The current testing craze is a two-edged sword for Latino children, especially those who do not speak English and those who attend schools in high poverty areas, both urban and rural.
On the one hand, test scores offer clear and unequivocal evidence that most rural and inner-city schools are not serving our children well. Both standardized and standards-based tests provide data that is objective and defensible for each individual pupil. Research sponsored by CTA indicates that Latino children make up less than 4 percent of the student body in the highest-performing (first decile) schools. However, they constitute well over 60 percent of the lowest-performing schools. Of course, we have been saying this for years, but now the facts are incontrovertible.
The downside to this "discovery" is the plethora of facile short-sighted solutions that abound. Calls for action include: closing the achievement gap, restricting immigration, "gaming" test scores, focusing on test preparation, and propagating "structured English immersion."
The improvement in test scores that results from these strategies is short-lived, at best. This is because of the "sawtooth effect"described by researcher Robert Linn. He has found that, sadly, the experience with test-driven reform has been quite consistent across the country: When a new test is introduced, students do not do well. Gradually over the next several years, scores improve. However, scores tend to plateau three to four years out in spite of the best efforts to the contrary. Then they plummet when the test is re-normed or a new test is introduced, hence the "sawtooth" effect. A false sense of accomplishment is followed by the uneasy suspicion that, in fact, conditions are unchanged or, worse, have deteriorated.
The following anecdote illustrates this point. A widely respected observer of the education scene spent a few days investigating the "Texas miracle." He visited a well-to-do suburban school and an inner-city school. He asked educators at each school an important question: "How are you addressing the testing demands of Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS)?" The state-mandated assessment is used to determine how well students master essential elements of the Texas state curriculum in reading, math and writing.
The two sets of responses he received were as interesting as they were alarming.
For the well-to-do school, the TAAS is a minor inconvenience, and their scores reflect this lack of interest; they're not especially outstanding.
Because the TAAS is the centerpiece of the instructional program at the inner-city school, their scores are among the highest in the state.
The graduates of the first school go to the best universities and colleges in the country. The students from the inner-city school who go on to college do not fare well; in fact, all of them must spend their first year in remedial classes.
The rich kids get the rich curriculum while the poor kids get to do well on the test.
Proponents of the testing frenzy retort that high test scores are correlated with high achievement in other academic areas and that children now receive an education that they would not have otherwise received.
The anecdotal evidence indicates otherwise. For a detailed commentary on this state of affairs, read The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University: The Harmful Impact of the TAAS System of Testing in Texas: Beneath the Accountability Rhetoric.
Everyone knows what must be done to bring real equity to children in our lowest-performing schools. The answers are found at the policy level and at the operational (or ground) level.
At the policy level, direction comes from an important document making the rounds in policy circles recently. "Creating the Will," a report by the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, defines a policy imperative with many important elements. These include deploying federal resources to provide opportunities for all children to succeed; making a commitment to a strategic plan grounded in current and confirmed research and promising practices that will activate all facets of government to improve Hispanic academic achievement; cultivating biliteracy and proficiency in two languages for all Americans; and implementing concerted and targeted outreach to Hispanic communities.
At the operational level, the outlines for a plan of action can be found in the research into high-poverty, high-performance ("90-90-90") schools. Research conducted by CTA, the Education Trust, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the California State Legislature indicates that there are eight essential elements associated with schools that do well. These are:
- Using standards to design curriculum and instruction, and assess student work.
- Increasing and focusing instructional time.
- Ongoing and regular monitoring of student performance and immediate intervention.
- Offering high-quality professional development.
- Getting parents involved in helping students.
- Providing strong educational leadership.
- Ensuring a stable staff.
- Offering fiscal and material resources to address student and staff needs.
In the final analysis, the issue of improving education for Latino students is a question of priorities. Census figures indicate that by the year 2025 the total population of California will be 41 million. More than half of the population, 21 million, will be Latino. Today, well over 60 percent of the student population in the lowest-performing schools is Latino. The time is long overdue to do the right thing for the future of our children, for the future of our state. The time is over for excuses and for myopic policies that result only in short-term gains for our children.
Justo Robles
Robles manages CTA's Accountability and English Learner Support Department.
