The Impact of Mandated Statewide Testing on Teachers' Classroom Assessment and Instructional Practices.

Abstract

The impact of the new Virginia statewide Standards of Learning (SOL) testing program on classroom instructional and assessment practices was studied through surveys before and after implementation of the testing program. The sample represented responses from 570 secondary school teachers (of mathematics, social studies, English, and science) and 152 elementary school teachers from grades 3 through 5. Teachers were asked about changes in their instructional and assessment practices. Comments were made by 80 teachers on a second survey the following year, which also asked about the impact of the SOL tests on instruction or assessment. Although the generalizability of the data may be limited by the relatively small number of schools represented, both qualitative and quantitative data support the conclusion that teachers in this study changed their assessment and instructional practices in 1997, before any administration of the SOL tests. More than 80% of teachers responded that the SOL tests had an impact on their instruction or assessment, with most changes in instruction. (Contains 3 tables and 11 references.) (SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Plkpis document has been reproduced as eceived from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 6 Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. The Impact of Mandated Statewide Testing on Teachers' Classroom Assessment and Instructional Practices James H. McMillan, Steve Myran, and Daryl Workman Virginia Commonwealth University Paper presented at the 1999 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting This study was supported by funds from the Virginia Educational Research Association and the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium at Virginia Commonwealth University. The authors appreciate suggestions made by Judy Singh for improving the manuscript. 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE