High-Stakes Testing

An Example of High-Stakes Testing

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 provides an example of reform in which high-stakes testing plays a central role. One provision of the NCLB federal legislation is that by the 2013–2014 school year, 100% of students must reach proficiency as measured by achievement tests developed by each state. To monitor progress toward the goal of 100% proficiency, NCLB requires states to administer annual tests in reading and mathematics to all students in Grades 3–8 and one grade level in high school. NCLB also requires a science test to be administered annually in at least one grade level in each of the grade spans of 3–5, 6–9, and 10–12. Schools must meet annual goals that specify increasing percentages of students testing at the proficient level in each subject area. Schools that consistently do not meet the annual goals face sanctions, such as allowing parents to enroll their child in higher performing schools in the district or replacing faculty. A school is provided technical assistance to correct the issues that prevented the school from meeting its annual achievement goals. Thus, high-stakes testing plays a key role in this reform effort.

The Stakes

The decisions that are based on these examinations potentially affect the examinee and those involved in his or her education. In education, for example, tests are used to make decisions about a student's qualification for special education services, a teacher's success in helping students to learn, a principal's ability to improve instruction and student [Page 437]learning, and a school district's capacity to educate its student body. Stakes for universities include losing accreditation of a degree program, such as a nursing program, when passing rates on a licensure examination are low.

The stakes associated with testing range from low to high. High-stakes decisions about students include promotion/retention, graduation, placement into a program, or admission to a university. High stakes at the program level include the use of test results to evaluate program quality or to make decisions about institutional rewards or sanctions. Medium stakes might be incurred, for example, in reporting average gains in SAT scores for schools in the local newspaper. In this instance, schools are not faced with sanctions for low scores; however, the reputation of the school might be tarnished due to declining scores. An example of low stakes is when a teacher plans additional instruction based on results from a diagnostic, computer-based test. Little risk is involved for the students or teacher.

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