NAEP

In the recent years, we’ve heard new ideas come about within the education system that will have the United States clawing at the top spot. In 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was established as a way to monitor a student’s progress throughout their educational lives. With this idea, came an assessment that will determine whether or not a student meets certain academic achievement within the United States (Sines, 2010). The Department of Education considers the results of the principal assessments from students enrolled in grades 4, 8 and 12. However, in order to come up with meaningful long-term trends, they look only at the outcome of samples of students at ages 9, 13 and 17 (Sines, 2010). We’ve gotten accustomed to the government or the state mandating how most administrators are to teach but has it actually be effective? The general idea sounds like it would benefit most students but will it benefit all students? Some negatives that NAEP brings to the table are the lack of accommodations for students who are disabled or speak English as a second language, it also doesn’t take into account student who do better in other subjects, and if this is nationwide, are schools in all districts prepared. These are just some of the questions that come up when talking about a standardized assessment.
There has been an increase of the number of students with disabilities as well as students that arrive into the United States not knowing a word of English. Is this assessment of academic achievement a fair way to calculate their intelligence? The NAEP assessment does contain accommodations but there isn’t enough to warrant it as all-encompassing. “NAEP officials provide lists of allowable accommodations for each of its assessments, but here as well it is school-level staff who decide which accommodations are appropriate for their students and which of those allowed in NAEP they are in a position to offer” (Koenig, p.64). For example, 47 states allow Braille within their schools but the NAEP does not, 42 states allow for sign language but not on the NAEP, 37 states allow extended sessions on multiple days but not NAEP (Koenig, p. 72). If a student, whether they are deaf, wheelchair bound, or unable to read English, is not accommodated, how will they be able to pass a test that they are unable to comprehend? What if a student is able to understand all the concepts, deemed average intelligence, but does not like math or reading?
The NAEP assessment tests record all core subjects but concerns its scores based on two subjects, mathematics and reading. Howard Gardner had a theory of Multiple Intelligences that stated that a person is not limited to just one type of intelligence but there are multiple versions of intelligence throughout the world. If an assessment measures only two of the multiple types of intelligence, is it safe to say that a child that fails this test is a failure? Even though the core subjects are essential to education from elementary school through doctoral level, there are not the only forms of learning that can take place. The assessment fails to assess the entire child since it focuses solely on the subjects that mean the most for education. What about the students who may good at art or history, are they not viable in a world where math and reading are king? For example, a football player may not be the best student academically but has an intelligence that most of us don’t, they would know how to read a play. Is that intelligence not stable enough in our world to be seen as intelligence?
The majority of the negatives have been based squarely on that of the student, but what about the school itself. The idea of having all schools within the United States performing on the same level sounds great yet if there is a standardized assessment of academic abilities with the NAEP, are all schools going to measure up? In New Jersey, we’ve had the luxury of being fortunate enough to have one of the best school systems in the nation but there are other states that may not be as lucky. On a national level, the scores for standardized testing have steadily increased from the start (Beaton, 2010). Most of the testing thus far has been mandated by the state but now, when the federal government has a bigger say in the matter, what will happen to those states that perform below average? There is variability within all of the states; just compare cities like Camden and Cherry Hill and you will be able to see a huge discrepancy with test scores. Schools put a lot of stake into these testing because a lot of their future budget concerns ride on if their students make progress on those standardized tests. Based on how many times a school fail an assessment, the government will take over and restructure if needed. Will the government be able to fund schools from all over the country if a lot of schools fail?

References:

Beaton, A. E. & Chromy, J. R. (2010). NAEP Trends: Main NAEP vs. Long-Term Trend. December, p. 1-51. Retrieved from: http://www.air.org/files/NAEP_Trends_12-6-10.pdf

Koenig, J. A. & Lyle F. Bachman, L. F. Keeping score for all. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11029&page=72

Sines, V (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.helium.com/items/2020637-national-assessment-of-educational-progress-naep