When Parents Yank Their Kids Out of Standardized Tests

[LWolf]

11. Is that a sincere question?

If so, read on. If not, stop here.








The best predictor of a standardized test score has always been, and remains, parent SES. We knew that before the current standards and accountability movement pushed high-stakes standardized tests to the forefront of education. That simple fact makes the current use of standardized test scores corrupt.

How do we know what students know? The same as we always have. We ask them.

We ask them to show us in a broad variety of ways.

There are many, many ways to measure what students know, if measurement is what you are after. Each of those measurements measures only one facet; you put them all together to create the whole picture. For example, a reading "fluency" score, which is not really "fluency," but words per minute, gives a measure of word recognition and decoding skills, but not comprehension. Other measures are required to get the big picture. A standardized test can be part of that picture, but should never be taken as the whole story, and should always be interpreted with several grains of salt.