by LaDonna Hatfield

Created on: November 09, 2008

In evaluating high stakes testing, the first question must be the validity of the test. Presumably, a test measures a student's knowledge, ability to reason, and skill in taking a particular type of test. Therefore, for any test to be valid, it must produce reliable results across a broad spectrum if the test is to be used nationwide as a standard for determining student eligibility for college or postgraduate work. In examining tests such as the ACT, the SAT, the GRE, the LMAT, the LSAT and other content specific tests, the most important factor is rating the reliability of the test to measure what it is intended to measure. Therein lies the rub.

Consider the high school seniors preparing for and sweating about the upcoming college entrance examinations. They study from guides that give them practice questions and tests and include information about how to reason, eliminate answers, and be better test takers. Some of these materials have proven results of increasing a student's score by slightly more than one standard deviation. What information does this give us about the test? Well, it does tell us that practicing the type of items given on a standardized test can increase a student's ability to cope with the test. Does it tell us that this student truly is one standard deviation smarter than before? Does it predict that student's ability to cope with a college atmosphere and succeed? Is it a reliable measure of what the student knows? There is no definitive answer to any of those questions. Yet, test producing companies continue to profit from the tests created in spite of research that indicates that the ACT and SAT test scores are the poorest predictors of a student's ability to navigate college and life successfully.

Why does our society make such a big deal about test scores anyway? As a teacher, I am appalled when I hear parents bragging about how well little Johnny has performed on his standardized tests every year. I have spent hours with little Johnny, and I know that he is a bully who is not above cheating on a classroom test or copying homework in order to make sure he gets an "A" in a class. His test scores don't impress me much because they really don't tell me much about little Johnny other than that he has natural ability to learn and is skilled at taking tests. The scores say nothing about his creativity, his relationship with others, his respect for authority, and his natural propensity for all things artistic and creative in nature. Test

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