Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 111
Release: 2011-10-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309225078

In recent years there have been increasing efforts to use accountability systems based on large-scale tests of students as a mechanism for improving student achievement. The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a prominent example of such an effort, but it is only the continuation of a steady trend toward greater test-based accountability in education that has been going on for decades. Over time, such accountability systems included ever-stronger incentives to motivate school administrators, teachers, and students to perform better. Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education reviews and synthesizes relevant research from economics, psychology, education, and related fields about how incentives work in educational accountability systems. The book helps identify circumstances in which test-based incentives may have a positive or a negative impact on student learning and offers recommendations for how to improve current test-based accountability policies. The most important directions for further research are also highlighted. For the first time, research and theory on incentives from the fields of economics, psychology, and educational measurement have all been pulled together and synthesized. Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education will inform people about the motivation of educators and students and inform policy discussions about NCLB and state accountability systems. Education researchers, K-12 school administrators and teachers, as well as graduate students studying education policy and educational measurement will use this book to learn more about the motivation of educators and students. Education policy makers at all levels of government will rely on this book to inform policy discussions about NCLB and state accountability systems.

Test Policy and Test Performance: Education, Language, and Culture

Test Policy and Test Performance: Education, Language, and Culture
Author: Bernard R. Gifford
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 940092500X

Bernard R. Gifford In the United States, the standardized test has become one of the major sources of information for reducing uncertainty in the determination of individual merit and in the allocation of merit-based educational, training, and employment opportunities. Most major institutions of higher education require applicants to supplement their records of academic achievements with scores on standardized tests. Similarly, in the workplace, as a condition of employment or assignment to training programs, more and more employers are requiring prospective employees to sit for standardized tests. In short, with increasing frequency and intensity, individual members of the political economy are required to transmit to the opportunity marketplace scores on standardized examinations that purport to be objective measures of their abilities, talents, and potential. In many instances, these test scores are the only signals about their skills that job applicants are permitted to send to prospective employers. THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TESTING AND PUBLIC POLICY In view of the importance of these issues to our current national agenda, it was proposed that the Human Rights and Governance and the Education and Culture Programs of the Ford Foundation support the establishment of a ''blue ribbon" National Commission on Testing and Public Policy to investigate some of the major problems, as well as the untapped opportunities, created by recent trends in the use of standardized tests, particularly in the workplace and in schools.

Beyond Test Scores

Beyond Test Scores
Author: Jack Schneider
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2017-08-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674976398

When it comes to sizing up America’s public schools, test scores are the go-to metric of state policy makers and anxious parents looking to place their children in the “best” schools. Yet ample research indicates that standardized tests are a poor way to measure a school’s performance. It is time—indeed past time—to rethink this system, Jack Schneider says. Beyond Test Scores reframes current debates over school quality by offering new approaches to educational data that can push us past our unproductive fixation on test scores. Using the highly diverse urban school district of Somerville, Massachusetts, as a case study, Schneider and his research team developed a new framework to more fairly and comprehensively assess educational effectiveness. And by adopting a wide range of measures aligned with that framework, they were able to more accurately capture a broader array of school strengths and weaknesses. Their new data not only provided parents, educators, and administrators with a clearer picture of school performance, but also challenged misconceptions about what makes a good school. With better data, Schneider shows, stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels can undo the damage of present accountability systems and build greater capacity in our schools. Policy makers, administrators, and school leaders can better identify where assistance is needed. Educators can engage in more evidence-based decision making. And parents can make better-informed choices for their children. Perhaps most importantly, better data can facilitate communication among all these groups, allowing them to take collective action toward shared, concrete goals.

The Testing Charade

The Testing Charade
Author: Daniel Koretz
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2017-08-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 022640871X

America's leading expert in educational testing and measurement openly names the failures caused by today's testing policies and provides a blueprint for doing better. 6 x 9.

Test Policy and the Politics of Opportunity Allocation: The Workplace and the Law

Test Policy and the Politics of Opportunity Allocation: The Workplace and the Law
Author: Bernard R. Gifford
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9400925026

Bernard R. Gifford In the United States, the standardized test has become one of the major sources of information for reducing uncertainty in the determination of individual merit and in the allocation of merit-based educational, training, and employment opportunities. Most major institutions of higher education require applicants to supplement their records of academic achievements with scores on standardized tests. Similarly, in the workplace, as a condition of employment or assignment to training programs, more and more employers are requiring prospective employees to sit for standardized tests. In short, with increasing frequency and intensity, individual members of the political economy are required to transmit to the opportunity marketplace scores on standardized examinations that purport to be objective measures of their and potential. In many instances, these test scores are the abilities, talents, only signals about their skills that job applicants are permitted to send to prospective employers. THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TESTING AND PUBLIC POLICY In view of the importance of these issues to our current national agenda, it was proposed that the Human Rights and Governance and the Education and Culture Programs of the Ford Foundation support the establishment of a ''blue ribbon" National Commission on Testing and Public Policy to investigate some of the major problems as well as the untapped opportunities created by recent trends in the use of standardized tests, particularly in the workplace and in schools.

Improving the Test Process

Improving the Test Process
Author: Graham Bath
Publisher: Rocky Nook, Inc.
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2013-12-13
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1492001333

This book covers the syllabus for the Improving the Test Process module of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Expert Level exam. To obtain certification as a professional tester at the Expert Level, candidates may choose to take a course given by an ISTQB accredited training provider and then sit for the exam. Experience shows that many candidates who choose this path still require a reference book that covers the course. There are also many IT professionals who choose self-study as the most appropriate route toward certification. This book can be used both as a preparation guide for those planning to take the ISTQB Expert Level certification exam and as a practical guide for experienced testing professionals who want to develop their skills in improving test processes.

Test Policy in Defense

Test Policy in Defense
Author: Bernard R. Gifford
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9401129703

Bernard R. Gifford and Linda C. Wing Standardized testing has become a ubiquitous feature of American life. As a major source of information for reducing uncertainty in the alJocation of merit based educational, training, and employment opportunities, testing affects the life chances of individuals. Moreover, testing inOuences the way in which our societyjudgesitselfandprovides for ourcollective future. Test scores may determine a child's admission to lcindergarten and promotion to the fIrst grade. Most states award the high school diploma only ifa student has passed a minimum competency test. Major institutions of higher education typically require applicants to supplement their records of academic achievement with scores on college admissions tests. In the labor market, as a condition of employment or assignment to training programs, more and more employers are requiring workers to sit for personnel selection tests. Additionally, it has become commonplace to use test scores to calibrate our national sociopolitical condition and our capacity to compete with other countries in the global economy. In short, with increasing frequency and intensity, scores on examinations that purport to be objective and precise measures of individual knowledge, abilities, and potential are playing a critical role in the opportunity marketplace. Similarly, test scores are exercising growing influence in assessments of our social and economic institutions and in policy decisions about the relative invesunents that should be made in each. In all these instantiations, test scores are at the center of high-stakes decision making about the future of individuals and of the nation itself.

Improving Test Performance of Students With Disabilities...On District and State Assessments

Improving Test Performance of Students With Disabilities...On District and State Assessments
Author: Judy L. Elliott
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2005-08-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 141291728X

"Students with disabilities must overcome unique obstacles in order to learn, and the pressure of testing often exacerbates existing challenges. With increased focus on accountability for all, how can educators properly prepare students for tests without sacrificing meaningful learning? In Improving Test Performance of Students With Disabilities ... On District and State Assessments, Second Edition, authors Elliott and Thurlow offer numerous strategies for improving instruction, student accommodations, and test preparation, all with the goal of improving the test performance of students with disabilities. Emphasizing practical application, this comprehensive resource delineates the key elements district, school, and state professionals must consider in order to maximize the academic performance of students with disabilities. The second edition of this insightful text addresses the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on instruction and assessment practices for students with disabilities, including those who are also English Language Learners. Featuring inserts and easy-to-follow worksheets, tables, and appendices, this indispensable resource will enable all educators to help students with disabilities learn more effectively and show what they know on the day of the test."--Publisher's website.

The Test

The Test
Author: Anya Kamenetz
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2015-01-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1610394429

"[The anti-testing] movement now has a guidebook. . . . Kamenetz shows how fundamentally American it would be to move toward a more holistic system." -- New York Times Book Review The Test is an essential and critically acclaimed book for any parent confounded by our national obsession with standardized testing. It recounts the shocking history and tempestuous politics of testing and borrows strategies from fields as diverse as games, neuroscience, and ancient philosophy to help children cope. It presents the stories of families, teachers, and schools maneuvering within and beyond the existing educational system, playing and winning the testing game. And it points the way toward a hopeful future of better tests and happier kids.

Constructing Test Items

Constructing Test Items
Author: Steven J. Osterlind
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9400910711