The Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) concurs with the recent report issued by the U.S. Department of Education regarding the over-emphasis on standardized testing.
“The Missouri Association of School Administrators believes that Missouri schools should be held accountable for a high quality education for every child,” said MASA executive director Roger Kurtz. “However, using a third grader’s test scores on a mandated standardized test that is given once in April, and using that test to rate the quality of the teacher, the principal, the school building, the superintendent, and the school district and does nothing to improve the education of the child who took the test.”
ROGER KURTZ
MASA holds that the best assessment systems should be focused on providing meaningful feedback to the student, teacher and administrators. Much of the standardized testing students are presented with today do not measure critical thinking and creativity, but rather recall and knowledge.”
“A more ideal method for evaluating the academic growth of a child would be to track their learning along the continuum of the school year,” MASA president Scott Downing said. “As it stands, mandated tests are given at the end of the school year and provide only a snapshot in time. Testing should inform instruction – it should be a tool to help teachers determine the needs of each student and to better assist them in their learning.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Testing Action Plan, issued October 24, notes that tests should be fair, of high quality, take up the minimum necessary time, and reflect the expectation that students will be prepared for success in college and careers. The Testing Action Plan reflects this year’s PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools which makes clear that most Americans believe that there is “too much emphasis on standardized testing.”
“The school leaders in Missouri believe that the ingredients of an assessment system in Missouri will provide teachers with immediate feedback on students’ learning, allow schools to track student growth, and provide immediate student feedback on learning,” Kurtz said.
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