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How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

Risa Berman
University of Las Vegas, Nevada

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students
Introduction
Scripted reading programs have had a negative impact on teachers and students around
the country. Many school districts have adopted these programs as a way to comply with
state and federal mandates (Griffith, 2008; Milosovic, 2007). This move from teacher led
to scripted instruction has left teachers feeling powerless and overwhelmed. They are
often caught between what they are asked to do and what they know is right for their
students (MacGillivray, Ardell, Curwen, & Palma, 2004). It is even more problematic for
teachers when they see that English learners and other students with special needs are not
meeting their academic goals (Dresser, Rocio, 2012, p. 71).
As Rocio Dresser stated above, that scripted programs are becoming popular in schools
and are having a negative impact on teachers and students. Scripted programs are being used to
act in accordance with state and federal mandates. At my school we are required to use scripted
programs and while talking with colleagues in my Master's program, I have noticed many of
them are required to use scripted programs as well. During discussions and conversations it has
become apparent that teachers do not like to follow scripted programs. Most teachers like to use
scripted programs as a guidance tool to help them teach, but add additional resources to their
teaching. A majority of teachers said that scripted programs did help them in their first year of
teaching. After teaching a year or more they become less dependent on scripted programs and
began to use their own knowledge and additional resources to aid to their teaching. I have
noticed in my four years of teaching, that students who are English Language Learners and
students with special needs often do not meet Common Core Standards and other required testing
mandates. I become interested in this topic because as a teacher I am facing these issues and
want to understand why and how mandates are affecting teachers and my students. It is important
for teachers to understand why they use scripted programs and have to follow mandates. Also, it
is extremely important to understand how mandates are affecting our English Language Learners
and students.
In our literacy research workshop, the results from Navigating Mandates: Teachers Face
"Troubled Seas" by Cobb, J., Sargent, S. & Patchen, C. (2012) indicated that regardless of the
specific mandates that the teachers were required to follow at their school, the mandates had a
significant impact on curriculum and instruction delivery. Issues that researchers came across in
their findings suggested that mandates influenced curriculum and instructional practice at every
level. They stated that scripted curriculum were limiting their instructional practices. Many
teachers felt they had to discard engaging and motivating practices because they had to teach to
the test. Teachers were becoming so focused on students passing tests and standards. Many
teachers felt that there was a lack of resources and time to incorporate naturalistic, authentic
strategies. A continuum was produced based off the data found in this research study. The first
stance truly believes in mandates and follows them exactly while the fourth stance states a

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

teacher follows their knowledge to supplement and modify what is mandated. The data shows
that veteran teachers respond to mandates easier than new teachers. In conclusion, mandates may
change, but courses need to be created to help student teachers prepare for teaching with any
mandates that are given to them. Since we researched how mandates are being used and how
teachers are reacting to them, I wanted to research more on how they are affecting on teachers,
English Language Learners and students.
How Teachers are Affected
The government passed mandates, such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, in
hopes to improve student performance and raise the quality of education in America (Vande
Corput, Ashley R. 2012). In 2001, NCLB has held schools accountable to the federal government
and most report test score to gain data. This data will conclude if the school and students are
making progress and if they are a low performing school. Mr. Davis was one of the teachers
Vande Corput interviewed; he believed that the NCLB impacted the way he taught because it
determined the standards and curriculum maps that he would use (Vande Corput, Ashley R.
2012). "With time restraints due to the requirements set forth by the district to cover the
standards, these teachers had been limited to what they can teach, which is one major aspect of
an educator's teaching style (Vande Corput, Ashley R. 2012).The amount of time for social
studies and science are limited because most teachers have to teach to the test and this means
more literacy and math. A quote by Vande Corput stated it nicely:
The teaching and learning process is not black and white. It is a vibrant process involving
fluid interaction between humans that is constantly changing. The dynamics between
teachers and students are fundamental in this process, and the whole child must be taken
into account. Teaching styles and personalities, must address the social,
emotional,
physical, and academic needs of each child in order to be truly effective, and this
cannot be measured by a multiple choice test. Unfortunately, government mandates, such as No
Child Left Behind, have impacted teachers in ways that leave little room for them to
implement their preferred teaching styles (Vande Corput, Ashley R. 2012, p. 18).
I feel that this is true that social studies and science are cut back in time and literacy and
math take most of the day to teach. I love the quote above because teaching and learning is not
black and white. Every year you will have a different group of students and teaching is always
changing. I believe it is important for teachers to make connections with their students and bring
their uniqueness of teaching into practice. I believe teachers teach differently and that is not a
bad thing. I noticed a huge struggle with my colleagues at my school with Common Core Testing
and the change of Common Core report cards. These mandates have affected our teaching and
has caused us to question ourselves on what is the correct way to teach or how we should teach.
Yes, our school requires us to teach scripted programs, but us teachers are working harder on
finding additional ways to implement our own teaching style to help promote our students'
learning.

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

Another study indicated that fifty-eight percent of all responding teachers reported that
their state-mandated test is based on a curriculum that all teachers should follow (Abrams, Lisa,
Pedulla, Joseph, & Madaus, George. (2003). It also mentioned that teachers spent more time on
tested curriculum and less emphasis on non-tested content (Abrams, Lisa, Pedulla, Joseph, &
Madaus, George. (2003). Not only was non-tested content not being taught, additionally a
significant decrease in fine arts, industrial/ vocational education, field trips, class trips,
enrichment assemblies, and class enrichment activities (Abrams, Lisa, Pedulla, Joseph, &
Madaus, George. (2003). Many teachers reported that their state testing program has lead them to
teach in ways that contradict their beliefs of educational practices. "These results suggest that
regardless of the rewards and/or sanctions associated with test results, the implementation of
state testing programs has changed teaching in ways that many teachers feel negatively impact
the quality of instruction students receive." (Abrams, Lisa, Pedulla, Joseph, & Madaus, George.
(2003, p. 7). Teachers noted that they felt pressure from district superintendent and principal to
raise scores on the state test (Abrams, Lisa, Pedulla, Joseph, & Madaus, George. (2003).
I noticed myself and colleagues spend a sufficient amount of time on testing and we feel
we are not able to teach as much. Our school requires at least five data points for Common Core
standards to assess our students. This leaves our teaching and content cut short and more focus
on testing and teaching to the test. There are so more content areas that need focus on or need to
be taught, but with testing requirements and scripted curriculum things are left out. Myself and
colleagues have discussed that testing has taken over our uniqueness of teaching. We do feel that
this negatively impacts the quality of instruction our students receive at times.
In addition, another study stated that NCLB act has made teachers feel that they can use
their own philosophy of education and must follow a scripted program to teach.
Schoolteachers are currently dealing with the unintended repercussions of the NCLB
legislation. The drive to comply with federal and state mandates has left teachers in
dissonance between their own philosophy of education and that of their schools. They are
asked to follow reading programs step-by-step, treating teaching like a mere cooking
recipe. Giroux calls these classrooms a "dead zone" where critical thinking, selfreflection and imagination are being left to outside sources. There is no room for creative
methods of instruction like those used in Minerva's class. Scripted instruction takes the
place of the teacher. The program determines what the teacher will say and do, as well as
the pace of the lesson (Dresser, Rocio. (2012, p. 7).
This has been argument and topic of discussion in our class and where I teach. Teachers
are forced to use scripted curriculum programs and has made teaching less unique and engaging.
Most teachers have stated that scripted programs have helped in their first year of teaching, but
after teaching a while they feel they need more freedom in their teaching style. When I have
talked to other teachers, they say they use scripted programs as a guide and add additional
materials to teaching. Although, some teachers are allowed to implement and have the freedom

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

to bring additional materials, some are not allowed. Teachers are not happy with using scripted
curriculum because they do not seem to engage their students. Teachers feel a clash between
what they are told to use when they enter the teaching profession and what they learned in
teacher preparation programs (Dresser, Rocio. (2012). Many teachers are forced to teach more to
"a one fits all" instruction because of these scripted programs (Dresser, Rocio. (2012). Teahcers
want to make more individualized instruction but feel the pressure from administration on using
scripted programs (Dresser, Rocio. (2012).

How English Language Learners Are Affected

English Language Learners have been found to be behind English speaking students
using Open Court program (Dresser, Rocio. (2012). Since teachers have time constraints are the
arts are being taken out or very limited. Brouillette (2010) found that among English Language
Learners, the arts promote socio-cognitive understanding and help them adapt to new culture and
language. ELL students state tests scores have shown that they are below other students by
twenty to thirty percentage points (Abedi and Dietel, 2004). The test for ELLs becomes a
measure of both subject and language skills (Abedi and Dietel, 2004).
Some assessment experts believe that performance assessment items may not fully reflect
content knowledge (Abedi, J. (2010). They argue that items being measured need to focus on
content and not primarily on language (Abedi, J. (2010). Since NCLB, testing has changed and
studies have found that ELLs perform better sometimes on open ended performance tasks rather
than multiple choice tests (Abedi, J. (2010). Also, test questions that are lengthy, tend to slow
readers down and increase misinterpretation because of the language load (Abedi, J. (2010).
Studies also have shown if test questions use more familiar vocabulary and reduce the
complexity of sentences structures then ELLs and low achieving students will perform better
(Abedi, J. (2010). Unfortunately, research has shown that linguistic complexity and cultural bias
has affected the outcome of assessments on ELLs (Abedi, J. (2010). Given that mandates have
been put into place and testing has been a huge part in schools now, ELLs are suffering. ELLs do
not have the same opportunity and advantage as first language English speaker (Abedi, J. (2010).
Studies show that ELLs scores are not always accurate on their content knowledge (Abedi, J.
(2010).
At my school we have a huge Ethiopian population and working with these students I
have noticed sometimes it is a language barrier that causes the problem of incorrect answers. I
had a student who moved here from Ethiopia and he did not speak any English, but I could tell
when doing math he did understand numbers and counting but not able to read the questions and
understand. I do feel that ELLs and low achieving students to have a disadvantage on testing
because they are struggling to read and comprehend what is being asked. At my school, we have
the students use STAR testing and I have notice a lot of my students do poorly on the iPad STAR

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

test because the test is not read to them. I teach first grade and some students do struggle to read
and this affects their scores in math. I feel that the test should be audio, so that they can
understand what is being read to them. When I give assessments in the class and they are not
testing reading, I read the questions aloud and do not see as many errors or less test scores.

How Students Are Affected

It was proven that scripted programs negatively affect students' reading development.
Research also indicate that students in schools where scripted programs are used for more than
ten years, were behind students in schools with non-scripted programs (Dresser, Rocio. (2012).
In Dresser's study, it stated that there was no evidence that Open Court program promoted higher
early reading achievement (Dresser, Rocio. (2012). The results showed that students using nonscripted programs outperformed students that used Open Court program (Dresser, Rocio. (2012).
I was taken back on the results because some many school use scripted curriculum and
lead you to believe this is the best way to promote higher test scores and that your students are
learning more. I do feel that this research makes sense because teachers are able to use their
knowledge and are able to implement additional resources into their teaching to promote higher
level thinking. This allows students to grasp concepts and learn content material. Our school uses
a program similar to Open Court and I found this a little alarming that non-scripted schools have
outperformed scripted programs.
There are different types of tests that can be administered to students, such as
standardized tests that are mandated by states, benchmarking by district to improve intervention,
and tests given by teachers for formative assessments. A study indicated that in one district in
grades 3-10, students spent approximately 15 hours or more per a year testing (Howard, Nelson.
(2013). Another school district grades 6-11 spent 55 hours per a year on testing (Howard,
Nelson. (2013). Studies have shown that the direct cost of purchasing, licensing and scoring state
mandated test is about $25 per test taker and the annual cost for benchmark testing is about $20
per test taker (Howard, Nelson. (2013). "If testing were abandoned altogether. one school district
in the this study could add from 20 to 40 minutes of instruction to each school day for most
grades. Additionally, in most grades, more than $100 per test taker could be reallocated to
purchase instructional program, technology or to by better tests." (Howard, Nelson. (2013, p.13).
It is amazing to see how much instructional time is taken away due to testing. Not only
the actual testing time, but preparation on testing and administrative tasks to give the test. If we
took out all the testing, then students will be learning more due to more teaching time allowed. I
feel that this does affect our students tremendously because students and teachers are so focused
on testing and preparing for the test, that they are not learning a sufficient amount of content
material that would normally be given if tests were not mandated. It was shocking to see how
much a school district pays for mandated testing and benchmarking tests. It was more alarming

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

to see how the money could be used in other ways to help bring in educational programs,
resources, and technology into the schools. Our students are suffering from mandates and testing,
when they could have more time for arts, music, P.E. and other extra activities.

Conclusion
Since No Child Left Behind came into place, schools have increased testing and had
mandates put into place. This mandate has affected teachers, students, and English Language
Learners. Testing has become a norm in classrooms and has lead to less amount of teaching time.
Teachers are being forced to use scripted curriculum programs which some studies have proven
have made students behind the students who do not use them. Not only are scripted curriculum
programs becoming more accustomed into teaching; this is leaving the uniqueness of a teachers
personality and style not evident in their teaching. Teachers go through rigorous teaching
programs and then are presented into the teaching world and cannot apply what they have
learned because of mandates and scripted curriculum. Many other subject content areas are not
being taught or have a very limited amount of time, due to literacy and math being the top
priority to teach.
Students are being affected by the mandates and testing as well. Studies show the amount
of time in a classroom on test preparation and testing is significantly high. If we took away all
the testing, this would allow more teaching time and more extracurricular activities to be given.
Not only would it allow more teaching time on content subjects, extracurricular activities, but
would save school districts a huge sum of money. If the money was not used for testing
materials, score results, standardized tests, benchmark tests, then it could be applied in more
helpful and beneficial ways. Money can be used for educational programs, extracurricular
activities, technology, educational resources, books, and so much more. English Language
Learners and low achieving students are suffering from testing because the struggle in reading
English and this causes low test scores. The mandated tests are not using the correct vocabulary
to help them understand what is being asked for them to comprehend. I was surprised to hear that
the Open Court program did not increase scores for students and actually had the opposite effect
Our school uses a scripted program similar and I find it alarming that studies show that students
being taught with these programs are behind.
Recently, President Obama stated that teachers focus too much on testing. He has
mentioned that there should be a cap on allowing only 2% of mandate testing be allowed in the
classroom. I saw some news clips that mentioned this topic. I found it extremely interesting,
especially because we just did our workshop on this issue. They are saying that all these test have
not really proven to show that students have been more successful. I am thrilled to hear this
because I think the focus in teaching has been testing and teaching to the test. I loved that
President Obama stated that teachers need to have their spark and make learning fun and

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

engaging. Also, he wants to students to enjoy learning and be engaged in the process. It is great
to see that politicians are seeing there is an issue and changes are needed to be made. I look
forward in seeing what accomplishments will actually be taken place. It is a start in the right
direction and hope it will help teachers in the future.

References

How Mandates and Testing Has Affected Teachers and Students

Abedi, J. (2010). Performance assessments for English language learners.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
Abedi, J., & Dietel, R. (2004). Challenges in the No Child Left Behind Act for EnglishLanguage
learners. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(10), 782785.
doi:10.1177/003172170408501015
Abrams, Lisa, Pedulla, Joseph, & Madaus, George. (2003) "Views from the Classroom:
Teachers Opinions of Statewide Testing Programs." Theory Into Practice, Volume 42,
Number 1, Winter 2003, pp.18-29
Cobb, J., Sargent, S. & Patchen, C. (2012). Navigating Mandates: Teachers Face "Troubled
Seas." Language & Literacy, 14 (3), 112-132.
Dresser, Rocio. (2012). "The Impact of Scripted Literacy Instruction on Teachers and
Students."Volume 21, Number 1, Spring 2012
Howard, Nelson. (2013). "Testing More, Teaching Less" What America's Obsession with Student
Testing Costs in Money and Lost Instructional Time.
Vande Corput, Ashley R. (2012) "Teaching to the Test: How Federal Mandates Affect
Elementary Educators' Teaching Styles," The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate
Research: Vol.2:Iss. 1, Article 4