Finley – Keeping Score vs. Learning

By Todd Finley

@finleyt on Twitter

Americans like to keep score. To describe our pathological faith in data, social scientist Daniel Yankelovich coined the term “McNamara fallacy”–named after former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, whose obsession with body counts led him to believe his country was winning the Vietnam War. Our confidence in metrics, Yankelovich believes, leads us to measure what is easy to count and then mistakenly assume that everything else is unimportant. In education, likewise, simplistic conclusions about standardized tests prevail. You can improve anything by testing it, right?

Unfortunately, the opposite is true. High-stakes standardized tests (HSSTs) undermine effective practice, especially when we treat testing as content rather than just one of many ways to understanding what learners need. In fact, bubble tests measure only one thing exceptionally well: how individuals perform on bubble tests. Extrapolating beyond that is problematic.

Meanwhile, abundant disadvantages of standardized tests are described by researchers who say that HSST’s frustrate and discourage students (Triplett & Barksdale, 2005; Stecher, 2002) and increase dropout rates (Jacob, 2001); lead to more test-prep among minority children and less instruction in higher order thinking (Diamond, 2007; Lattimore, 2005; Watanabe, 2007); prompt teachers to “abandon” instruction and use practice tests (Barksdale-Ladd & Thomas, 2000); narrow the curriculum (Rottenberg & Smith, 1990); inaccurately measure students who perform substantially above or below grad level (Valencia, 2002); and ultimately harm teaching and learning (McNeil, 2002). Despite these disquieting side effects, most teachers still feel duty-bound to enhance their students’ test scores.

Proportional Test Preparation

How do you balance test prep with authentic learning? Some instructors avoid test prep altogether—a legitimate tactic. Said one anonymous teacher in a 2005 dissertation,

I chose not to use the test prep because it takes away from what I need the children to learn and I feel like if I’m teaching them the skill throughout each and every day, then on this test they should be fine.

Although deep learning can never be taught as a set of procedures to memorize. I think some test prep is warranted, given the impact that scores have on students, schools, and teachers. But I draw the line at so-called “item teaching”, which W. James Popham calls unethical. Ultimately the mark of professional integrity is keeping test-prep in perspective.

Three Test-Prep Tips

After acknowledging the problems of HSSTs, instructors might consider three ways to empower students and prepare for testing season:

1. Teach time management (Clovis 1999). Help students learn to pace themselves on a handful of timed tests given throughout the school year.

2. Manage test anxiety. When students become overly worried, their test skills suffer  (Hancock, 2001; Berliner & Casanova,1988). Remind kids that they won’t know everything on the exam, and therefore should not panic when confronted with a question that they can’t answer. Weeks before a test, I have my students practice mindfulness and lower their heart rates (we use a free smartphone heart rate monitor to record their progress) as they learn to lower their stress.

3. Teach self-assessment. Sheila Valencia, a University of Washington professor, suggests that students develop rubrics and practice evaluating their work.

Trust your teacher-researcher brain. Experiment with different test-prep activities, analyzing the results, and making creative adjustments. Finally, remember that preparing is subordinate to learning.