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Emily Rhoads
Angelo State University
From "Horace Mann," by Biography.com, 2017 (https://www.biography.com/people/horace-mann-9397522).
Horace Mann was an educational reformer in Massachusetts who played a large part in shaping public schools in America. He strongly believed that education should be paid for by the public, and that all children, no matter their backgrounds, should have the opportunity for a quality education provided by well-trained teachers (A&E Television Networks, 2017).
In 1845, Mann saw the need for standardized written tests for Boston students, as opposed to the annual oral tests given in the past. His purpose in establishing these tests was not only to determine what children had learned, but to identify high-quality teachers throughout the city of Boston. Eventually, Mann's tests were seen as a way to determine which students who were ready to advance to the next academic level. As a result of Mann's work, cities across the United States began adopting his standardized testing methods (Gallagher, 2003).
In many ways, Horace Mann was a visionary in the field of education. He developed standardized testing with the good intentions of ensuring that all students were given an opportunity to be educated by knowlegeable teachers who used effective practices. In the years after Mann's accomplishments, standardized testing would develop a new focus.
French psychologist, Alfred Binet developed a standardized test of intelligence designed to keep "slow" students out of public schools. Binet's ideas were proposed to public schools in the United States by H.H. Goddard, who felt that this form of testing was a good "strategy for eliminating retardation from school systems" (Gallagher, 2003, p. 86). This test was later known as the IQ test (Gallagher, 2003).
H.H. Goddard
From "Henry H. Goddard, 'Wanted: A Child to Adopt,' 1911," by The Adoption History Project, n.d. (http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/archive/GoddardWCA.htm).
Alfred Binet
From "Alfred Binet: Biography and Work of the Father of the Test of Intelligence," by Life Persona, 2017 (https://www.lifepersona.com/alfred-binet-biography-and-work-of-the-father-of-the-test-of-intelligence).
This type of intelligence testing had major short-term and long-term effects on education. Many students tested during this era that were deemed as "slow" were not given the chance to be formally educated. This classification of students set the stage for many divisions among students of varying ability and socioeconomic levels that will continue to appear through standardized testing.
Lewis Terman saw the value in testing students' abilities, but not to determine who was fit to attend school. Terman believed IQ testing would be an appropriate tool for career placement, which would determine the educational path of students (Gallagher, 2003).
Lewis Terman
From "Lewis Terman," by Wikipedia, n.d. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Terman).
The early 1900s in the United States was a time where society was largely focused on industry. With the invention of the assembly line, factory jobs were increasingly becoming popular. Therefore, it is no surprise that the standardized testing of that time was largely focused on career placement.
Based on the popularity and success of the standardized IQ tests of the early 1900s, the U.S. Army sought to develop a multiple choice test that would determine the abilities and placement of Army recruits. This assessment was called the Army Alpha Test, and "became the model for all subsequent standardized tests" (Gallagher, 2003, p. 87). With the Army's development of an expedited way to test and score the assessments on a large scale, schools and industries began using this form of standardized testing to categorize students and workers by abilities (Gallagher, 2003).
From "100 Years Ago, the United States Enters World War I," by National Geographic, n.d. (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/03-04/world-war-i-united-states-enters/).
After World War I, and the success that was seen with the Army Alpha Test, standardized testing became increasingly popular. The Stanford Achievement Tests were developed, and tested students over several academic topics. Shortly after, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Iowa Test of Education Development were created and used nationwide. As students and schools began to be ranked and compared based on test scores, the need for testing reliablity was recognized (Gallagher, 2003).
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was a statute put into place by Lyndon B. Johnson. ESEA provides funding to schools that have a high percentage of students in poverty. These schools are known as Title 1 schools (Social Welfare History Project, 2016). ESEA began holding school districts accountable for testing by having them give standardized tests, then submit the results to the federal government. This allowed for comparisons among students, teachers, schools, and school districts across the nation (Gallagher, 2003).
From "Accountability," by Prince William County Public Schools, n.d. (https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/accountability__grants__records__testing_).
As the rate of standardized testing increased, so did the marginalization among students. Students were viewed as having a set intelligence or ability level, and were ranked and categorized based on this level. This only added fuel to the fire of the civil rights movement. Civil rights activists argued that the standardized tests were inherently biased against the impoverished and those of minority groups (Gallagher, 2003). Ironically, during a time when ESEA sought to close gaps among these marginalized groups, the accountability of the standardized tests was what many saw as the cause of the academic gaps.
President Bill Clinton
President Clinton aimed to improve the quality of education and clarify testing standards through his 1994 Educate America Act, also known as Goals 2000. Leading up to this act, standardized testing had continued to be modified and used more frequently to hold schools accountable for student progress. One major change that can be seen from Clinton's Goals 2000, was that many states began implementing standardized testing requirements for students to graduate high school. Standards for passing the assessments were also raised with this act (Gallagher, 2003).
The fact that students were now prohibited from graduating high school based on test scores began putting more pressure on teachers to spend their time where it "counts."
From "Bill Clinton," by Wikipedia, n.d. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton).
President George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which increased the frequency of standardized testing, as well as the accountability standards. If schools did not meet the standards outlined by NCLB, they would lose federal funding. Although standardized testing had been prevalent in the U.S. since the 1900s, NCLB truly defined standardized testing as "high-stakes testing" (Au, 2011).
From "No Child Left Behind: An Overview," by Alyson Klein, Education Week, 2015 (https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html).
The No Child Left Behind Act helped shape education and standardized testing as it is seen today. With the threat of losing funding, school districts, administrators, and teachers had to determine how to help their students pass these standardized tests. The pressure to perform led many districts to cut programs such as art to make more time for the core tested subjects. The pressure of high-stakes testing also led teachers to "teach to the test," stifling best practices and teacher creativity in the classroom. Education became more about attaining skills to pass a test than truly learning.
Sir Ken Robinson
From "Bring on the Learning Revolution," by TED, 2010 (https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution).
Sir Ken Robinson has worked in education for several years, but became well known in the United States with his 2006 talk at a TED conference. At the conference, Robinson shared a ground breaking speach about the fact that schools kill creativity in students, and the current state of standardized testing could have a lot to do with that. Since 2006, Robinson has worked vigorously as a speaker and writer to try to change the way students are educated in America (Sir Ken Robinson, n.d.).
Sir Ken Robinson came onto the scene at a time when standardized testing had reached its peak. After the No Child Left Behind Act was put in motion, high-stakes testing seemed to be what education was all about. Robinson states that many forms of testing can be helpful, but the way standardized testing is done is detrimental to student learning (Hundred, 2016).
(Hundred, 2016).
In 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
(The 74, 2016).
With ESSA, states are given more freedom when it comes to standardized testing and learning standards. A major focus of this law is to require states to provide high-quality standards that prepare students for college and a future career. States are still required to report assessment results to the federal government, but some of the pressure has been alleviated with this act (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.).
Since states are now given the freedom to determine their standards and testing options, the changes that have taken place vary from state to state. In Texas, for example, the learning standards have been modified, and the standards for passing the state assessment have been raised. Teachers in this state still feel the pressure of high-stakes testing.
Monty Neill is a test reform activist and the executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or Fair Test. Fair Test seeks to minimize the frequency of high-stakes testing across the nation, and instead proposes alternatives, such as performance-based tests (Fair Test, n.d.). Although Fair Test has been in operation since the 1980s, the Every Student Succeeds Act allowed Fair Test to make significant progress in the area of standardized testing in 2017. For example, fewer states are requiring high school exit exams, many states now give parents the option to decline from having their children take some standardized tests, and many school districts are beginning to use performance assessments in place of traditional standardized tests (Fair Test, 2017).
From, "January 2012 Blog Archive," by Chicago Teachers Union, 2012 (https://www.ctunet.com/blog?month=january-2012).
By examining the history of standardized testing in the United States, one can see obvious trends that have been shaped by societal factors and political events during each time period. Horace Mann began standardized testing with good intentions, yet testing seemed to consistently increase in frequency and intensity over time. This increase has caused education to become very test-based instead of being truly learning-based. Since the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, more parents, teachers, and testing activists are letting their voices be heard. It seems that much of the nation is headed in a new direction when it comes to standardized testing - a direction that will hopefully cease to marginalize students based on race and socioeconomic status, and one that will prepare all students for life beyond high school.
The 74. (2016, December 9). The every student succeeds act: 5 things you need to know [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=i69cO5Ku_7Y
A&E Television Networks. (2017). Horace Mann. Biography.com. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/horace-mann-9397522
The Adoption History Project. (n.d.). Henry H. Goddard, “Wanted: A child to adopt,” 1911. Retrieved from http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/archive/
GoddardWCA.htm
Au, W. (2011). Teaching under the new Taylorism: High-stakes testing and the standardization of the 21st century curriculum. Journal of Curriculum
Studies, 43(1), 25-35.doi:10.1080/00220272.2010.521261
Chicago Teachers Union. (2012). January 2012 blog archive. Retrieved from https://www.ctunet.com/blog?month=january-2012
Fair Test. (n.d.). About fair test. Retrieved from https://www.fairtest.org/about
Fair Test. (2017). Fair test report: Test reform victories surge in 2017: What’s behind the winning strategies? Retrieved from https://www.fairtest.org/
fairtest-report-test-reform-victories-surge-in-2017
Gallagher, C. J. (2003). Reconciling a tradition of testing with a new learning paradigm. Educational Psychology Review, 15(1), 83-99. Retrieved from
www.jstor.org/stable/23361535
Hundred. (2016, May 16). Sir Ken Robinson and assessment [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kW-6h0eKqbc
Klein, A. (2015). No child left behind: An overview. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/
no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html
Life Persona. (2017). Alfred Binet: Biography and work of the father of the test of intelligence. Retrieved from https://
www.lifepersona.com/alfred-binet-biography-and-work-of-the-father-of-the-test-of-intelligence
National Geographic. (n.d.). 100 years ago, the United States enters World War I. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/03-04/world-war-i-united-states-enters/
Prince William County Public Schools. (n.d.). Accountability. Retrieved from https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/
accountability_grants_records_testing_
Robinson, K. (n.d.). About. Sir Ken Robinson. Retrieved from sirkenrobinson.com/about
Social Welfare History Project. (2016). Elementary and secondary education act of 1965. Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved from https://
socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/education/elementary-and-secondary-education-act-of-1965/
TED. (2010). Bring on the learning revolution. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Every student succeeds act (ESSA). Retrieved from https://www.ed.gov/esea
Wikipedia (n.d.). Bill Clinton. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Lewis Terman. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Terman