Busting The Myth Most Standardised Testing

by Tarek Mostafa
Analyst, Directorate for Education together with Skills

Standardised testing has received a bad rap inwards recent years. Parents together with educators scrap that equally good much testing tin brand students anxious without improving their learning. In particular, standardised tests that could decide a student’s hereafter – entry into a certainly educational activity programme or into university, for instance – powerfulness trigger anxiety and, if conducted equally good frequently, powerfulness Pb to poorer performance, absenteeism together with lower self-confidence. But are standardised tests actually used all that frequently? And produce they exacerbate anxiety together with undermine performance?

Evidence from PISA dispels these myths.

On average across OECD countries, nearly 1 inwards 4 15-year-old students attends a schoolhouse where mandatory standardised tests are never used, together with iii inwards 5 attend schools where these tests are used exclusively 1 time or twice a year. In xi countries, including Belgium, Costa Rica, Germany, Slovenia together with Spain, to a greater extent than than 1 inwards ii students are inwards schools that never assess students alongside mandatory standardised tests. In contrast, teacher-developed tests together with judgemental ratings are used considerably to a greater extent than frequently. On average across OECD countries, nearly 1 inwards iii students sits teacher-developed tests every month, together with nearly ii inwards 5 sit down these tests to a greater extent than than 1 time a month. In Belgium, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Kingdom of Spain together with Chinese Taipei, to a greater extent than than 50% of students sit down teacher-developed tests to a greater extent than than 1 time a month.

Moreover, reverse to usually held beliefs, the frequency of tests, equally reported past times schoolhouse principals, is non related to the score of essay anxiety reported past times students. In fact, on average across OECD countries, students who attend schools where they accept to sit down standardised or teacher-developed tests at to the lowest degree 1 time a calendar month reported similar levels of essay anxiety equally students who attend schools where assessments are conducted less frequently. One possible explanation is that essay anxiety is triggered past times aspects of the tests other than their frequency. For instance, the nature or difficulty of the task, the surrounding atmosphere, fourth dimension constraints, characteristics of the examiner, the agency inwards which the essay is conducted, together with the physical setting of the essay powerfulness influence a student’s psychological attitudes towards the test. All of these factors, inwards turn, interact alongside the student’s ain ability, self-confidence, motivation, study together with test-taking skills, together with preparation.

The human relationship betwixt functioning inwards scientific discipline together with the frequency alongside which schools or countries assess students is also weak. On average across OECD countries, students who are assessed alongside mandatory standardised tests at to the lowest degree 1 time a twelvemonth score slightly lower inwards scientific discipline (by half-dozen points) than those who are assessed to a greater extent than frequently, spell students who are assessed alongside teacher-developed tests at to the lowest degree 1 time a calendar month score somewhat higher (by 5 points) than those who are assessed less frequently. But afterward accounting for students’ together with schools’ socio-economic profile, these associations are non significant.

The findings also demonstrate that students’ schoolhouse experience accept a stronger human relationship alongside their likelihood of feeling anxious than the frequency alongside which they are assessed. PISA shows that students reported less anxiety when their teachers supply to a greater extent than back upwards or conform the lessons to their needs. In contrast, students reported greater anxiety when they experience that their teachers process them unfairly, such equally past times grading them harder than other students, or when they accept the impression that their teachers intend they are less smart than they are.

In a nutshell, when it comes to standardised tests the prove from PISA is clear: The negative influence these tests accept on schoolwork-related anxiety is a myth, together with the bad rap they accept received inwards recent years is unwarranted. Standardised together with teacher-developed tests play an of import purpose inwards monitoring educatee functioning together with academic progress. They produce non exacerbate anxiety, peculiarly when students perceive that their teachers process them fairly, together with help them construct their self-confidence.

Links
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
PISA inwards Focus No. 79 - Is equally good much testing bad for educatee functioning together with well-being?
PISA 2015 Results (Volume II) - Policies together with Practices for Successful Schools
PISA 2015 Results (Volume III) - Students' Well-Being

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