Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Teacher Education
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, M. L.
Right arrow Articles by Fey, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Validity and Accountability in High-Stakes Testing

Mary Lee Smith

Arizona State University

Patricia Fey

Arizona State University

In this article, the authors argue that the cultures of accountability and validity are at odds. Calls for accountability arise from the polis, or political community. Validity is the standard of quality that professionals place on tests. When the polis demands that tests serve high-stakes accountability functions, professional testing standards often are compromised. In accountability contexts, test results decide which students are retained in grade, held back from graduation, and assigned to tracks or special classifications. Yet, empirical evidence suggests that the use of flawed indicators produces unreliable and unrepresentative inferences and decisions. High-stakes testing produces teaching and testing practices that lead to inflated test scores and further disadvantage already disadvantaged students.

Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 51, No. 5, 334-344 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0022487100051005002
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Educational PolicyHome page
S. L. Christenson, D. M. Decker, H. L. Triezenberg, J. E. Ysseldyke, and A. Reschly
Consequences of High-Stakes Assessment for Students With and Without Disabilities
Educational Policy, September 1, 2007; 21(4): 662 - 690.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Educational PolicyHome page
J. Gayles
Race, Reward, and Reform: An Implicative Examination of the Florida School Recognition Program
Educational Policy, July 1, 2007; 21(3): 439 - 456.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Education and Urban SocietyHome page
R. P. Engvall
I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours: A Brief and Preliminary Examination of Parental Report Cards
Education and Urban Society, August 1, 2002; 34(4): 477 - 492.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 NASSP BulletinHome page
C. J. Eick
Science Curriculum in Practice: Student Teachers' Use of Hands-On Activities in High-Stakes Testing Schools
NASSP Bulletin, March 1, 2002; 86(630): 72 - 85.
[Abstract] [PDF]