The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently released a statement issuing guidelines for school district leaders and policy makers to consider when instituting high-stakes tests for school children in their districts. Although these leaders usually conduct high-stakes testing with good intentions, they need to take care to evaluate the potential of these tests to cause serious harm rather than improve education for children.

Possible negative outcomes of high-stakes tests can include such things as increasing the risk of students failing or dropping out; blame or punishment being dealt to teachers for not having enough resources to prepare students for testing; or distorting curriculums or instruction methods if the overriding goal of classroom instruction becomes the attainment of high test scores rather than learning.

The AERA is an international professional organization consisting of almost 25,000 educators and school administrators, in addition to other education-related researchers and professionals. Its purpose is to promote educational research and its practical application to schools and how students are educated, and the long-term ramifications of educational methods. The AERA considers high-stakes tests to be assessments that can carry serious consequences—such as merit raises or bonuses for teachers, increased budgets or resources for schools, and the retention or denial of high school diplomas for graduating seniors. Read the rest of this entry »