...Controversy over Standardized Testing and it’s Effects on Young Children Cynthia M. Kirchner Western Governors University Sherry Lawler HJT1 Task 1 #54425 Nature of the Controversy: No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Accountability and Standardized/High-Stakes Testing No Child Left Behind (NCLB): is the newest iteration of a decades-old education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The original law provided funding to school districts to help low-income students. Today, NCLB holds Title I schools that receive this federal money accountable by requiring them to meet proficiency targets on annual assessments. Standardized or High-Stakes Testing: These are the tests that are administered by the individual states and consist of multiple choice and true/false questions. The tests are designed to evaluate students in the subject areas of mathematics and reading. These tests have been given to students in grades three through eight. The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is that students will receive 100% proficiency level on these tests by 2014 Accountability: Accountability is the concept that each state set standards for the type and amount of information students know and learn. Children are tested yearly and the scores are reported to the government. Schools that need improvement are identified and they work over the next school year to raise the students’ test scores (Robertson, 2009) Nature of the Controversy: Accountability vs. High-Stakes Testing THE CONTROVERSY...
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...In his article “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid,” author Johnathan Kozol argues that despite efforts to integrate schools, they, in actuality, remain segregated. “The truth…is that the trend for well over a decade, has been precisely the reverse.” (348). Kozol offers a plethora of facts and figures backing his argument that minorities are disadvantaged; however, he does not propose a solution to the problem. Also, the author focuses on large, urban populations, which many readers may find difficult to relate to. Kozol does, however, offer personal accounts from students in poor systems, adding an emotional element to his argument, as well as offering insight into the effect preschool has on preparing students for standardized testing that is prevalent in No Child Left Behind. Kozol begins by providing statistics to show that in several large cities, public schools primarily consist of minority students (black or Hispanic) despite being in integrated neighborhoods “schools like these are not in deeply segregated inner-city neighborhoods, but in racially mixed areas.” (349). Why, then, do these schools remain segregated? Kozol offers no real explanation, but offers the observation that while black and Hispanic children attend school in their integrated neighborhood, white children are pursuing education elsewhere. Kozol offers statistics that include demographics of schools named after prominent African Americans, pointing out enrollment is primarily...
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...into law the no child left behind act. This act was supposed to help get children caught up to grade level math, reading, and science test scores. After 12 years about 82 percent of all the nations’ schools are considered to be failing academically (Dillon).What is a failing school? A failing school is a school where the majority of its students failed to do well on standardized tests that were provided during the school year. The problem is that these schools are found all over the United States. What can be done? How can we fix these failing schools? Who is to blame? Most people would blame the teacher first and foremost, but I disagree. In this paper I will discuss what we can do to fix schools that are failing academically. I will argue that adding early childhood education classes, changing curriculum, and modifying standardized tests are all effective steps in correcting the problems that failing schools continually face. I will support my argument by using the views of authors such as Alfie Kohn and his ideas of making the curriculum more entertaining to make learning easier, Fred Lunenburg’s ideas that preschool is a critical point to achieve success later on in school, Sam Dillon’s views about how the No child left behind act has hurt more public schools than helped them, and other researchers as well. One step I feel that could help with fixing schools that are failing academically is by adding free early childhood education to public schools across the United States...
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...Have you ever realized how many standardized test we take from Pre K to 12th grade? From grades Pre K to 12th grade an average student takes about 112 exams. Every year students take about 8-9 standardized test. For example Knox Middle School takes Istep and Nwea three times a year to see what the students are learning and what the teachers are teaching. The government needs to modify these numbers of standardized test because it is quality not quantity. This essay will discuss that the government should modify standardized test because we take too many, stresses out teachers and students, and the tests take up too much teaching time. First this paragraph will discuss how students take too many standardized test. On average a student takes...
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...Standardized testing has been a part of student life in America for more than 50 years now, and it’s no surprise that they’re more pressure-packed than ever before. The SAT and ACT are by far the most popular standardized tests today and have become one of the largest determining factors in the college-admissions process. The SAT, or the Scholastic Aptitude Test, came first, founded in 1926 by the College Board. The original test lasted 90 minutes and was made up of 315 questions that tested the students’ knowledge of vocabulary and basic math. By 1930 the test had grown into its now familiar form, with separate verbal and math tests. By the end of World War II, the test was accepted by enough universities that it became a standard rite of...
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...been familiar with the Montessori method for its international ability to remediate or engage children who are, for any number of reasons, not suited to traditional public schooling. This paper examines the basis of the need for alternative schooling, outlines the development and evolution of the Montessori method and philosophy, and validates the methodology in research, providing a side-by-side comparison for examination of relative strengths and weaknesses of the program. For 21st century school reformists seeking alternative methods of education or an individualized, child-centered curriculum, Montessori presents itself as an adaptive, hands-on, future-friendly option for the democratic community as it evolves toward offering a full preschool to secondary public program. Keywords: Montessori, constructivism, independence, Dewey, progressive, alternative education Montessori: Evolving Toward a Public Secondary School in the 21st Century Since the time of early philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, to whom we can trace the traditional subjects of the common core curriculum, there have been heated political and social debates surrounding the field of education. Rather than being discouraged by their recurrent nature, academic planners and developers must examine these questions anew to refresh our views and test our assumptions about the necessary directions of education in current society. One of the most basic questions at the heart of this discussion...
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...Psycho-Educational Assessment: Principles and Practices Name Institution Psycho-Educational Assessment: Principles and Practices Question A The key objectives of psychological assessment for Jimmy based on the assessment process entail testing using different techniques. This will help in arriving at a hypothesis concerning Jimmy’s behavior. The assessment process for Jimmy may entail conducting of a norm-referenced test. This is a standardized psychological test, which is a task that is conducted under standard conditions. This is a key objective in Jimmy’s assessment process because it will help assess some aspects of Jimmy’s knowledge, personality, or skills. The norm-referenced psychological test is standardized on a defined group, which is known as the norm group. This is scaled to ensure that every person’s score reflects a rank in the norm group (Andrews, Janzen, & Saklofske, 2001, p. 51). The norm-referenced test will be essential for Jimmy’s assessment process because it assesses areas such as intelligence, visual motor skills, and adaptive behavior. Interviews may also be conducted during the assessment process because they help in obtaining valuable information. An examination of Jimmy’s case shows that different individuals will be involved during the process. For example, Jimmy’s parents, his teachers, and other people familiar with him like his grandmother may be interviewed (Andrews, Janzen & Saklofske, 2001, p. 59). The other objective of the...
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...the United States is afforded a high quality education leading them on their pathway of future success. He believes that by educating every child and giving them a complete and competitive education, from preschool through college will create an economy that is built to last. President Obama has advanced his education reform based on four key objectives: * Higher standards and better assessments that will prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace * Ambitious efforts to recruit, prepare, develop, and advance effective teachers and principals, especially in the classrooms where they are most needed * Smarter data systems to measure student growth and success, and help educators improve instruction * New attention and a national effort to turn around our lowest-achieving schools (Whitehouse.gov). White House Issue Education policy are principles and government policy-making within the education realm, as well as the assembly of rules and regulations which administer the operation of education systems. This policy will support the Obama Administration and their efforts in education reform. Education takes place in many different forms and for many purposes throughout many establishments. These establishments consists of early childhood, preschool, kindergarten, throughout high school, college and graduate studies. Therefore, education policy affects many people involved of all ages. Some examples that are subject to debate in education policy, include...
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...four year old son, that gave me complete inspiration for deciding on this field of study. Once both of my children are in school I plan to work towards my Masters in Education with a concentration in Reading. While at Concord this semester, I have several courses, outside of education, in which I have incorporated my passion for education. Upon graduation I will substitute teach for the Mercer County School System until I am offered a full-time position or until I begin my graduate studies. I hope to be placed in a preschool or kindergarten class because I feel that this is where it all begins and I want to be a part of their first formal learning experience. I have been placed in seven Mercer County Schools for field placements. I have had positive experiences at all the placements. I have seen how wonderfully a school has embraced an “open” school environment and overcame many obstacles that stem from this type of school. I have seen how standardized testing in the school system, puts a great deal of pressure on the teachers to make sure the students know their material well enough to move to the next level. These tests also put pressure on the students to do well. I have experienced how to modify your lessons to fit every student in the...
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...intelligence. The concept of intelligence refers to a systematic individual difference in the performance of tasks that involves the manipulation, retrieval, evaluation, or processing of information. Ability Testing – Individual Test Widgor and Garner 1982 States the measurement of ability represent one of the most widespread applications of psychology in everyday life. Ability test range from those that looks at the general mental ability we refer to as intelligence to those that tap specific abilities such as spatial visualization. Measures of general intelligence have the broadest application in that they are used in educational, clinical, and work setting as aid in making a wide variety of decisions. The role of the examiner Psychological testing involves standardization, however in an individual intelligence test standardization is difficult to achieve. • The psychologist presence is seen as a stimuli that will affect ones behaviour • Characteristic of the examiner such as age sex, race physical attractiveness, social and non verbal skills affects a subject’s response. • The behaviour may change based on a response by the examinee. • The examinee responds to a person rather than to a question ( shy) • Individual testing should only be undertaken by a trained psychologist Ways to help achieve standardization • Establish and maintain rapport • Elicit subjects behaviour and motivation to perform well •...
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...(www.nectac.org). In their online publication nectac Notes no 27, Danaher, J. states “IDEA offers special provisions for states to identify children younger than school age who are eligible for special education and related services. In addition to the Part B disability categories used for school aged students, states may use Developmental Delay (DD) or a term of their choosing, for ages three through nine or a subset thereof according to their state criteria” (2011,January,no.27) Retrieved from: http://ectacenter.org/ ion. This online publication provides a summary table of Early Childhood Special Education Eligibility Criteria in the various states as well as the District of Columbia. The eligibility for the state of Ohio children for Preschool Disabilities services is to the age of 5 or enrollment into Kindergarten. In the state of Ohio and indicated in this publication the term of Developmental Delay (DD) is used for preschoolers with disabilities from the ages of three to five (2011, January, no.27 attachment 1). Retrieved from: http://ectacenter.org/ ion. The assessments my district administers to determine eligibility as a Preschooler with a Disability are the Brigance Child Inventory completed by the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist, PLS 4 completed by the Speech Language Pathologist, ASQ-SE completed by the Psychologist and if motor was indicated as an area of concern the Peabody is completed by the Occupational and/or Physical Therapist. The online resource...
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...has persisted, however, is the deficit thinking that informed the early compensatory education programs that the articles in this issue describe. Such beliefs are more subtle, and expressed obliquely, but they still inform education policy aimed at the urban poor—from local zero-tolerance discipline and metal detectors on school doors (which assume all students are thugs) to the high-stakes standardized testing mandated by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top (which assume that test prep is enough of a curriculum for the urban poor). In addition, as Beatty remarks in her introductory piece, the focus of much reform today on instilling middle-class social capital in working-class and poor students smacks of deficit thinking: “Discourse similar to that of compensatory education in the 1960s has returned. Talk about disparities in ‘cultural capital’ sounds quite similar to the notion of ‘cultural deprivation,’ for instance.” 1 I agree. In the articles, I revisited Martin Deutsch’s Institute for Developmental Studies, the origins of the Perry preschool project, and Bereiter and Englemann’s “direct instruction” of the 1960s—all compensatory education...
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...More children are living below the poverty line in America today than when the war on poverty began almost fifty years ago. Despite consistent efforts by the government, nonprofit organizations, and the people themselves, poverty rates in 2012 are very similar to the early 1960s. Social security and Medicaid have reduced the number of seniors living in poverty, but the plight of children has worsened. Several factors have contributed to this problem. As measured by inflation adjusted dollars, wages of low-skill jobs have declined. The number of families headed by unmarried mothers has risen, and large numbers of immigrants with little education have entered the U.S. The combination of these factors have resulted in approximately 20% of our country’s children living in poverty, which is 50% higher than 1969. Historically, the foundational basis for lifting the disenfranchised out of poverty is education. One of the first steps of the civil rights movement was a grassroots movement educating the poor and disenfranchised to a level of literacy that would enable them to register to vote. This strategy was led by Stephen Currier and his wife, Audrey Bruce, the granddaughter of Andrew Mellon, during the early 1960s. Their Taconic Foundation brought the leading civil rights groups together with other foundations including the Stern, Rockefeller, and Norman foundations. The funding to civil rights advocacy associations was matched with volunteers throughout the South who tutored...
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...Special Education For Children With Disabilities Millions of children in our nation are identified as being "children with disabilities". Prior to the 1960s, millions of children with disabilities received inadequate or inappropriate special education services from the public schools and another 1 million children were excluded from school altogether. Disabilities such as autism, poverty, and racism are just a few of the “disabilities” that have blocked the pathways of over a million people thought out the US. My goal for this paper is to thoroughly examine the three main factors that I personally believe have the most traumatic and continuous effect on society that will ultimately repeat itself and create a pattern of issues that society will be forced to resolve in the future. It is my desire and personal goal to acknowledge each issue that many children face, label and prove it to be a awful disability, an find a realistic resolution to each issue addressed as a disability. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, in the United States, 21 percent of children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty line. Although many of these families have working parents, low wages and unstable employment make it difficult to provide the necessary resources for proper childhood development. Not only does research indicate that poverty is a threat to a child's well-being, but it also affects his ability to learn. Regular attendance at school is important...
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...GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (SOC SCI 101) 5 JOURNALS OF PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY | > the science seeking to describe, understand, and predict the behavior and mental processes of organisms. > the goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY * Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder. * Although many behaviors could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psychology generally deals with behavior in a clinical context. * There is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be aberrant or deviant (statistically, morally or in some other sense), and there is often cultural variation in the approach taken. * The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by "abnormal". * There has traditionally been a divide between psychological and biological explanations, reflecting a philosophical dualism in regards to the mind body problem. * There have also been different approaches in trying to classify mental disorders. * Abnormal includes three different categories, they are: * subnormal * supernormal * paranormal * The science...
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