How Educated Are We - Accountability

From 1965-1970, the Federal government increased its funding to elementary and secondary schools by nearly $4 billion (from $1.9 billion in 1965 to $5.8 billion in 1970)¹⁴. In 1970, possibly to determine if the money spent was yielding tangible results, standardized testing became a tool for measuring school performance. And, as the graph above shows, despite the fact that the average amount spent per pupil was on the rise, the average test results from the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)¹⁵, taken by nearly half of all graduating high school students, has remained fairly steady. In recent years, test scores have been rising but they still are not at the level they were in 1970, when spending per pupil was at its lowest in the past 30 years. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores (as seen in previous panels) showed a similar pattern. At all grade levels where the test is administered, test scores have varied little in the past 30 years.

In 1970, testing school-aged children was not a new idea. Early in the 20th century, however, testing was used to segregate students into different courses of study according to ability. In 1912, the first IQ test was created. Over the course of the next 20 years, 250,000 students took the test. It was given to test innate ability. In the 1920s, most high schools switched from the traditional college-prep curriculum to career tracking. The Philadelphia school system, for example, switched to four courses of study: academic, commercial, mechanical, and industrial.

The testing controversy isn't a recent phenomenon, either. In 1922, Harlan C. Hines, a professor at the University of Washington, wrote a criticism of testing in the American School Board Journal. He felt "that a test loses its value and becomes a dangerous weapon in the hand of the untrained." The following year, Lewis Terman, one of the creators of the IQ test, created subject area Achievement Tests. And in 1932, 75% of large U.S. cities reported using standardized intelligence testing for career tracking.

In the 1970s, the Back to Basics movement took hold. States instituted minimum competency tests to ensure that high school graduates had mastered basic reading, writing, and math skills. In the 1980s and 1990s new technologies were eliminating many of the unskilled jobs. Well-educated workers were in high demand. State governments pushed for higher educational standards to attract new industries and jobs. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released the report A Nation At Risk. It outlined the problems of the U.S. educational system and encouraged reform. Many states enacted laws to increase graduation standards. In 1988, state governors adopted Goals 2000. The major purpose of Goals 2000 was for all American students to become "first in the world" in math and science. Student assessment was a key feature of Goals 2000. Although participation was voluntary, states that participated in this initiative received federal funding. In January 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A key feature of this legislation is standardized testing to "create a system of accountability" so that "federal spending on schools [can be] a federal investment in improved student performance."¹⁶

One can almost feel the rising demand of the public, expressed by various institutions. But resistance to testing is fierce. Critics of standardized testing have argued that these tests are used less for determining student achievement and more for determining school funding and teacher raises. The next panel will discuss some of the criticism levied in recent years on the use of standardized testing.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, 2001. "Timeline: Testing and Standards Controversy." Online. Available: ://www.pbs.org. April 19, 2002. "President Bush Signs Landmark Education Reforms into Law." Online. Available: http://www.whitehouse.gov. April 16, 2002. Ann Blackman et. al. "Is That Your Final Answer?" Time, 19 June 2000.