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Download the full Lesson Plan including the Student Activity Sheets here (PDF)
Background: Over the past ten years, the majority of U.S.
states have enacted some form of High Stakes Testing to evaluate
student performance. When President George Bush enacted the "No
Child Left Behind" legislation in January 2002, it changed the role
of the U.S. government in public schools. While the legislation
is aimed at creating better schools through increased funding and
raising student achievement, its primary focus is on the use of
standardized tests to evaluate results. The problem lies in the
quality of tests being administered. Each state is responsible for
designing their own testing program including setting standards
and developing test content, reporting results, and soon, showing
"adequate progress" toward meeting state standards each year. In
addition, the results of these tests are then compared with National
Assessment of Educational Progress standards to see if they are
rigorous enough. As a result of this legislation, many states are
now creating testing programs so rigorous that many students, some
of them extremely successful, cannot pass. In some states literally
thousands of students are repeating grades year after year because
they cannot pass the High Stakes Test established by the state.
Students who have successfully completed all the coursework necessary
to earn high school diplomas and enter college are kept from graduating
because of their inability to pass High Stakes Tests. In addition,
many of the tests do not take into account the needs of students
with disabilities. Nationally there have been a number of successful
lawsuits against the use of these tests, particularly when failure
to pass the exam results in students being unable to graduate. A
number of lawsuits against High Stakes Testing are currently pending
nationwide.
Grade Levels: Grades 9 -12
Subject Areas: Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, Modern Problems, Language Arts,
and Debate
Estimated Time:
The lesson with take 2-3 forty-five minute class periods for completion.
Students will:
1. Participate in an informal survey about their views on high stakes testing and use basic computation skills to evaluate results as a group.
2. Participate in class discussion activities related to high stakes testing and "No Child Left Behind" legislation and use reasons, facts, and
examples to support their opinions throughout these discussions.
3. Use notetaking skills to record facts and information about high stakes testing and the attitudes related to it while viewing a video and
various Internet resources.
4. Participate in a class brainstorming session and creation of a PROS and CONS graphic organizer related to high stakes testing.
5. Compare and contrast informational data about high stakes testing.
6. Utilize group work and discussion skills to complete a chart representing the group's ideas about who should be responsible
for student learning.
7. Utilize what they have learned from informational sources and class discussions to develop and individual accountability plan to outline who
will be responsible for their learning and how they will accomplish the goals they have set.
This lesson correlates to the national McREL standards located online at http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks
Behavioral Studies
Standard 3: Understands that interactions among learning, inheritance, and physical development affect human behavior
Standard 4: Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions
Mathematics
Standard 2: Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of numbers
Language Arts
Writing
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Reading
Standard 7: Uses reading skills and strategies to
understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Listening and Speaking
Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies
to understand and interpret visual media
Viewing
Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual
media
Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 1: Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument
Standard 5: Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques
Standard 6: Applies decision making techniques
Working with Others
Standard 1: Contributes to the overall effort of a group
Standard 4: Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
Self Regulation
Standard 1: Sets and manages goals
Standard 2: Performs self-appraisal
- television and vcr for viewing the film
- computers with Internet access or photocopies of resource materials listed in plan
- Who's Accountable for Student Learning Worksheet (provided with plan - Download)
NOTE: To purchase "Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise" on
video or DVD visit www.firelightmedia.org or call 1-800-343-5540 or write to
Firelight Media
P.O. Box 1084
Harriman, NY 10926
Part 1: Forming Opinions About High Stakes Testing
1. To create interest in the subject of high stakes testing, begin by asking students to answer the three survey questions below. They must answer YES
or NO to each question.
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• Would you be willing to give up receiving grades for each of your high school classes and take one final exam at the end of your
senior year to see if you learned what you were supposed to master throughout grades 9-12?
• Do you believe you could earn a passing grade of 80% or higher on a comprehensive test like this?
• If you were unable to pass the final test at the end of your senior year, would you stay in school and try to retake the test in order
to receive your diploma? |
2. As a class, tabulate the results of this survey. Record the number of YES and NO a answers for each question and determine the percentage of
students this constitutes.
3. Based upon the percentages, conduct a short class discussion about why students answered the survey questions the way they did. Address
questions such as:
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• What are the pros and cons taking a comprehensive test as senior?
• Why did students think they would or would not pass this type of test?
• What reasons did students have for choosing to stay in school or not if they were unable to pass a comprehensive test? |
4. Now that students have had time to think about this type of testing scenario, explain to them that what they will be learning about is something called
"High Stakes Testing" and the way it is and may be used in school across the country. Have students view the "Beyond Brown " program segment "Did
You Pass the Test?" from 44:35 to 53:49. As students are viewing, encourage them to note specific facts and areas of concern related to high stakes
testing.
5. When viewing is completed, facilitate a class discussion using questions such as:
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• How would you feel if you were not promoted to the next grade or if you were kept from receiving your diploma because
of the results of one test?
• If a student is earning above average grades and has received academic awards and honors, how it is possible for the student
to fail a test over subjects where they have demonstrated mastery, even when they have multiple chances to take the test?
• In your opinion, are students really learning what they are supposed to from their classes, or are they doing what is needed
to earn their grades but not retaining the information?
• From what you learned from the film and class discussion so far, why do you think states have begun to focus on the high
stakes testing of students?
• Do you think High Stakes Testing is Fair? |
6. To provide students with more background about High Stakes Testing, they must have some knowledge about President Bush's "No Child Left
Behind" legislation. Using resources such as PBS's "Frontline" and its focus on "Testing In Our Schools" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/,
provide students with background about this education reform bill. Be sure to explain
the goal of this legislation and the positive results it is designed to produce. In addition, have students visit the Beyond Brown site's "For Educators"
section at http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/foreducators/ to review the surveystatistics about American attitudes related to school performance.
7. To get students thinking more about both sides of the High Stakes Testing issue, have the class work together to create PRO and CON lists showing
what students see as the positives and negatives associated with High Stakes Testing. Record this information on large chart paper, the overhead, or on
the board so all students can see and contribute to the discussion.
8. Using the map from the PBS program "Frontline" and its focus on "Testing In Our Schools" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/state/,
investigate as a group the current testing standards for your state. Focus specifically on
what subjects are tested, at what grade level tests are taken, the types of tests given, and whether or not test scores are tied to graduation. This will help
students see how their state compares with what is required of other students such as those from the film segment.
Part 2: Who's Accountable for Student Learning
9. Students should now have the necessary background to understand the basics of the High Stakes Testing issue. What comes next is looking at who is
ultimately accountable for student learning and what should be done to make sure students are leaving school with the skills necessary for today's world.
Begin this part of the lesson by asking:
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• Who should be held responsible for making sure all students learn what they need in school? Brainstorm and record a complete list of ideas
as a group. (Most lists will probably consist of students, teacher, and parents as those to be held primarily responsible for learning) |
10. Assign students to work in small groups. Group members should work together to decide what the exact responsibilities of each person or group of
people from the list above should be. In addition, the group should discuss how the people or groups should work together to meet the responsibilities.
Finally, the students should brainstorm a list of reasonable rewards and consequences for students meeting their learning goals. To facilitate this group
work, have students use the Who's Accountable for Student
Learning Worksheet. Each student should have a copy of the worksheet so they can use their
ideas to in their own accountability plan. Be sure that students complete all parts of the worksheet and subsequent activities completely.
11. Once students have finished the group work portion of the Who's
Accountable for Student Learning Worksheet, each student should take time to
create their own accountability plan. Encourage students to share their plans with their parents and other teachers.
12. Once accountability plans have been completed, facilitate a final class discussion about what students discussed and learned from completing the
worksheet. Use the questions from the worksheet to facilitate this discussion.
1. Students could receive participation grades for involvement in class discussion and group work activities.
2. Individual completion grades could be assigned for the individual accountability plan assignment.
3. Students could use a self-evaluation to review the success of their individual accountability plan after a set amount of time (i.e. a week, month, etc.)
of use.
1. Have students learn more about the various High Stakes Testing programs in place nationwide by comparing what is currently in use in at least 5
different states. Students could use reported data from independent sources to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of High Stakes Testing in
raising student achievement levels.
2. Students could examine the legality of High Stakes Testing using previous court cases based on the use of the these tests. Have students research
past cases and report the decisions reached in these cases. They could then compare the cases to current those currently being heard by the courts and
make predictions about what the court will decide about each case.
3. Students could express their opinions about High Stakes testing by contacting their state representatives and voicing their opinions about the
effectiveness of this type of testing.
Frontline
Learn more about high stakes testing from the "Testing In Our Schools" section at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/
Use the map from this PBS program section entitled "Testing In Our Schools" at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/state/, to learn
about current testing standards in each states.
Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise
Visit the "For Educators" section to review survey statistics from "A Report by Ellis Cose" to see American opinions about school performance at
http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/foreducators/
NOW with Bill Moyers
Get information about "No Child Left Behind" legislation at http://www.pbs.org/now/society/nclb.html
Newshour
Read about other students who have been negatively affected by high stakes testing in "Testing the Tests"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/jan-june01/testingtests_01-24.html
AERA Policies
The article, "AERA Position Statement Concerning High Stakes Testing in PreK-12 Education" looks at the issues surrounding high stakes testing. Read
the article at http://www.aera.net/about/policy/stakes.htm
About the Author:
Lisa Prososki is an independent educational consultant who taught middle school
and high school English, social studies, reading, and technology courses for
twelve years. Prososki has worked extensively with PBS authoring and editing
many lesson plans for various PBS programs and Teacher - Source. In addition
to conducting workshops for teachers at various state and national meetings,
Prososki also works with many corporate clients creating training programs and
materials, facilitating leadership and operations workshops, and providing instructional
support for new program rollouts. Prososki has authored one book and also serves
as an editor for other writers of instructional materials.
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