Standardized testing does belong in a balanced system, but it should be recognized as a very small part in the overall assessment levels of a student. Standardized tests act as a snapshot in time, and they do not capture a record of growth. I believe society places too high of an emphasis on these scores, despite the fact that long-term correlation with employment outcomes and post-secondary academic performance is very weak (Stiggins, 2014).
Basing teacher evaluations on standardized test results is deeply flawed. Standardized tests are highly influenced by external factors outside the school’s control. Standardized tests do not measure instructional quality (Pellegrino, 2014; Stiggins, 2014). These tests lack instructional sensitivity and were never designed to measure variables such as classroom climate, social-emotional learning, active student collaboration, and certainly not higher-order thinking skills.
A balanced assessment system includes classroom-level formative assessments, running records, exit tickets, and immediate processed-focused teacher feedback. Teachers who use a balanced system understand that standardized assessments pay a very small role in determining students’ growth.
These photos are from an informal assessment in the fall. The candy corn they’re holding have three spaces for numbers, in standard form, place value and expanded form. I observed students making their lines so their candy numbers go from least to greatest. I was able to listen and assess students quickly to see which strategies they used to determine their place in line, and to see if they understood the concept of least to greatest.
