Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality

Kira Koop

CA - Curriculum Assessment

Popham, W. J. (1999). Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15.
Find it here: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don't-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx

This article, though dating to 1999, outlines the disconnect between what standardized tests evaluate and what the student learns. It's a good primer to learn some of the goals of a standardized test - to make relative inferences about a student's abilities - while also providing a critique of their methods. Popham uses examples to illustrate that in some cases, the tests may be evaluating students in areas where their socioeconomic status has more influence on their question answers than what the teacher has taught. For instance, in a question that states that all fruits have seeds, and which of the following plants is not a fruit, a child in a place of privilege will know that pumpkins have seeds, and celery does not. However, a child whose parents or guardians have never brought a pumpkin or celery home would not know, and so may give an incorrect answer.


As a resource, this was a good introduction to the critique of standardized testing. I've heard several teachers express dismay and frustration about the role of the federal government in education, but this article gave me concrete ideas on which to base my understanding of those frustrations. 

Wikipedia and Media Literacy

IL- Media Literacy
Kelly Karst

Hefner, A. (Host). (2017, April 1). Literacy and fake news. The Open Mind. New York, NY: Public Broadcasting Service.

This interesting PBS interview with Wikimedia Foundation executive director Katherine Maher covers topics related to participatory information sharing. Wikipedia strives to create a trustworthy space for users and creators to go to by not relying on advertising or tracking individual user statistics. Their platform allows anyone to participate in creating and editing articles within guidelines that encourage reliable secondary sources and also encourages the community to fact check and report any inconsistencies. It is a space anyone can access with any spark of inquiry and whose information is linked in order for users to be able to deepen their knowledge in their preferred topic. Wikipedia hopes that instead of a society holding highly polarized views with arguing talking heads in mass media, that we follow our curiosity to develop critical thinking skills and empathy to create open minded dialogue that finds a root in our common human experience.

Also, Katherine Maher was my grandmother's name!

This Library is Going to the Dogs

Martin, Jeanette
ET - New Trends

Cottrell, M. (2017). Library Waggin' Train: Service dogs, therapy dogs, emotional support dogs: Which ones can come in? American Libraries,48(3/4), 24-25. Retrieved April 4, 2017, from americanlibrariesmagazine.org.

The article assists librarians in how to utilize service dogs in the library. It also explains the rights individuals have to bring their service dogs into the library and the rights the library has in questioning the owner of the animal. Many people buy a service vest for the animal to bring them into public places. Some animals have not been trained and can become a safety and health hazard. The law explains that a librarian can ask an owner of a dog if it is a service animal and what kind of service the dog provides to its owner. The law does not permit one to ask for a certificate or a letter to verify this.

Studies have shown the benefits animals animals can have on people. We are the largest school in the district with special needs kids. Twice a year a service dog comes into our schools library to provide emotional support to our students. It is very soothing to our students and gives our teachers a piece of mind that the students are calm. My son, while he was in college, had the opportunity to cuddle with service dogs during finals. It calmed him down so much he asked me to bring his dog on campus during finals week.

Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting, and Learning

Andrighetto, Kourtney

Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3/4), 369.

CA, ET- Project-based learning

Summary

Educational theories, curriculum development, and assessment are shifting from teacher centered to student centered, project-based learning instruction. Project-based learning has gained much attention in the field of education due to self- directed learning methodologies and opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving and evaluation. This article provides an overview of project-based learning theories and how it contributes to learner motivation and relevance in the 21st-century. The authors note that in order for project-based learning to be successful, the selected topics must be high-interest and valuable to learners. In addition, project-based units must be structured to allow students opportunities for activity, creativity, and interaction with technology. When students are moving, doing, and collaborating, high-yield learning will take place.

Evaluation

This source provides an in-depth explanation of project-based learning theories and how technology integration may boost student learning. For teacher librarians, the discoveries in this article highlight opportunities for co-teaching and unit planning with classroom teachers across content areas.

The Blended Librarian in the Learning Commons

Andrighetto, Kourtney

ET- Blended Learning, Learning Commons
IL- 21st-Century Learning

Sinclair, B. (2009). The blended librarian in the learning commons: New skills for the blended library. College & Research Libraries News, 70(9), 504-516.

According to Steven Bell and John Shank, the term “blended librarian” is what 21st-century librarians must aspire to in order to remain relevant, which is taking more initiative to immerse themselves in co-teaching opportunities, unit planning, and thinking as the user, or “design thinking.” The blended librarian must develop technology literacies and learn how to use and teach emerging technologies to enhance instruction and learning. This article also addresses how blended librarians may function within a learning commons library model. This article is an informative resource explaining the role of librarians in the 21st-century learning commons and how technology integration is imperative to the sustainability of libraries.

The Networked student model for construction of personal learning environments: Balancing teacher control and student autonomy

Drexler, W. (2010). The Networked student model for construction of personal learning environments:  Balancing teacher control and student autonomy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 26(3), p369-385.  

Summary:

Personal Learning Environments are essential if students are to move from traditional instructional methods that use a textbook and teacher expert to impart knowledge, towards constructivist methods in which students learn through constructing meaning.  Not much, though, has been said about what needs to be done to teach students how to make and then utilize a PLE.  In this article the Networked Student Model is described and used to help fifteen high school students create PLEs that they then use to conduct personalized research on a topic.  Results from the study are used to consider what kinds of scaffolding teachers need to offer students in the construction of PLEs and what balance between teacher structure and learner autonomy will best serve K-12 students.

Analysis:

This is the first time I have seen an article talk about the need to start teaching students how to create PLEs to manage their learning, though I have already seen with students now receiving one-to-one devices that instruction in how to manage resources needs to start immediately.  The classroom in this study uses the Networked Student Model, which provides four specific parts students need to include in their PLE:  1) academic social contact, 2) synchronous communication, 3) information management and 4) RSS.  The article describes how the teacher introduced these parts to students and then how the class used these elements to complete a research project.  Student reflections on the process are also included, providing insight into how they responded to the process.  I don’t know many schools that are teaching or guiding students in creating PLEs, but this is definitely something students need and this article can start you thinking about how that might be accomplished.

Personal learning environments (PLEs): A collection of definitions

Buchem, I. (2010). Personal learning environments: A collection of definitions. Retrieved from

https://www.slideshare.net/ibuchem/definitions-of-personal-learning-environment-ple-4029277

Summary:

This is a PowerPoint presentation with a collection of 14 different definitions for “Personal Learning Environment.”

Analysis:  

I am including this in the blog, because as I was reading articles about personal learning environments  I got frustrated that I did not have a clear definition in my mind of exactly what researchers meant by that term.  They all seemed to picture a PLE a little differently.  When I went to find a single definition I could not do so.  It seems there is no one agreed upon definition. But reading through these 14 different definitions the author has gathered from different sources, does a lot to help a reader gain a clearer understanding of what a PLE is and can look like.