Bytheville Elementary School was caught between a rock and a hard place. Having passing test scores versus monetary gain was a constant battle. The pressure from administrator Mr. Rodriquez and not letting her team down was a major concern with Ms. Tatum. “Managers routinely delegate unethical behaviors to others and not always consciously.” (HB62) She knew that unless she produced passing scores, the school would be in jeopardy; this was a difficult predicament for Ms. Tatum to be in. Her colleagues were already planning on how the money would be distributed. Unfortunately, in many districts standardized exam results have become the single most important indicator of school performance. As a result, teachers and administrators feel enormous pressure to ensure that test scores consistently rise. This …show more content…
The cheating scandal, which led to years of prison time for some of the offenders, has grown to symbolize the ills of America’s emphasis on standardized testing. Tell teachers their salaries are tied to test scores and there are some who will do whatever it takes to ensure those scores are up to par—even if that means fudging the numbers.
“The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word “ethos,” which means customs, conduct, or character.” (LE pg 250) Sadly, ethical breaches lurk around every corner and concerns of passing the standardized test include all stakeholders such as students, staff members, administrators, parents and community members. Leanette’s mother and president of the Bytheville School Board, Peggy Robinson, was overly concerned about her child making A/B honor roll and not passing her standardized test. Because her child failed, she was retained in the third grade. How could this happen, when her child was an A/B student? It just didn’t add up. Ms. Robinson was very
Assume that Principal Goings framed the problem in relation to students. That is, the teacher arriving late to first period deprived the students of valuable instruction time. Given this perspective, do you believe he would have made the same decision in relation to Mr. Watson? Why or why not? I strongly believe that principal goings should have framed the issues around the students and the teacher requirement to be present and fully committed to fulfilling their responsibilities as educational leaders.
In order for teachers to do their jobs, they need educational tools. However, in many large school districts, they “lack important teaching tools, such as computers and up-to-date textbooks” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). As a result of this, teachers are held accountable for the success/failure of standardized test. On the upside, both jobs are generally independent work without the supervision of a higher ranking individual within the field.
The Hechinger Report mentioned a “modest degree of improvement” in early 2016. This can also be attributed that many school districts are more focused on exceling in the yearly examinations and teach year-round on how to pass the test and not on how to understand the information being taught. The higher the percentage of passing students, the more recognition the school receives under the Every Student Succeeds Act grants. Consequently, the over enthusiasm of a school district in Atlanta, Georgia showed evidence of teachers who were inflating test scores in order to obtain better numbers for the district. This seemingly high success rate came attached to bonuses for the 11 teachers involved.
The authors then introduce the topic of high-stakes testing, which increases a teacher’s incentive for cheating. If a teacher has students that receive poor test scores, the teacher can be passed over for a raise. In extension, if the whole school does not do well then federal funding can be withheld and the teacher could be fired. Teachers can also receive positive incentives for their students to perform better on the high-stakes testing, which include promises of promotions and bonuses (Levitt & Dubner, 2009).
The article, “Cheating report confirms teacher 's suspicions,” examines the Atlanta Public School system’s Georgia state Criterion Reference Competency Test scandal. CNN author, Paul Frysh, discusses former East Lake Elementary school teacher, Julie Rogers-Martin, account of events involving her fellow colleague’s involvement in the artificial inflation of their students’ standardized test scores in attempts to fulfill the requirements necessary for continued federal funding, job security, as well as bonuses. The economic idea that figures prominently in the article is Incentive, particularly the positive aspect of financial rewards and the negative aspect of fraud and depriving the most vulnerable groups of children their right to an education. In an ethical sense, I believe that the economic foundation of Opportunity Cost applies as well
Levine claims that schools are starting to expand the quality of the student body by the rate of the students standardized test (22). Colleges are not looking to get students who do not apply themselves, but also, colleges are making it harder for the poor students that are trying to better their education. Along the same lines, Graff reminds us of the competition of comparing test scores in school (249). Graff explains, in school scores are made up by one’s reading ability, instead of, like in sports, the actual competition itself or arguing (249). Overall schools are using test scores as a way to compete with education instead of looking out for the best interests of the
The state of Texas has been in a constant struggle within itself over just how to evaluate education, and standardized testing in Texas has been a major influencer in terms of the state’s standards for over thirty years. Though these methods of testing have been utilized for decades, resentment to the tests have been continuously rising among educators, parents, and students, but not everyone agrees. Despite government officials trying to quell these protests with changes to administration, and the way the test itself is formatted and formulated, there seems to have been little to no improvement made and those opposing the tests have started calling for an end to all standardized testing. For one to truly understand this ongoing struggle, one must first look at standardized testing’s beginning, then how government today is trying to fix the broken system, and finally consider the opinions of notable figures in the testing world.
Even after the bell rings, there is constant work happening to keep the school district running. The Council of Learning definitely hit this point home for me. In their twenty page document on student progress, they not only explained the importance of academic progress but the importance of pushing for a safer school climate for their students. Outside of the report they addressed the difficulty of excessive testing requirements and how it is putting down students. Only having had the perspective of a student, it was reassuring to see educators seeing a problem and actively seeking a way to fix the problem.
Introduction Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates. Thesis Statement Standardized tests should not be eliminated completely, but should rather be evaluated in addition to other factors such as grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer hours. This would take pressure off of students during standardized tests, allow colleges to see how well-rounded the students are, and give students who are better in other areas
The state tried to force this child, Ethan, to take this test. In the meantime while Andrea was fighting the school system, Ethan Rediske passed away. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our children aren’t all dying of terrible diseases, but these standardized testing is killing our brothers and sisters creativity and passion for school instead. Standardized tests do not accurately measure what students know and what they can do, nor are they accurate predictors of future success
Standardized tests are toxic to the future prospects of America: the students. The tests are prejudiced against minority test-takers as a result of biased questions. Students’ education is harmed due to narrowed curriculums and school closings. With the knowledge gained about standardized tests, many colleges have become “test-optional institutions” (Soares 3). In fact, according the article “Standardized Tests Discriminate Against Minority and Lower Income Students,” Wake Forest University went test-optional in 2009 and today there are over 870 test-optional colleges, representing almost 40 percent of all four-year degree colleges in America (Soares 3).
The issue with intelligence testing also relates to the issue with schools producing conformity. One of the many ways that conformity is taught is through standardized testing (Wheeler, 2013). These tests only evaluate ours skills based on one type of intelligence. Therefore, “standardised testing, in all its forms, is designed to capture a narrow, quantifiable impression of children's abilities”(Wheeler, 2013, p.5). Intelligence tests fail to evaluate a majority of the vital components of intelligence (“Intelligent intelligence”,n.d.).
Student scores on standardized tests have always been varied, as some students tend to score very highly, while others tend to score very low. Honors and AP teachers have tried to correct the score variety by offering help and tutoring sessions for the students in their classes. Many teachers who do this, however, have been reporting that, although there have been a large amount of students that have been coming to the sessions for help, scores have remained as varied as they ever have been, perhaps even more so. Are the students who scored poorly on the test at fault? A recent studies says: maybe not.
Should students take standardized test? “If my future were determined just by standardized tests, I wouldn’t be here. I can guarantee you that” - Michelle Obama. Students shouldn’t take standardized tests. With testing, students have too much pressure, They can have a better end of the year, and it takes up learning time.
According to Webster learning is the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skills by studying, being taught, or experiencing something. Kids are now being given standardized test such as the OLSAT, CogAT, Naglieri (NNAT), TAG, and GATE in kindergarten. There are five year olds going through test prep programs in order to get into schools for “gifted” kids. Some may argue that standardized test are reliable because they allow zero room for biases because all content is equivalent. However, this is not true.