Accountability, Incentives and Behavior: The Impact of High-Stakes Testing in the Chicago Public Schools

We investigated how evaluation standards employed in performance tests affect the impact of performance goals (here: focused on appearance) on academic cheating. Thereby, we assumed that appearance goals would only lead to increased cheating if students’ performance was presumably evaluated based on results rather than on strategies applied to solve the questions. 169 university students (68.6% female) participated in an experimental design with 2 (induced appearance goals versus no goal induction) x 2 (process-based versus result-based evaluation standards) between-subject conditions. We assessed cheating using a confederate student observing participants’ behaviors and by measuring whether participants reported that they solved unsolvable questions. Confirming our hypotheses, we found that students were only more likely to cheat when appearance goals were induced and the evaluation standard focused on the results. This new knowledge helps to explain mixed findings regarding how performance goals affect cheating and provides opportunities to reduce cheating in high-stakes testing situations.

Download Full-text

The Impact of Knowledge and Attitude of SGB Members Toward Adoption of Social Justice and Democracy

Research Anthology on Preparing School Administrators to Lead Quality Education Programs ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3438-0.ch074 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1642-1663

Author(s):

Austin Musundire ◽

Rudzani Israel Lumadi

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Public Schools ◽

Special Reference ◽

Language Policy ◽

South African ◽

Effective Implementation ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Democratic Principles ◽

And Behavior ◽

The Impact

The purpose of this literature study was to investigate the impact of the knowledge and attitude of School Governing Board (SGB) members towards adoption of social justice and democratic practices for quality education in South African public schools with special reference to the language policy. Findings indicated that that bias is still a challenge in the institutions of learning in South Africa in terms of the implementation of the language policy by the members of the SGB. It was also found that increasing the level knowledge of the members; SGB members regarding social justice and democratic principles and practices with special reference to the South African language policy will change their attitude and behavior geared towards improved implementation of the same policy. It is also concluded that effective implementation of change management models can also coordinate the link between knowledge development, change of attitude and behavior towards effective implementation strategies of the language policy.

Download Full-text

RECONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF HIGH-STAKES TESTING

ETS Research Report Series ◽

10.1002/j.2333-8504.2003.tb01921.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 2003 (2) ◽

pp. i-46

Author(s):

Henry Braun

Keyword(s):

High Stakes Testing ◽

High Stakes ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

How neoliberal globalization is shaping early childhood education policies in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Policy Futures in Education ◽

10.1177/1478210317715796 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 11-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Amita Gupta

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Postcolonial Theory ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

Education Policies ◽

High Stakes ◽

Neoliberal Globalization ◽

Childhood Education ◽

The Impact

In rapidly globalizing systems of schooling around the world, economic considerations have led to a push to impose neoliberal reforms in the field of education. Under this influence early childhood education and teacher education in Asia have increasingly become positioned as regulated markets governed by neoliberal policies, leading to peak activities in privatization, consumerism, standardization and high-stakes testing. This article, based on a series of qualitative inquiries, presents a review of recent early childhood policies in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The impact of the policies on pedagogy is discussed within the frameworks of neoliberal globalization and postcolonial theory, emphasizing the growing need to recognize the third space of pedagogical hybridity in classrooms that are becoming increasingly multicultural and global.

Download Full-text

Making failure pay: for-profit tutoring, high-stakes testing, and public schools

Choice Reviews Online ◽

10.5860/choice.48-5375 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 48 (09) ◽

pp. 48-5375-48-5375

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

High Stakes ◽

For Profit

Download Full-text

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Rethinking the Connection Between High-Stakes Testing Policy and Classroom Instruction

Sociology of Education ◽

10.1177/003804070708000401 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 80 (4) ◽

pp. 285-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 88

Author(s):

John B. Diamond

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Classroom Instruction ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

High Stakes ◽

The Road ◽

Collegial Interactions ◽

Instructional Content ◽

Using Data ◽

The Impact ◽

Testing Policies

In this article, the author examines the link between high-stakes testing policies and classroom instruction. Using data from classroom observations and interviews with teachers, he argues that these policies influence instruction but are mediated by teachers and filtered through their collegial interactions. He shows that teachers link the influence of high-stakes testing policies to instructional content (the knowledge and skills that they emphasize) more often than pedagogy (how they engage students around instructional content). As a result, didactic instruction dominates, especially in predominantly low-income and African American schools, in a policy environment that encourages addressing racial and class achievement gaps by increasing the use of interactive forms of instruction. The author concludes that researchers should be cautious not to overstate the impact of these policies on pedagogy and educational equity.

Download Full-text