A high-stakes test is any test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or districts, most commonly for the purpose of accountability—i.e., the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers. In general, “high stakes” means that test scores are used to determine punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade promotion or graduation for students), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for administrators and teachers).
Sorry for that long introduction quote, but the whole paragraph is very important for this blog. I am currently a Kindergarten teacher in an academy (hagwon/학원) in Korea. When I was a child, I attended schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Therefore, for this blog I will compare high-stakes testing in my current school here in Korea with one from HISD.
It has been so long since I last attended my university, even longer since I attended Kindergarten and elementary school (between 25 and 30 years ago)! Therefore, my memory of it is not so well. So to get a better idea of what high-stakes testing is like nowadays, I interviewed a teacher that currently teaches in HISD at the moment (let's call him Pat). Pat is a Pre-K teacher in a Pre-K to 5th grade school in HISD. He has been teaching there for almost 20 years now. For simplicity, I will summarize our interview in bullet-point form for convenience:
*How much time is spent in testing?
Pretty much at my school, the first two weeks are spent on establishing rules and routines. After those two weeks, all of the learning is based on STAAR testing (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). That being said, I know teachers try their best to make it as interesting as possible.
*Are teachers teaching to the test?
Yes, even though HISD sets up objectives to teach in a certain order, teachers will teach what they think will show up on the (STAAR) test. They give their classrooms tests in the same type of format as well so that they (the students) can become familiar with it. HISD pushes it because they (the classroom tests) give "snapshots" which are mini-tests to see if they are on the right track. Sometimes, twice a month.
*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?
In HISD, yes, bonuses are given based on percentage passed. Most teachers I know, could care less about the money. Although it's nice to have extra money, they would love to be able to just teach without the pressure!
*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?
Well... this is tricky because parents think this is set in stone. But, there are loopholes.
-Teachers/Administration can have a meeting to decide if the student should move on.
-The student can "age" out (they are too old) or have failed too many times.
- Parents can actually choose to opt there child out from any STAAR testing.
*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?
The students hate testing of course! Hearing about these tests all year makes them nervous, sick, scared, etc. Some vomit and even have panic attacks. (Personal story then shared about how tests affect kids.) These tests are not accurate and I don't think one test should have that much power.
*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?
I don't know if they can do this officially, but I do know they do try to get rid of teachers with low scores.
Academy in Korea
I currently teach in a private academy that teaches students from Pre-K all the way to 5th grade. However, only the Pre-K and Kindergarten morning classes are ran like your normal public school. The afternoon elementary classes are private classes that students take after their regular public school. Therefore, these two programs (morning and afternoon) have some similarities but also have some differences. Anyway, let's see how my school answers the above questions:
In the morning program, the advance Kindergarten class has a daily spelling test that last 5-10 minutes. It is done for 11 months. The intermediate classes do it for 6 months. Beginners classes do not have spelling tests. Besides this, the only other test is the end of the year level-up test. This test takes about 2-3 hours.
The afternoon program, has monthly unit tests that take two periods, one with a Korean teacher for 45 minutes and one with a native English-speaking teacher, also for 45 minutes (for a total of 90 minutes). Different grades and/or levels also have 5-10 minute spelling tests. Some classes have them everyday. Some classes have them once a week. And at the end of the year, level-up tests that also take two class periods, are administered.
*Are teachers teaching to the test?
Not really. The spelling tests consist of key vocabulary words taken from the classroom books, so regardless, students would learn them. The unit tests are more like fancy reviews. And there is no time to prepare for the level-up test because:
The main goal is to teach to finish the book and move on to the next one.
*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?
No.
*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?
Not really. In the morning program, Pre-K students are just split into advance and intermediate levels for Kindergarten based on their level-up test scores (and other year-round assessments). Same for Kindergarten students who will enter the afternoon 1st grade program.
In the afternoon program, most students level-up regardless and don't get split into different levels (for the most part). The only exceptions are students who really, and I mean really, struggled for a whole year. They end up repeating the same level they were on.
*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?
Not to be mean and sound stereotypical... but... its Korea, an Asian country... so... there is a lot of stress on students! Even on meaningless (as in do not affect progress or are required for level-up assessment) spelling tests, students have a lot of pressure. I have had dozens of students cry just thinking about the following week's test. And a few even tell me how their parents would scold and/or hit them for not getting a perfect. (A 95% is not get enough.)
*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?
No.
The most shocking thing I discovered in my interview with Pat, was the fact that what he said made schools back in Houston sound like Asian schools. I specifically told him this! Elementary students having actual physical symptoms because of the stress they were getting from tests, what?!?! Maybe it's because it was so long ago for me, but, I do not recall Kindergarten and/or elementary school being like that.
I was also surprised to hear that many of the teachers at that school taught to the test. While he acknowledges that most teachers make their lessons fun, and even that they wish they could just teach for the sake of learning, it was still a bit disheartening to hear that some of them teach to the test. Over the years, I have heard about schools these days in the U.S. being more test heavy, but it did not really hit me until I heard it directly from a teacher (as opposed to reading about it online).
As some of you might have noticed, even though this blog is about high-stakes tests, when it came to describing my Korean academy, there really wasn't much to say. There are no STAAR tests, or SAT tests or anything like that in my school. Even our level-up tests, which on paper could be considered high-stakes tests, are not really used too strictly to determine progress. Then what tests are high-stakes at my school?
The answer is... all of them! Going back to the Asian mentality (and please forgive me for this generalization) of putting so much importance on anything related to education, this makes it so that to my students ALL tests are high-stakes. As mentioned above, even weekly spelling tests (which have absolutely no affect on their level up assessment, or are used to reflect how they are currently doing) even these tests cause so much stress for students in Korea.
So, in conclusion, a public school in Houston has the STAAR test as its high stakes. In my school, on paper, we have level-up tests as our high-stakes tests. However, they are not really treated as high-stakes too much. But to my Korean students and their parents, ALL tests are high-stakes. Because of the importance put on these high-stakes tests (in Houston and in Korea), students are so stressed out and nervous that they are actually getting physically ill.
While there are many differences between these two schools, unfortunately, they have one big thing in common: the pressure that these tests put on students. So let's try to end this on a, somewhat, lighter note:
References
High-Stakes Test Definition. (2017). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved 2 July 2017, from
http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/
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