Teachers' attitudes regarding standardized tests and retention and promotion practices in kindergarten and first-grade.

Since the 1970s the use of large-scale, group administered standardized achievement tests has increased substantially in American schools. These standardized tests are used for accountability at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. Sometimes these tests are used to make academic decisions about individual students. Research has demonstrated that the use of standardized tests can have a negative impact on teachers and students. This connection between the use of standardized tests in early childhood education and some unintended negative consequences includes developmentally inappropriate academic demands in kindergarten and first grade curricula, retention of children in grade, and pressure for children to demonstrate their readiness to do kindergarten work even before they begin school. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of standardized achievement tests on attitudes towards assessment and retention among kindergarten and first grade teachers in 26 school districts. The data for the study were collected from a questionnaire on Teacher Attitudes About Standardized Tests, Promotion Practices, and Student Learning, and information about district characteristics obtained from district administrators. Teachers' attitudes about test use, test impact, retention, and the nature of learning were investigated using their responses on the questionnaire. The relationship between teachers' attitudes and their rates of promotion/ retention were studied as a measure of the influence of testing practices on teacher behavior. The results of this study support the hypotheses that teachers hold distinct attitudes about testing and retention and that holding positive attitudes is predictive of lower promotion rates. Further, the results suggest that in low-income districts with high rates of testing teachers' promotion rates are more influenced by test use than in high income districts with either higher or lower rates of testing. The social consequences of these findings are discussed in the context of the need for alternative assessment processes. Considerations for the appropriate use of alternative assessment processes are discussed.Doctor of Education (EdD)School of EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/104074/1/9500872.pdfDescription of 9500872.pdf : Restricted to UM users only