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Teachers' Use Of High-Stakes Test Results To Improve Instruction: A Review Of Literature, James H. Mcmillan, Susan P. Mckelvey

MERC Publications

Across the United States many school districts and state departments of education have embraced high-stakes testing for their public schools and students. This has led to widespread school reform since many students have not reached the standards that the states and/or districts have set. Teachers increasingly focus on making sure that their students have enough knowledge to pass these tests, and some states and districts have made passing scores a requirement for graduation. Many states and districts have invested considerable time aligning their standardized tests with the objectives of the curriculum.

One of the consequences of high-stakes testing is that …

Stories Of Student Success In Title I Elementary Schools, Rachel Mccay, Rachel Savage

MERC Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine factors present in schools with students who performed higher or demonstrated greater improvement on SOL(Standards of Learning) tests that might have been expected based on student demographics. The study identified factors present in these schools that contributed to their success. The study examined four Title I elementary schools, including three designated as high achieving and one as low achieving for purposes of comparison. The study was initially designed to examine equal numbers of schools representing each phenomenon (high and low achieving); however, the perceived pressure associated with state and local reform efforts …