Here are some interesting responses to the piece by Todd Farley on those who assess standardized tests.  Refer to an earlier post on the subject.

“I have found that the system is not nearly as capricious as Todd Farley contends,” said Cory Goger in a comment. “In my experience, all readers hold college degrees and receive specific training in objective criteria for awarding points. Essays are routinely reviewed by two readers, and when a significant point spread exists between two scorers, the response gets a third reading. “I would say the real folly of standardized testing lies not in the scoring, but in the inordinate amount of time and money devoted to testing rather than teaching.” Point!

Did you know that $4.3 billion might be allocated for Race to the Top program? And individual allocations will be based on standardized test scores?

Wrote Jeremy Glazer, “Mr. Farley’s essay points to the fact that student performance (and thus teacher and school performance) is not being reliably measured by standardized tests. I am worried that we will repeat the mistakes of No Child Left Behind by again pegging our evaluations of schools and teachers to these inaccurate tools.”

Diana Lambert: “As a teacher who has scored standardized essays, I have had to make snap judgments under time pressure about how the essay conforms to the rubric. I am at risk of being fired if I deviate too much from the group. I have seen essays that are quirky, creative, bold, shocking or disturbing earn a lower score than safe, mediocre essays that conform to the established criteria. I remember a student response in rhymed couplets in the style of Pope that received a score of 4 out of 6. When we reduce something so complex as writing to a standardized scoring tool, we send the clear message that we value connect-the-dots thinking, conformity and mediocrity.

Josh Robichaud, college freshman: “There is no standard way of teaching what writing should be. I believe that not even the “professionals who have made a commitment to education” can accurately score writing on standardized tests because each of their perceptions of good writing is different.”

Michael Sugerman: “Studies of standardized tests performed and published over the last three decades have shown that the results of standardized tests bear little or no correlation to the future academic abilities of the students who take those tests.

More Info:
Those Who Grade Standardized Tests


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