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The Establishment of Assessments
Schools begin to turn from oral to written assessments to better understand students comprehension levels. This transition in style of testing also accompanied the transition of schools becoming more available for the masses.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
From Oral to Written
Horace Mann, along with the Massachusetts Board of Education administered the first written exams after Mann traveled to Europe and learned that written exams were superior.
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History of Standardized Testing. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ed.lehigh.edu/theory-to-practice/2013/history-of-standardized-testing -
Push for Conformity
Charles William Eliot, Harvard's President, makes the push for colleges and professional programs across the United States to work together to create a common entrance exam.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
First Administered Test of the College Entrance Examination Board
Established in 1900, the first entrance exams created by the College Board were offered in nine different subjects the following year.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
The Creation of Multiple Choice
Fredrick J. Kelley created the multiple choice and it changed standardized testing it as it made grading the exams both quicker and more objective.
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Where Did Standardized Testing Come From Anyway? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2011/09/02/where-did-standardized-testing-come-anyway -
More Tests, More Knowledge
College Board began making more thorough assessments in 6 different topic areas with different styles of questions such as written compositions and essay questions, and even sight translations for languages.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
Update
By this time, there are over 100 different forms of standardized test through elementary and secondary schools. Meaning students all over the US are being tested and scored by different methods and therefore incomparable.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
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The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)
Charles Brigham, first gained experience in making tests for the army, but after making a test for college freshmen, College Board pushed him to create the SAT. It was first administered in 1926 and was used as a baseline for every Ivy College by 1940. To present date, the SAT is used by a majority of schools for admissions and scholarship decisions.
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(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/timeline.html -
First Statewide Exam
The University of Iowa administers the first statewide testing program. This is a huge moment as it is the first time that a standardized test has been used for a mass number of people in the same area, for the purpose of having data on the students, and not just for the students' college application.
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Alcocer, P., & Nea. (n.d.). History of Standardized Testing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/66139.htm -
AP Exams
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams were created to assess students comprehension of introductory college coursework after taking AP classes in high schools. These classes were created to bridge the gap between high school and college students.
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Lindsay, S. (n.d.). The History of the ACT Test. Retrieved from https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-history-of-the-act-test -
The ACT (American College Test)
It was created by Everett Franklin Lindquist as an alternative to the SAT, with the main difference being that the ACT was geared toward testing knowledge actually learned in school, and not just cognitive reasoning. The ACT was also the first standardized test to contained a science section. It was used for admissions by many Midwest and Central US colleges.
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Lindsay, S. (n.d.). The History of the ACT Test. Retrieved from https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-history-of-the-act-test -
The Creation of NAEP
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the
United States yearly report card that evaluates how well students are doing in numerous subjects. It is currently the only test that is used to compare students across the US and can be used to compare at both national and state levels.
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About NAEP. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/ -
No Child Left Behind Act
Link text
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Watch the video from 0:30 to 1:18 to learn more about the No Child Left Behind Act
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(n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/no-child-left-behind-summary-pros-cons.html -
Race to the Top
Race to the Top is the name for the initiative meant to push states for a rapid increase in education quality. There were four areas of education that were being targeted by this initiative, and progress was measured using standardized testing. In order to win the competition many states turned to a focus on higher test scores in order to prove their methods were working.
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Race to the Top. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top -
Race To the Top
The picture depicts the states that won each phase, most of which underwent radical transformation of their testing methods to achieve a prized spot.
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Howell, W. G. (2016, March 3). Results of President Obama's Race to the Top: Win or lose, states enacted education reforms. Retrieved from https://www.educationnext.org/results-president-obama-race-to-the-top-reform/ -
Less Tests, More Knowledge
At this point in time, many teachers are extremely unhappy with the amount of exams they are expected to teach too. This is resulting in teachers and some policy makers becoming vocal about their opinions on the exams. For example, Tennessee is reducing the number of Common Core Assessments in the upcoming year by eliminating two subject tests. This shows how standardized tests are amazing at tracking progress, but when they become the focus they interfere with actual academic learning. -
Instant Results
Its hard to predict what is going to happen in the future, but here are some ideas.
1.) Many states will abandon the Common Core standards and suit their tests to better fit their own need.
2.) Tests will move to a completely digital format allowing for students and teachers to have instant access to scores. As a result, tests will become shorter and more frequent to actually test and track an individuals progress more accurately.
