Education Law

Poll finds conflicting opinion on test scores, student achievement

The latest Associated Press poll contains some interesting information on what the American public thinks about their public schools.

One set of data stands out: over half of the respondents (54 percent) said standardized tests measure the quality of education offered by their local schools very well or somewhat well; 60 percent of parents said the same. However, when asked what the best way is to measure student achievement, an overwhelming 70 percent said by classroom work and homework, vs. the 28 percent who said by test scores. Among parents, 69 percent said by classroom work and homework, vs. 30 percent by test scores.

These are interesting findings because most people believed standardized test scores should be used to measure the quality of a school, but not necessarily for individual student achievement. But isn?t student achievement a key indicator of school quality? What does the survey results say about people?s general perception of test scores and how they should be used? About the relationship between test scores and student achievement?
What do you think? For more information on what all this means, visit the Center for Public Education.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 30, 2008 (boomark / email).