2015 Superintendent of the Year: High-stakes testing is the ‘fool’s gold’ of accountability
Philip D. Lanoue is the superintendent of the 13,000-student Clarke County School District in Georgia, the most impoverished county in the state — and he is the 2015 American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year. As Clarke superintendent since 2009, he is credited with making more gains to close the achievement between economically disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students than any other district in the state. Here’s a piece by Lanoue on the difference between high-stakes testing and meaningful assessment.
By Philip D. Lanoue
We are in the midst of a testing epidemic. We are requiring teachers to give students test after test, and students are asking who the test evaluates – because it is not about them anymore. Why are we only looking at students as no more than a test score, and evaluating teachers in the same way? Evaluating the total learning experience for either students or teachers through high stakes testing has no real research base and holds little value for students. Let’s not confuse the high-stakes testing movement with the practice of effective and meaningful assessment.
Is the testing movement really about children learning?
That is the question that is most perplexing to me. I look at my colleagues in other districts across the country, and I believe there is consensus among educators that conversations regarding school transformation must shift from problems and failure to solutions and successes.
It is clear that the annual testing merry-go-round is not going to get the results we want: all students engaged and performing at high levels. Rather, this fixation on ratings through high stakes testing is so entrenched that we are missing the bigger picture about the true purpose of our classrooms. Teachers need to be able to inspire students to seek answers using new skills and knowledge to solve problems. Students and teachers alike should not have such great emphasis on singular tests that hold the key to how both are ultimately assessed.
Can we approach assessment differently and meaningfully?
We need to shift the conversation away from testing and toward one where the primary focus is educating students to be inquisitive and engaged, and to foster their own understanding of individual strengths and areas for growth. Through clearly articulated performance standards, teachers can design lessons to challenge students and create assessments to inform both students and teachers of their progress. Teachers can then provide students with the needed feedback and support to ensure they are growing and learning.
With education technology constantly evolving, we can leverage new solutions with new processes. We must also ensure strong professional development is in place to use these new tools. The process must be continuous to effectively 2015 Superintendent of the Year: High-stakes testing is the ‘fool’s gold’ of accountability - The Washington Post:
