Teaching to the Test” in the NCLB Era
How Test Predictability Affects Our Understanding of Student Performance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9733774 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer L Jennings (0000-0002-3874-1088, New York University, New York, NY, corresponding author), Jonathan Bearak (0000-0002-3207-1431, New York University), Jonathan Marc Bearak (New York University, New York, NY) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 381-389 |
| Publication date | 2014-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Researcher (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-189X • E-ISSN: 1935-102X |
| Publisher | American Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3102/0013189x14554449 |
| OpenAlex | W2163382688 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 44 |
| References cited | 12 |
What is “teaching to the test,” and can one detect evidence of this practice in state test scores? This paper unpacks this concept and empirically investigates one variant of it by analyzing test item–level data from three states’ mathematics and reading tests. We show that NCLB-era state tests predictably emphasized some state standards while consistently excluding others; a small number of standards typically accounted for a substantial fraction of test points. We find that students performed better on items testing frequently assessed standards—those that composed a larger fraction of the state test in prior years—which suggests that teachers targeted their instruction towards these predictably tested skills. We conclude by describing general principles that should guide high-stakes test construction if a policy goal is to ensure that test score gains accurately represent gains in student learning
Academic standards · Accountability · Achievement test · Curriculum · Fraction (chemistry · Higher education · Learning standards · Mathematics education · No child left behind · Pedagogy · Political science · Reading (process · Standardized test · State (computer science · Test (biology · Test score · Computer Science · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Psychology · School Choice and Performance · Student Assessment and Feedback
Subtle Webs
Beyond Learning Loss
La identidad de las educadoras diferenciales en tiempos de políticas de accountability
Preservice teachers’ beliefs about high-stakes testing and their working environments
Democratizing dual enrollment
Why Focusing on Test Metrics May Impede Gender Equity
Principal instructional leadership and teacher collaboration
Examification
Positionality in the Politics of Education
Standards in education
Possibilities and Challenges
Academic motivation decreases across adolescence for youth with and without attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder
School accountability and teachers’ grading in a low-stakes system
Situation versus Komparation? Eine Skizze zur konventionentheoretischen Methodologie am Beispiel Bürgerschaftsbildung in der Schule
The increasing impact of socioeconomics and race on standardized academic test scores across elementary, middle, and high school
Unreliable Continuous Treatment Indicators in Propensity Score Analysis
Levinas, bureaucracy, and the ethics of school leadership
Examining the Relation Between IEP Status, Testing Accommodations, and Elementary Students’ Eqao Mathematics Achievement
A Corpus Study of English Language Exam Texts
Accountability, Inequality, and Achievement
Teaching as Social Influence
Family–school relationships in immigrant children’s well-being
The Evolution of Access to Education Through Landmark Legislation, Court Cases, and Policy Initiatives Setting Precedent for The Gary B. Court Decision
We are still separate and definitely unequal
Élaboration d’une épreuve de compréhension en lecture en 6e année du primaire favorisant l’articulation enseignement-apprentissage-évaluation
Trust the experts
Contributing conditions
Does teaching to the test improve student learning
Accountability, Test Prep Incentives, and the Design of Math and English Exams
The Changing Federal Role in School Accountability
Professional learning communities under test-based accountability
Evaluative relationships
Taking a “Whole” Classroom Perspective
As the Test Collapses In”
Social-Normative Expectations Mediates School Climate’s Association With Academic Achievement in Latino Middle School Students
Standardized Entrance/Aptitude Testing in the Era of Foucault’s Panopticon
How Well Aligned Are Textbooks to the Common Core Standards in Mathematics
The Business of Teaching and Learning”
Variability in the Grades Teachers Give
I Don’t Want to Come Off as Pushing an Agenda”
From Interpretation to Instructional Practice
Variation in the Relationship between School Spending and Achievement
High-Stakes Accountability in Social and Political Context
Performance Funding
| Unique citing works | 44 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 44 |