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Standardized tests and how it affects teaching

Standardized tests are intended to be an evaluation of how the student has internalized the subject areas. Unfortunately, standardized testing also shows the capability of students to figure out "how to take the tests." This adds a different dimension to teaching when not only does the teacher have to teach the content such as punctuation skills or science concepts, but they also have to teach test-taking skills so that the student's skills are adequately assessed.

Each state is different but all of them have their own standardized test or they utilize a commercially available one such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for example. Sometimes a district will use both the state administered test plus a commercially available one. One example of this is the state of Kansas uses their own test with their own criteria in addition to a twice-a-year commercially available "MAP" test which has its own set of criteria. They are very closely related but the delivery is somewhat different and the purpose is different. The MAP test is used to test growth over time and the state test is a "snapshot in time" for the student.

Pacing of the objectives

Teachers feel pressure to cover material and pace lessons to cover the test items by the time the tests are administered. Each school makes their own decision on when to administer the tests. Ideally the tests would be given late enough in the school year to allow a natural assessment of what has been taught throughout the entire school year. Usually this is in mid-April but some schools test as soon as mid-February. Often schools get a discount on the cost of scoring and reports if they choose an earlier testing time to avoid the rush. I taught in a private school for five years in which the state tests were always administered the same week as Valentine's Day paries. This forced us to teach as much content as we could before February. Even though the students were compared to other schools who were also testing in February, those schools were pushing their curriculum to be covered by February, OR they were year-round schools. Our planning was pressured and our pacing was compressed so that we felt pressured to introduce skills to students before they were ready.

Some students need the entire four quarters to absorb and build on their skills. When standardized tests become the backbone of the planning cycle, they do not get the entire year; they get the year until testing is

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