Abstract:
While there have been many studies conducted on the use of standardized high-stakes tests (Popham, 1999; Ravich, 2010, 2013, 2014; Taubman, 2009; Zhao, 2009, 2012), little research has been conducted on the necessary pedagogical changes these tests have compelled classroom teachers to make. Consequently, this study explored seven K-12 public school teachers' perspectives about the classroom dynamics as they were shaped by standardized high-stakes testing in their K-12 schools in Indiana. This study found that teachers’ lesson preparation, classroom pedagogy, student activities, and student-teacher relationships have been altered at all grade levels since the introduction of mandatory, standardized high-stakes tests. Through a series of interviews with educators who started teaching before mandated testing, and who continue to teach in today’s testing environment, it was concluded that for these teachers standardized tests by themselves are not the issue, but rather the amount of testing and the manner in which the test scores are used to assess schools and the teachers within their systems.
