How can standardized testing be more responsive to student learning?
by: Ji Ho (Geo) Yang, PHD Candidate at the University of Washington
In the early days of the second Trump administration, the push to dismantle the Department of Education was certainly worrying and alarming, particularly considering the reasoning and larger socio-political agenda of the administration and legislation. As I retraced my steps from the interviews with teachers in my research, I kept noticing the recurring theme and issue of standardized testing affecting Black teachers and Black students. Through this retread, I couldn’t help but think about the current assault on public education and the push to dismantle federal responsibility in education, and how it could present an opportunity for reimagining and transformation. Is there an opportunity to redirect and transform the framework and principles laid out by NCLB and beyond?
I believe there is a need for standardized testing. We do need a standardized barometer to measure how our school systems are holding up over time, what progress is made, and what accountability supports are needed for whom (keyword is supports, and not sanctions, mandates, restructure, etc.). What standardized testing shouldn’t do is serve as the primary measure for school/teacher quality, student growth/learning, etc. So, what are possible meaningful and realistic ways to more responsively assess the growth and learning of our students in schools?
Drawing from my experiences with the literacy codesign that I shared in previous blog posts, I can imagine an assessment structure that is rooted in family-centric pedagogical practices. In the literacy codesign project, families worked as a team to develop the capacities of their children’s educators in centering families’ cultures, languages, history, etc. Over the course of a school year, there was a cyclical process of families engaging in storytelling, students and the greater codesign team engaging in literacy activities rooted in those stories, and reflective work on storytelling and literacy. Throughout this cyclical process, families and educators are noting not only the literacy growth and needs of their students but also students’ socio-emotional and personal growth and needs. Educators and families were engaging in formative assessments of their students in culturally responsive and, thus truly meaningful ways. The creation of the Picksee book represents a summative assessment of students’ learning, growth, and needs. Throughout the lifespan of the literacy codesign project, there was constant assessment going on in various facets by various stakeholders, which better mapped out students’ learning, growth, and needs.
SESEC is also engaging in a codesign project and is beginning to take shape, which is the Family Navigator program. Unlike the literacy codesign, which tackled the SPS school system through pedagogy and teaching practices, Family Navigator aims to tackle the SPS school system through “family engagement” (a core element to ESSA). Family Navigator truly began when three family leaders who represent marginalized SPS family communities, specifically E. African, Latino/e, and Native/Indigenous family communities, came together to think about what a program like this should be. Each of these leaders has advocated and led extensively on making SPS accountable and accessible to their communities while dealing with issues specific to their communities. For Family Navigator, these leaders not only want to create a sustainable space for affinity groups of family advocates from their communities but also a solidarity collective across the groups. Through the groups and collective, the leaders are considering creating strategic action plans that SPS cannot ignore and will require fundamental shifts in SPS’s family engagement practices/structures. Could the family groups within Family Navigator decide to incorporate issues or needs pertaining to assessments in their children’s education? In the mission to make SPS family engagement family-centric rather than school-centric, could the strategic action plans developed through Family Navigator identify elements of standardized testing that can be responsive to families and youth rather than institutional systems?
My experiences across two codesign projects show that family-centric practices in our schools and even our assessment processes are possible. Results (via testing and research/literature) show that well-considered and designed assessments that are performative rather than standardized, family-centric rather than school-centered, culturally responsive, etc., have a positive impact on student learning, growth, and identification of needs. Most importantly, families and children, especially those marginalized by school systems, connect and find more joy in non-standardized and school-centered structures.
Teachers in my dissertation talked about the difficulties they and their students experience when confronting standardized testing, as shared in my previous blog post. These teachers also spoke about the different ways their students more authentically demonstrate their learning and growth. This includes 1st-grade students engaging in story-book writing and poetry that connects to different Common Core standards regarding literacy, such as character and setting development. Some of these students also center math and science in their stories, such as demonstrating both knowledge and interest in dinosaurs and other animals. Primary students also show off their socio-emotional development through conflict resolution with their peers through dialogue and restorative talks. Middle-grade students engage in lab studies that assess their science learning, including experiences on different science-based field trips. For math, these teachers assess their students in real-world contexts, such as balancing finances and budgets. However, these opportunities are few and far between due to the pressure teachers and students face regarding standardized testing.
Will the DoE and ESEA (and their current iterations) be dismantled anytime soon? Probably not. The unsettled ground they currently sit on does pose an opportunity to question new alternatives. Envisioning new ways is one of the first main steps to transformative action. I am grateful to the teacher participants in my research for helping me engage in the process of envisioning with their narratives and experiences and to the codesign projects and teams for showing me possibilities that help me begin my envisioning.