knows the students and has a special screen to watch log in and monitor each screen from his or her desk. But substitutes do not have access to that screen and cannot monitor (easily) log ins. All they can see is students are “on task” taking the test. If there is a way to cheat (using cell phones to take pictures of a good student’s screens or test papers) or having someone else log in for you using your password it will be done. Belief in mass testing like this is scientism. Mass testing is merely a dip stick. Ask any classroom teacher who has graded A VARIETY of assignments (maps, essays, charts, short answer etc.) and that teacher will know more correctly the academic level of student than a scantron test alone. And more importantly that teacher will know what remediation the student needs.
“I find mass testing an important piece of information to VERIFY and CLARIFY what I already know -the student has low reading ability or the student cannot do basic arithmetic or does not know literary devices or has poor grammar or punctuation skills. But once that information is shared it is up to the teacher to motivate and instruct the student. And yes, the student has to be willing. I had an Asian student who is a senior. He was DESPERATE to pass his English exit exam. He asked if he could study with me after school and during lunch for SIX WEEKS prior to the exit exam. In addition he attended Saturday sessions with other teachers. The result? He improved his CAHSEE (exit exam) score not 5 points or 10 but 39 points easily passing the exam (350 is passing and ALMOST scoring “proficient at grade level” 378 -380 is proficient). I don’t need to add he improved more than any other of his peers. One could put students in two categories : 1) those with almost 100% attendance and who also came for extra tutoring whenever they could 2) those with poor attendance -long tardies and 20% or more absenteeism who NEVER came for tutoring and who only occasionally completed class assignments. Most in the second category (not all) failed. Those who passed showed very little improvement and most passed by one 1 point or more.
“BEWARE OF THE SCANTRON GOD. BEWARE of COMMON CORE COMPUTER TESTS as a panacea. At best they are an imperfect dipstick. Such tests should inform classroom teachers. They should not drive graduation rates or have anything to do with school rankings or school sanctions. Quizzes and tests should be used only as review exercises to help students learn and to help them identify their deficiencies. The real test, as my old DI said, is the battlefield. The real test as I tell my students…is life itself. Learn as if your life and career depended on it. Because it does.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
You have to see this video. International teacher of the year says. Don’t go into teaching due to common core!
http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/03/17/bts-nancie-atwell-teaching-award-million-dollars.cnn
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike
The computer can’t tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what’s missing is the eyebrows.
Frank Zappa
LikeLike
Richard:
I strongly disagree about many of your comments on the negative aspects of teaching applications using scan tron tests. From your negative comments, you may have a LIMITED view on the scan tron’s versatility and usefulness. In many well defined disciplines, such as the STEM disciplines, scan tron evaluations are very useful and effective. Most likely your teaching experiences are in a non- STEM discipline, such as history. In the history disciplines, possibly the scan tron has limited practical applications, but in the STEM disciplines, that requires the mastery of the pre-requisite skills applied in the discipline, that many times student’s skills are deficient, but the skills need to be identified and corrected. When the tests are diagnostic-prescriptive(D/P) with printouts, student, and class, item and area analysis ares very useful for the student, parent and instructor to identify strong and weak areas for the student and class.
For example, In our 22 year program applying the scan -tron D/P tests and printouts, the model applys many other innovations. Some of these innovations include learning textbooks, pre and post scan tron tests ( to evaluate student and class learning, empirically and systematically), block scheduling, and four types of evaluation including homework, quizzes, D/P Scan Tron mid terms and two final exams. The program’s 22 year, DOCUMENTED result involved class and student learning at a rate of 7 to 9 times the K-12 Stanford norm -reference mean of 9.1 % year. The student population was 90% Latino or black. More that 20 different instructors and 10,000 students were involved over the 22 year period. All of the instructors used the same program, syllabus, scan tron tests, and grading standards. Four level of math were involved- General math, pre-algebra and algebra 1 and 2. The D/P scan tron final for each course became the entrance test for the next course to improve appropriate student placement limit “social promotion” among levels. Question: Without an effective and objective evaluation system that the scan tron provides, how does one place students into an appropriate academic level that is fair, hones,t and effective for both the student and teacher?
Some indicators of success involving these D/P scan tron tests in this program include: The number of math classes increased from 4 classes to 14 classes in ten years. The average class enrollment increased from the low teens to over 30. The program eliminated cheating, as no calculators or cell phones were permitted. The students had practice tests that mirrored the scan tron tests, so there was no need to cheat. Since most math problems involve at least three or four steps, the student had to UNDERSTAND each step before correct answer was chosen. In addition, the students had to show their test work on a separate paper, that was collected. The tests were five place multiple choice with none correct as the fifth choice, so student guessing is eliminated. The learning class results are documented( but not published at this time), for doubters.
Since the tests are diagnostic- prescriptive, the student’s printout can identify deficient areas allowing corrective Internet software, such as the Khan Academy, to obtain unlimited amount of help on any problem area or specific question. Since each exam had 50 questions, ten areas with the first five areas involving review material, the student was in constant contact with the material to be reviewed or learned. Once a meaningful scan tron test baseline is is established for each of the six exams( entrance, three mid term, and two final exams including a retake of the entrance exam to measure student and class learning empirically by each of the ten areas or the composite), individual scores can be predicted on the next exam. Please explain to me and the world, how can an instructor teaching in the STEM areas, can obtain all of the student and class R & D information to help individual and students learn and teacher teach more effectively without D/P scan tron testing and printout information?
Once again the D/P scan tron evaluation and printouts was only one of the tools applied int he programs, but it became one of the most useful tools that us math and science instructor’s had and students wanted and enjoyed. D/P scan tron tests and printouts, when applied correctly and with appropriate placement, can help most students in STEM and many other well defined, disciplines learn, regardless of social, economic, ethnic and gender situation- and with little additional cost once the technology, innovation, and expertice are in place.
I am sure if I could sit done with you, Richard, and explain the model and R & D obtained from the data including the scan tron data, you would agree, that in some disciplines the scan tron evaluation is a very important “TOOL”.
By the way I’m in my 50th year of teaching and/or educational R & D at many levels from pre-school to college level STEM disciplines. I have a MS in chemistry, so I know a little about data collection and evaluation. The D/P scan tron tests allow the instructor and students to “see, measure, monitor and even predict” future performance. In my case I could predict the student’s exact score on the next exam ( +/- 3 points) out of 50 to a level of 35% in general math, 45 % in pre-algebra and 55% in algebra 1. The reason the predictability increases with level is that the number of pre-requisite skills increases as the level increases, which allow the trend increase to occur. If I had the time, effort and mechanism to include the student’s homework, quizzes, and attendance, the predictability value could possible double these values. There is no magic to these predictions, as anyone else can do the same, once the baseline D/P scan tron of past performance occurs and includes many of the other innovations applied in the program.
Although the learning process for the individual student can vary, groups of students achievement and learning process are linear, cumulative, incremental, slow and very predictable.
Obviously, for a history teacher, when pre-requisite skills are generally not applied in the current and future discipline area, your comments are understood, but NOT necessarily applicable to all other disciplines.
Sincerely, ekangas@juno.com
LikeLike
To ekangas@juno.com
While your comment of teaching applications using scan tron test is corrected and appropriated for STEM in post secondary education, its usage should be restricted in K-12 and in literature and history as you agree.
Most of all, if you are in educational field of teaching, R&D for half century, you must acknowledge that writing, reading, composing poem, music, field trip to museums, and all recreational sports like soccer, track & field are much important in developing children into civilized human beings who will be the STRONG foundation for any great country.
Critical analysis, thoughtful consideration, and articulate expression will take a lot of time from training, learning, teaching, and practicing. Therefore, being educational expert, wouldn’t you agree that K-12 students should be allowed to develop properly in their window of tiny time frame?
Likewise, wouldn’t you agree that all educational veteran professionals should be allowed to participate/voice to any dramatic changes in education? Back2basic
LikeLike