Measuring success
One of the many challenges associated with modern education is the issue of outcomes and competencies. In most cases, people agree that it would be ideal to have standard expectations for education that everyone could agree on and implement. Of course, the reality is that educators, administrators, and a variety of other "experts" have differing opinions on the proper way to educate the student population. Perspectives are impacted by societal beliefs, prior experiences, anecdotes, exposures of other educational systems, and longitudinal research.
Putting together a strategy
The task set before schools and districts is to listen to the different opinions and constituencies and then make a decision. This challenge is compounded by the fact that they must make curriculum-based decisions, but also fiscally sound decisions. Unfortunately for school districts, the "ideal" educational system may not always be the most affordable. When schools and districts make decisions on proper instrumentation, there will always be those who disagree with the tests that are used. The use of certain tests will obviously affect how teachers conduct their curriculum and lesson plans. Here are a few thoughts on the impact of standardized tests on education today.
Teaching outcomes
In theory, if the standardized test is based on instructional outcomes as determined by the school, then there shouldn't be a major problem. Of course, education is much more complex than the best case scenarios and what seems to make sense "on paper." Teachers and administrators often have differences of opinion as to how outcomes should be measured. Different types of tests can measure various levels of ability and learning style. When a standardized test is introduced, the teacher is in many ways compelled to alter their particular outcomes and methodologies to the test itself, rather than having broader freedom to craft their classroom based on personal experience and teaching philosophy.
Test taking methodology
The presence of a standardized test may lead certain teachers to what some would call, "teaching to the test." This concept revolves around the teacher adjusting their methodology more towards specific test taking strategies, rather than teaching competencies in more standard educational ways. Again, if the standardized test measures outcomes of the curriculum, then teaching to the test may be perfectly acceptable. The problem is that critics worry that the test is not a good reflection of educational outcomes, which means that teachers may just be teaching students how to pass a test, rather than educating them on the material. For students who struggle with test taking, this phenomenon may be heightened as the focus may be more about navigating answers than actually learning material.
Teacher evaluations
As mentioned, evaluating the effectiveness of education can be a complex challenge. The standardized test does give a school or district a quantitative measure by which they can evaluate the effectiveness of the teacher and the outcomes of the curriculum as it is written. Therefore, the teacher may have a definitive incentive to teach to the test as it may be tied to their employment and performance reviews. Outsiders may lament this sort of approach, but one can hardly blame an individual from performing the duties as they have been assigned by supervisors.
The way things are...for now
Overall, the standardized test is the current educational measure that is being used by various schools. Since teachers know this is the instrument, they are going to shift their teaching methodology to maximize performance on the test. Again, people may express concern over the overall fairness of the standardized test, but oftentimes in these situations people have a hard time coming up with something better that inspires an even broader level of consensus. Until a more objective evaluative tool comes along, schools have to go with the best possible tool, and teachers are going to keep that tool in mind when they conduct their classes.