High-stakes testing without investment did not improve achievement and narrowed instruction¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? New Mexico's accountability strategy of high-stakes testing with sanctions, unaccompanied by investment or support, did not have its intended impact; 8th-grade reading and math score progress stalled and some scores declined. → Oakes 2020 q2 i? Test-pressure diverted attention from untested subjects, and instruction in tested subjects tended to mimic the tests' content and format. → Oakes 2020

Evidence¶

Oakes 2020¶

Oakes, J., Espinoza, D., Darling-Hammond, L., Gonzales, C., DePaoli, J., Kini, T., Hoachlander, G., Burns, D., Griffith, M., & Leung, M. (2020). Improving education the New Mexico way: An evidence-based approach. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/improving-education-new-mexico-way

q2 · i? · associational · r1

The report's analysis of New Mexico accountability policy after 2011, when disinvestments in school funding were accompanied by high-stakes standardized testing tied to sanctions, public labeling of schools as failing, and threats of closure. NAEP trend data (Figure 1) cover 2003-19. No effect size is printed.

"The policy of high-stakes testing without investing in or supporting improvement did not have its intended impact. New Mexico 8th-grade reading and math score progress stalled, and some scores declined."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Accountability sanction effects were not consistent across years and outcomes — related
• Chicago TAP did not raise student math or reading scores overall during the four-year rollout in Chicago Public Schools — related
• Sanction threats tend to raise school spending on instructional technology, curricular development, and teacher training — reports the opposite