Is High Stakes Testing A Shell Game?
That’s how New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert refers to it in his recent column. In fact, Herbert goes suggests that the “test zealots” be “reined in”.
The most memorable quote from the article comes from Dr. Daniel Koretz, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
“There are a lot of us in the field,” (Koretz) said, “who think that if we ever really looked under the covers, what we’d find is that the shortcuts are particularly prevalent in lower-achieving schools, just because the pressure is greater, the community supports are less and the kids have more difficulties.”
The article goes on to reference the (Ohio-based charter school sponsoring think tank) Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s report that posits that NCLB-mandated state tests are being made easier so that students can show gains in their testing. Herbert warned against a “false impression of success” that has been created as a result of state-administered NCLB tests.
Afraid of not being able to get the last word in, Fordham Foundation Vice-President Michael Petrilli fired back at Herbert on their website, saying:
“(Herbert) erred in concluding that the solution is getting rid of testing. High stakes testing may not be a ‘panacea’, but abandoning it won’t help to solve our schools’ problems, either.”
Do you agree with Washington Post Columnist Bob Herbert that high stakes testing is “a shell game”?
Make sure you register and login to comment!