by Kathy Myers

Created on: December 11, 2009

As an educator I have seen many changes in education over the past 23 years.  The amount of time spent on testing has skyrocketed.  I feel like we are testing every few weeks and I am not persuaded that it is reliable or valid concerning assessing needs of students, and basing their literacy deficiencies and achievement on such tests.

One very important thing we have to remember is all tests are not created equal, and more is not always better.  In many schools there are at least three different types of assessments used on a regular basis.  Tests are administered at least three times a year to assess reading and math, and at times even more frequent.  These are not classroom tests that gauge learning based on what the teacher has taught or presented, but test that are supposed to assess overall learning, which in my opinion; they only give a brief inconsistent view of  students learning.

Reading tests are also constructed in various formats which play a monumental role in the success of the student when completing these tests.   Johnny may be a whiz-bang at reading, but the way the questions are posed directly affects how he might respond.  If he is not familiar with that specific format it could give a false interpretation of his scores. 

Test structures vary and so does the reliability.  It seems that we are all too willing to accept the test manufacture’s data and assume that if they says it is research based, it must be a “valid reliable” test.  However, I have seen numerous tests for the same specific grade level be absolutely miles apart on reading skills, and also the range of complexity is astounding.

If the test items are multiple choice answers, chances are many Johnny will get the answer correct provided he has prior knowledge of the skill. If the questions are posed as open ended short answer, Johnny may not do as well because he may not like to write as well as other students, and may also have a difficult time putting his thoughts into the correct wording the test requires in order to attain credit. 

Vocabulary in directions and test items is a huge hurdle when using many test.  Most reading assessments do not speak like children speak.  This in itself makes it very difficult for students to understand what the question may be asking.  They may know the answers, but don’t understand the questions asked.    

A huge bias of many test is that they assume children all come from mainstream backgrounds.  The reading information is totally foreign to students from many geographical areas.  As a child reads the material presented he/she may be struggling to understand the information, much less understand what the questions want to know.  While diversity is fine, many times it is a stumbling block in testing.

The best test you can give to determine the literacy level of a child is from the teacher.  He/she may not give a formal test, but I can guarantee that a good teacher can pinpoint and diagnose literacy problems working with a child for just a few weeks, whereas a test might pick up on some problems.  Teachers are the answer, and when we finally accept them as the professionals they are, and listen to them, literacy will improve.

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