Teachers are losing faith in state tests

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Standardized testing for public school students concluded last month, but the debate about the state’s accountability system continues.  According to the 2014 N.C. Teacher Working Conditions Survey, teachers are increasingly unsatisfied with the direction of North Carolina’s testing program.  I don’t blame them.

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CommenTerry

The mainstream media largely ignored the release of the 2014 Teacher Working Conditions Survey.  Despite attempts to spin the results, the biennial survey did not reflect the angry teacher narrative sustained by North Carolina’s major media outlets, so they had no use for it.

That is unfortunate.  The survey, which included responses from 89 percent of the state’s teachers, provides several important insights into ways that lawmakers can improve many facets of classroom instruction, professional development, and support.  The most important one is that teachers have lost faith in the state testing program.

North Carolinians may not realize that the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) operates a large-scale standardized testing operation.  Most of the tests administered to public school students are developed by our state education agency.  This arrangement has advantages and disadvantages.  On the one hand, it allows the state to tailor tests to the needs of our students.  On the other hand, it means that our tests are subject to the whims of DPI and the N.C. State Board of Education (SBE).  In recent years, the disadvantages have far outweighed the advantages.

Every time state education officials change cut scores, eliminate tests, or throw out undesirable test scores, it means that parents and policymakers cannot compare student performance from one school year to another. In fact, DPI and SBE have made so many changes to our testing program in recent years that we cannot make meaningful comparisons of student performance over any significant period of time.  Consequently, we lose one of the core functions of standardized testing — to determine if the reforms implemented by our elected officials have been effective or ineffective in raising student achievement.

This fact has not been lost on teachers.  According to the 2014 N.C. Teacher Working Conditions Survey, only two-thirds of teachers agreed that "state assessments provide schools with data that can help improve teaching."  That was an 8 percent drop from two years ago.  Only 45 percent of teachers believe that "state assessments accurately gauge students’ understanding of standards."  That was a 10 percent decline, one of the largest percentage changes of any question featured on both the 2012 and 2014 surveys.  The message is clear.  More and more teachers distrust the state testing program and those who create it. 

The answer is not to abandon our accountability program but to strengthen it.  First, the state should start the process of adopting a norm-referenced testing program, such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Stanford 10.  If these longstanding assessments are good enough for other states, not to mention previous generations, then they should be good enough for our state.  Second, the process of selecting the assessments should be open to input from teachers, parents, and lawmakers, that is, the opposite of Common Core.  It is critical that there is widespread buy-in from all stakeholders.  Finally, the state needs to commit to the new testing program for the long term.  Teachers want stability, not volatility.

Obviously, this cannot be initiated during the current legislative session.  But when legislators return next year, testing and accountability reform should be at the tippy top of their education reform list.

Facts and Stats

North Carolina Tests, 2013-14 School Year

Acronym of the Week

EOG — End of Grade

Quote of the Week

"The mission of the Accountability Services Division is to promote the academic achievement of all North Carolina public school students and to assist stakeholders in understanding and gauging this achievement against state and national standards. The major thrust of this mission is three-fold: the design and development of reliable and valid assessment instruments, the uniform implementation of and access to suitable assessment instruments for all students; and the provision of accurate and statistically appropriate reports."

– Mission statement of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Accountability Services Division

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