Blogs on Standardized Testing

I walked into three different classrooms today and saw three different movies. This week, some of our students were taking standardized tests. Is there a correlation? In Texas this year, our high school students will spend over 33 days taking state standardized tests. The new and quite controversial STAAR tests at the secondary level require students to pass five tests each year and keep taking them until they have passed them all.

The multiple-choice problem is becoming a bit of an issue.

While it has been derided by educators for decades as incapable of truly measuring understanding, and while performance on such exams can be noticeably improved simply by learning a few tricks, the multiple choice question may have a larger, less obvious flaw that disrupts the tone of learning itself. This is a tone that is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century as access to information increases, as the updating of information happens more naturally, and as blended and mobile learning environments become more common.

My Prediction: Within five to ten years in some countries, open Internet access for information acquisition will be available on standardized tests. This access will significantly reduce the quantity of data designated for rote memorization.

While we here at Edutopia believe firmly in the idea of authentic comprehensive assessment, high-stakes standardized tests are a reality most teachers must deal with. Any educator will tell you that accountability is critical to a good system of teaching and learning, but most teachers I know dread state test time. To give you a break from the stress of the tests, I've pulled together a few videos on the lighter side of testing -- a few protest songs, a few silly parodies, and a few schools that turn test-time into an opportunity to get creative.