Education in the US

Group 6_ Class 09E20 Ta Van Don Pham Thi Nhan Pham Thu Trang

Topic: Is the provision Stronger Accountability concerning high stakes testing in No Child Left Behind Act (NCLH) good and worth continuing?

Outline
I. INTRODUCTION No Child Left Behind Act Stronger Accountability : Testing for results II. DEVELOPMENT 1. Pros and cons of high stakes testing under the NCLB Act 1.1. Pros 1.2. Cons 2. Do the disadvantages of high stakes testing really outweigh its advantages? III. CONCLUSION

I. INTRODUCTION
1.

What Is No Child Left Behind?

- Affect schools receiving Title I funding -Outline President Bush's public education reform agenda - Propose the most dramatic changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since its enactment in 1965.

- Provide "greater decision-making authority and flexibility to schools and teachers

Jan. 8, 2002

1. What Is No Child Left Behind?

4 laws main goals

Close the achievement gap between advantaged & disadvantaged students

Reading proficiency for all students by the end of grade 3 by 2013

Math and reading proficiency for all students within 12 years

A highly qualified teacher for every core academic subject

The law is based on four main principles: Stronger Accountability for Results More Choices for Parents and Students Greater Flexibility for States, School Districts, and Schools Proven Education Methods

2. Stronger Accountability : Testing for results

Each state establishes its own tests and state standards (AYP). While, federal government establishes national deadline for every states to reach proficiency and consequences for missing federally mandated education goals.
States must show that students are making improvement that all students by 2013 must be able to pass their respective state tests.

If not, government intervention begins, after five years schools have to restructure themselves.

High stakes test

A common topic in debates A test with important consequences for the test taker.

Two contradict opinions concerning to Testing for results

-Fair - Objective measure -accountable to taxpayers

Not fair Not objective Narrow curriculum Undermines America's innovative and critical students ability

II. DEVELOPMENT
Pros and cons of testing students under the NCLB Act 1.1. Pros
1.

- A clear benchmark
+ Let teachers and schools know what is expected of them + Cannot hide behind shortcomings and external pressures that may have led to years of poor performance. - No more excuses + Allows the government to hold schools accountable + Stop the excuses and make people perform up to a certain standard.

1.2. Cons
- Teaching to the test
+ Only give students the methodologies to navigate through the test questions, rather than teaching curricular outcomes. According to A five-year University of Maryland study : "the pressure teachers were feeling to 'teach to the test'" since NCLB was leading to "declines in teaching higher-order thinking, in the amount of time spent on complex assignments, and in the actual amount of high cognitive content in the curriculum + Replace good teaching practices with "drill n' kill" rote learning

Disconnection between the skills traditionally taught in schools and actual skills needed in the workplace. Curriculum standards nationwide have become more fragmented, with greater variations by state and region

1.2. Cons

Stress on students

+ Cause severe stress in younger students According to education researcher Gregory J. Cizek, anecdotes abound "illustrating how testing... produces gripping anxiety in even the brightest students, and makes young children vomit or cry, or both." On Mar. 14, 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported that "test-related jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it."

1.2. Cons
-

Creativity crisis

+ Dumbing down" the nation's schools + Jeopardizing the country's economic future.
A 2010 College of William & Mary study found Americans' scores on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking have been dropping since 1990, and researcher Kyung-Hee Kim lays part of the blame on the increase in High stakes testing: "If we neglect creative students in school because of the structure and the testing movement... then they become underachievers."

2. Do the disadvantages of Testing under NCLB outweigh its advantages?

-

Determining learning results Being a part of teaching. Helping teachers understand their students need, students understand what to learn, and parents understand how to help children.

Testing suppresses teaching and learning.

2. Do the disadvantages of Testing under NCLB outweigh its advantages?

-

A quality education reaches far beyond the of any specific test. confines Effective teachers recognize the value of testing and know how to employ testing in instruction.

narrow the curriculum by rewarding test-taking skills & promote "teaching to the test."

=> If teachers provide students enough knowledge and students know how to study effectively , they will not get into the trap of teaching and learning to the test

And the present results

The long-term Nation's Report Card (NAEP) (July 2005) For America's nine-year-olds in reading, more progress was made in five years than in the previous 28 combined. America's nine-year-olds posted the best scores in reading (since 1971) and math (since 1973) in the history of the report. America's 13-yearolds earned the highest math scores the test ever recorded. Reading and math scores for African American and Hispanic nine-yearolds reached an all-time high. Math scores for African American and Hispanic 13-year-olds reached an all-time high.

Achievement gaps in reading and math between white and African American nine-year-olds and between white and Hispanic nine-yearolds are at an all-time low.

And the present results

High stakes tests motivates students

E.g: In Minnesota, the students : - More engaged and asked more questions about topics beyond what they were learning in class. Want to master the material so that they could do well on the state test. Feel that doing well on this test would increase their self-worth and selfefficacy.

III. Conclusion

The Law is worth continuing.

References

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.nichols/what_is_high_stakes_testing__nclb_ http://High stakestests.procon.org/ http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/ayp/testingforresults.html http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/4 http://usinfo.org/enus/education/overview/facts.html http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/20DB5E75-059E-4EB7BFB1-F9C171ABE0C3/0/Fundamentals_of_High stakes_Testing_Final.pdf http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/education/no_child/before.ht ml http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/education/no_child/basics.ht mL http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-07-06-nea-protest-songs_x.htm http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-3439491.html http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/Brief-MosesNanna.pdf