In Texas several districts are signing “The Resolution to End High Stakes Testing” because of the many negative impacts of the tests.
“I am in favor of the resolution,” Assistant Superintendent Dr. Timothy Powers said. “It’s time to take another look at a better way to assess student success.”
Along with many other districts, WFISD passed the resolution unanimously.
“They are approving the resolution because students, staff, and parents agree that the state placed too much emphasis on this type of testing as the only factor in assessing student achievement,” Powers said.
According to the No Child Left Behind Act, 100% of students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014. This means 100% of students must pass the STAAR and other standardized tests in 2014.
“[100% proficiency] is a lofty goal to set,” Powers said, “I would like for every student to be able to pass, but it is an unreasonable expectation that has consequences tied to it.”
Powers believes that high stakes standardized tests like STAAR are unfair to students and teachers.
“It was only last week, the time the test was actually being administered, that the state released the testing standards,” Powers said. “Overall, testing does not truly reflect the knowledge and capabilities of our students. Our students are more academically developed than what these tests are measuring.”
Powers thinks that many changes will have to take place in order for standardized testing to be an accurate measure of student achievement.
“The current testing venue is too narrow to show appropriate student success,” Powers said. “We have excluded an entire population of students who may have demonstrated giftedness in another area or discipline that our current testing structure does not measure. We need to focus more on creative and independent thinking as well. In short, our assessment of student success should focus more on student growth rather than our current system of measurement.”