Standardized tests have become the benchmark of 21st century educational reform in the United States. The anxiety and fear of not passing high stakes tests, especially high school exit exams, have put many students in the position of dropping out of school, truancy, drug and violent gang activities, and unplanned parenthood. Students who have been traditionally underserved (i.e., minority, English language learners, lower socio-economic status students, and special education students) have the most problems passing their high school exit exams.Many reasons are given for students’ failure of high school exit exams that include: 1) inadequate test taking skills, 2) inability to understand and use higher order thinking skills, 3) poor or no family support, and 4) behavior problems on and off campus.
The argument against students who fail their high school exit exam is that if students cannot pass a high school competency test for English, math, and science, written at an 8th grade level, then students do not deserve a diploma. They do not deserve to work in good paying jobs. They do not deserve a secure future for themselves and their future families.
The argument for students who fail the high school exit exam is that where test questions are not aligned with what is actually taught in the classroom from day-to-day, students who fail the test are wrongfully denied their high school diplomas.
As far as prep tests, students argue that where prep tests are given in 10th grade, but failing results are not used to drive instruction to help students understand concepts missed on the test, failing high school exit exam scores are unfair and unjust because they examine what has not been taught. Hence, they are barriers to a student’s lifelong educational, working, and earning potential.
Problems for not passing standardized tests are linked to students and teachers as the responsible or irresponsible parties. However, blame never reaches those test taking companies who contract to design standardized tests without the input of student, teacher, and parent stakeholders in the process.
What types of educational school models best help students-at-risk to understand concepts and principles on standardized tests to get higher test scores? Career academies link English language arts, math, and science classes to careers and occupations (vocational curriculums) like healthcare, engineering, business, and agricultural skills to help students at risk earn higher exit exam scores when compared to traditional public school models.
Career academies build partnerships with local employers, community organizations, and colleges to create stable and long term relationships with school and work so students get a range of professional opportunities. Opportunities include mentoring and job shadowing so students can observe workers and emulate their success patterns. Students learn to set goals and reach professional objectives that may not be obtainable in traditional school settings.
Are career academy school models a better fit than traditional public school models for students-at-risk of dropping out of school?
In light of our constructivist lessons this week, I would like to see high school exit exams become more generative and creative of what students can actually produce, such as blogs and wikis that showcase their growth over time in different areas of language arts, math, science. Projects-based demonstrations make a much more practical learning scenario that keeps students grounded in their future applications than a one-shot in the dark test that may or may not demonstrate real world applications for the student later on in life.
ReplyDeleteHello Jason,
ReplyDeleteHello Jason,
I agree with you that CBT and WET trainings may not translate into "true learning" unless learners are intrinsically self-motivated. Your example of using a CBT to teach yourself Visual Basic programming shows how intrinsic motivation can work. It looks like you may have been job motivated or economically motivated to learn using this CBT. I decided to check out the Apple iPhone SDK to see its WBT design. But, since I did not have an Apple iPhone to see whether I could apply this training, I lost my intrinsic motivation.
I learned that access to technology does play a key role in intrinsic motivation. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the web address that I needed to post to our discussion board and find that a classmate, Jason Bedel, had made this individual blog. I was happy to find an individual blog that coincided with the topic for this week. I just did not expect it to be a fellow classmate.
So, I did get to respond to an individual blog that coincided with the topic for this week at http://litteacher.com/walden/?p=12.
Thanks Jason.
Thanks Andreas (Viklund, 2004) for the distinction between CBT and WBT. I agree with you that most people use the terms interchangeably. But, it makes sense that training over the Internet is WBT, and training via an intranet or CD-Rom, is CBT.
ReplyDeleteViklund, A. (2004). Not-a-thing: things we know best are the things we have not been taught. Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://moogl.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/elearning-faqs-for-the-beginners/
Hi Carmen. This topic really burns me up. Students that have worked hard for four years and may have excelled in the coursework, is now denied the reward of a diploma. My old coworker's daughter was even the Valedictorian of her class but because she failed the exit exam was denied her high school diploma. That makes no sense!! I am in favor of the alternatives that some school systems offer like senior portfolios or projects. This allows students to provide evidence of what they have done and learned in their high school career. Here is one school's example of an alternative approach that provides students with an opportunity to become successful adults. http://www.governormifflinsd.org/search_results.asp. I agree with you, why not use the technology to display their knowledge.
ReplyDelete-Jolandra
Blog and wikis form collective web spaces that foster deeper types of thinking, reflection, and interaction. Richardson (2006, p. 20) found six deeper sets of thinking attributable to blogs and wikis that include “critical, analytical, creative, intuitive, associative, and analogical” thinking. Richardson states that these six levels of deeper thinking result from “social interaction” and “solitary reflection.”
ReplyDeleteSocial interaction drives deeper levels of critical, analytical, and creative thinking. Solitary reflection drives deeper levels of intuitive, associative, and analogical thinking. Of course, there may be cross interactive effects that result from solitary reflection and social interaction as they merge, submerge, and emerge our short term and long term memory processes.
It looks like blogs and wikis could emerge a new genre of thinking arts and thinking sciences at the cognitive level of web communications. Blogs and wikis have become a dynamic bridge between the read/write activities in the classroom and read/write activities on the web which can be searchable by millions of peoples using the Internet. This greatly extends the classroom to include online experts and teachers, students, practitioners, and classrooms on a global basis.
I agree with Richardson’s (p. 29) finding that the “collaborative learning models” known as blogs and wikis deepen students’ interest in learning and help students reflect more deeply about the significance of their read/write activities.
I like the idea of K-12 school curriculum being built on a wiki. The South African high school curriculum (Richardson, 2006, p. 66) almost resembles a college curriculum which may better prepare students for college and the workplace. The curriculum starts out with accounting and agricultural science and goes all the way through computer applications technology, electrical technology, information technology, mechanical technology, and visual arts. South Africa took a career and thematic approach to education which I think will eventually become the global curriculum model for K-12.
South African officials used a wiki format because they believed it would be easier for teachers to share information on how to deliver certain lessons and achieve certain goals for students. A worldwide view of this teacher wiki website could become a great global resource on best practices for delivering more difficult and technology and technical types of lessons. Teacher-mentor relationships are sure to develop and become quite helpful on a global basis.
I like Paul Allison’s comment (Richardon, p. 67) that writing in a wiki is like “composing within a living organism.” If blogs and wikis are viewed as “living organisms,” is it possible for the mind, Allison’s mind in particular, to interact within this living organism to maintain its life force of ideas over a lifetime of learning? The answer, according to Allison, is yes because students can critically read wikis and blogs looking for missing information or slippage in organization. When gaps and organization problems surface, students can edit and make a blog or wiki better in the buy-in process of owning shared ideas.
Reference
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, & podcasts. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Jolandra, it is quite disheartening to hear of your coworker's daughter who had excelled for four years being denied her high school diploma based on a one-time high school exit exam. I hope the very best for our Class Valedictorian who should have been celebrating such great effort and accomplishments. It is not fair that hard work goes unrewarded. The weight of four years of academic achievement should not be overshadowed by a six hour test.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Internet site. I did check it out. I wanted to know more about the Study Island component. Have you had any experience with this Study Island component for helping students pass standardized tests?
I thought the video at http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:94pmSki4Ms8J:www.truveo.com/Debate-Surrounds-High-School-Exit-Exams-And/id/2447362781+video+clips+on+high+school+exit+exam&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
was helpful to see how students and parents are left out of the board decision process in determining the weight of high school exit exams. Parents for over 42,000 students have no say about this test or the weight of this test in affecting their child's future employment and educational opportunities. Is there a better way? Parents and students waited for hours at a school board meeting to speak about how they feel about the test. They were denied a chance to speak about how they felt about the test.
Senior Ikesha Peaks says that she does not see “how a test has anything to do with my future. The test cannot change who I am. The test does not define who I am.” Is Ikesha correct? Should a test define who she is or can the test change who she is. Does her four years of high school work not define who she it? If after four years of school, the test material was not mastered, what actually went wrong? Who should be blamed? How do we change the system to meet these additional challenges?
Jolandra, I enjoyed your response! I have a feeling that your coworker's daughter will still have a bright and prosperous future regardless of the injustice she experienced in high school. It is a good possibility your coworker's daughter will grow up to be a great social change agent. Please give her my best!
You raise an incredibly important question about the role of schools as well as what does a high school diploma actually mean. In terms of the role of schools, we have come to accept they are training grounds for business rather than places to learn to think. How many times have you been asked as your time as a student, "What are you going to do with that?", probably more than we can count (I know I have).
ReplyDeleteAre schools really supposed to be training grounds? I don't know, I don't think so, but society has come to expect that, and since society writes our checks as educators, should we bend to that expectation?
As far as diplomas go, I do think that they should represent that you have met a minimal level of education, but I don't think that should be measured by high stakes test. I think the best way to approach it, in all honesty, I think that we need to find a variety of methods to assess student learning and use the one that fits best for the student to determine how much they have learned.