The Injustice of High-Stakes Testing in New Jersey: A Corporate Profit Machine
The Injustice of High-Stakes Testing in New Jersey: A Corporate Profit Machine
High-stakes testing has become a significant and controversial part of the education system in New Jersey. For over 40 years, the state has relied on standards-based assessments, with various tests implemented since the 1970s. The current system includes the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA), administered to students in grades 3-8 and once in high school, alongside additional tests for specific subjects like Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry, and the NJ Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) for 11th-grade students. However, this emphasis on testing is increasingly seen as doing more harm than good, serving the interests of corporations at the expense of our children's education.
The Corporate Takeover of Education
The testing industry, dominated by corporations like Pearson, has turned education into big business. Companies that create, administer, and grade these tests are reaping significant profits. Schools, meanwhile, are forced to allocate substantial resources to test preparation and administration, diverting funds from essential educational activities. Classroom space, teacher time, and administrative efforts are all consumed by the testing regime, creating additional costs beyond just the tests themselves.
The Financial Drain on Public Education
Public education funds are being siphoned off to profit-making corporations that sell, write, administer, and grade these tests, as well as market curricula aligned with them. This redirection of funds represents a significant financial drain on already limited school budgets. The New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA), for instance, is a shorter version of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test, with both being created by Pearson. This connection underscores the influence of a single company over the state's educational assessments, further embedding corporate interests in the education system.
Impact on Education Quality
High-stakes testing has several detrimental effects on the quality of education. Instructional time is reduced as learning is increasingly replaced by test preparation and administration. This shift negatively impacts students' long-term learning, motivation, and stress levels. Instead of fostering a love for learning and critical thinking, the education system becomes narrowly focused on test performance.
Punitive Consequences and Widening Inequality
The punitive nature of high-stakes testing also leads to severe consequences for schools and educators. Schools educating the most challenging students often face punishments, such as forced closures and the firing of teachers and principals, potentially widening the opportunity gap. This system discourages excellent educators from entering the teaching profession and encourages experienced educators to leave, as they are increasingly evaluated based on test results that do not accurately measure their effectiveness.
Data Privacy Concerns
Another alarming issue is the risk to students' data privacy. High-stakes testing places children's confidential data at risk of being shared or sold for profit-making purposes without families' knowledge or consent. This exploitation of personal data is yet another way that corporations benefit from the testing industry, often at the expense of students' privacy and security.
Developmental Inappropriateness and Limited Effectiveness
Concerns about the developmental appropriateness of such tests are particularly pronounced for younger students who may lack the necessary fine motor skills or reading ability. Additionally, critics argue that high-stakes standardized testing does not improve children's educational outcomes and may not accurately measure a teacher's impact on student learning. Instead of promoting genuine understanding and engagement, these tests foster a narrow focus on rote memorization and test-taking skills.
Negative Long-Term Effects on Student Motivation
The long-term effects of high-stakes testing on student motivation are overwhelmingly negative. High-stakes tests reduce students' intrinsic motivation to learn, leading to decreased engagement in learning for its own sake and a diminished love of learning over time. Students often experience increased anxiety, anger, boredom, and pessimism towards these tests, which can persist as they progress through their education.
Conclusion: A Call for Change
Over twenty-two million dollars was spent on testing in the state of New Jersey not to mention the millions that were spent on test preparation We need to take those funds and support our educators with the resources and methods they need to make learning exciting. A child engaged in learning is how we bring about change.
For the well-being of our students, New Jersey must resist the high-stakes standardized testing fad and pursue more effective models of student assessment. These models should be designed to support learning rather than punish students, educators, schools, and communities. By shifting the focus from corporate profit to genuine educational outcomes, we can create an education system that truly benefits our children and prepares them for the future.
"We live at a moment of dramatic change, and almost every institution is trying to figure out what its new value is in the modern, globally networked world. Schools are no exception, and I think that we in education are on the precipice of a fundamental rethink of why we want our children in schools with teachers in our communities.
Schools are not going away, but their value is changing, and there is an urgency for us to figure out how to manifest that new value for our kids. To me, this is an amazingly interesting moment, filled with opportunity and challenge, chaos and questions. And I couldn’t be more passionate about making sense of it to whatever extent I can.
I feel strongly that for meaningful change to occur in education, we must start with what we believe about how kids learn and what’s important about education."
WILL RICHARDSON
In my next article and over the coming months, I plan to meet with innovative educators across the United States, gather ideas and concepts currently being implemented in classrooms, and draft a plan to transition from testing to engagement. To follow our progress, please register for our newsletter.
