A Month of Opting Out of Standardized Tests: Week 1
Parents Can Opt Out - United Opt Out National
Reason 1: We trust teachers
Standardized tests have become the most important measure of educational quality in recent years. As some of my later posts will explain, this is ridiculous. You might have heard of Value Added Measurement (VAM), which is how test scores are used to determine teacher quality. VAM requires a complicated statistical model that can be horribly erroneous when calculated by those without the right expertise. Not only is VAM ripe for error, but the American Statistical Association has highlighted research that shows teachers account for only 1 percent-14 percent of the variance in student test scores. Very recent research has also demonstrated that there is no association between VAM test score data and other composite measures of effective teaching. In other words, VAM is a problematic way to measure teacher quality that is also inconsistent with what we already know about good teaching. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Standardized tests have become the most important measure of educational quality in recent years. As some of my later posts will explain, this is ridiculous. You might have heard of Value Added Measurement (VAM), which is how test scores are used to determine teacher quality. VAM requires a complicated statistical model that can be horribly erroneous when calculated by those without the right expertise. Not only is VAM ripe for error, but the American Statistical Association has highlighted research that shows teachers account for only 1 percent-14 percent of the variance in student test scores. Very recent research has also demonstrated that there is no association between VAM test score data and other composite measures of effective teaching. In other words, VAM is a problematic way to measure teacher quality that is also inconsistent with what we already know about good teaching. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
According to the most recent Phi Delta Kappa survey on public education, 72 percent of Americans have trust and confidence in their kids' teachers. You can count us among their numbers. Nobody knows what our children are capable of more than the teachers that see them every day. Fifty-eight percent of Americans also oppose the use of standardized tests to evaluate teachers. We are definitely among them as well, and as long as test scores are being used in this fashion, I hope they join us in opting out.
Reason 2: False Premises
If you listen to politicians and pundits (bad idea) then you'd think that poor standardized test scores are a danger to our national security and that boosting test scores can be the cure for everything from pervasive poverty to sustainable economic growth. You'll even hear claims that closing the achievement gap will add trillions of dollars to our GDP. While the U.S. census has shown that each additional year of schooling will lead to greater overall career earnings, there is no evidence that higher test scores will have that same relationship. Economists make predictions with lots of assumptions, but there is one serious flaw to the argument that higher test scores equal greater economic success.
That flaw is that test scores are a symptom of poverty and economic success, not a cause. There is a clear and undeniable link between socioeconomic status and test scores, but it is socioeconomic status that affects test scores, not the other way around. Simply put, raising test scores will not reduce poverty -- reducing poverty will raise test scores. We opt our children out of the test because we refuse to help A Month of Opting Out of Standardized Tests: Week 1 | Jason Endacott:
