Empowerment Starts Here
This site is dedicated to the professional and academic work of Dr. Angela Dye.
The Case of Standardized Tests (Ep41)
Empowerment Starts Here with Dr. Roxana Marachi (click here to listen).
Scroll down to access links and other resources mentioned in Episode 41- “The Case of Standardized Tests.”
In this episode, Dr. Marachi offers a critique on standardized testing as part of a larger phenomenon of big data and predictive analytics. She talks about testing as relating to resource distribution and data mining; about power holders as test makers and the design and coding of tests to keep them secure as power holders; and about social justice and 21st century learning promises as marketing tools and distractions to the real agenda for social maintenance—not social change.
In the closeout of the episode, I talk about the darker side of this conversation. On the ESHpodcast, we are known for making visible the invisible. That’s the whole premise to focus on social power. It is a real phenomenon although it is invisible. The challenge with this call was not coming face to face with the invisible. It was learning how deeply structured the invisible actually is. It is through this complexity, not invisibility, that we are duped into maintaining the status quo. Without understanding the deeply entrenched existence of the margins, there can be no disruption!
Are you struggling with power dynamics at your job, school or home? Know that a life coach can help you problem solve!! Please contact me if you want to learn more.
Key Points Discussed:
- Academic freedom and the impact of big money behind testing
- Violence and bullying prevention
- Early learning inaction
- Being critical and intersectional
- Demographic analysis of the Latino community
- Standardized tests as being indicators of students being college and career ready
- User interface problems with computerized tests
- Coding and scoring concerns of computerized tests
- Validity and reliability questions of tests
- Testing devices (computers versus iPads) and the testing season
- The structure of inequity in opportunity and exposure of higher order questioning
- The intentional design of tests for failure
- Teacher assessments versus high stakes testing
- Standardized tests as predictors of socioeconomic status
- Academic data versus testing data
- Predictive analytics/precision analytics to determine the control of resources beyond schooling
- Communities of color and the harm of big data in the name of 21st century learning
- Impact investing
- Marketing versus value and impact
Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Critical Questions about Computerized Testing and SmarterBalanced Assessment Scores (by Dr. Roxana Marachi)
The Shiny Apple with the Rotten Core (by Angela Dye)
Other ESHpodcast Episodes Mentioned
- Ep37-The Case of Bioethics and Race (with the informant Dr. Yolonda Wilson)
- Ep43- The Case of the Awkward White Feminist (with the informant Jennifer Binis)
- Ep45-The Case of Role Reversal (with the informant Julie Torres)
Terms and Concepts Mentioned
High stakes testing; standardized tests; computerized learning; K12 education; accountability; predictive analysis; precision analysis; big data; data mining
Mistakes/Corrections
Please feel free to let me if you catch any mistakes. Thanks!!
The Full Link for the Episode…
http://eshpodcast.libsyn.com/ep41-the-case-of-standardized-tests
Please visit our Episodes at a Glance page to get a full episode list for Seasons 1 and 2.
