Chicago Teacher Perspectives on High-Stakes Testing, Teacher Practice, and Equity-Oriented Education

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-20 - Power, Discourse, and Professionalism: Teacher's Work in Challenging Times

Abstract

This paper uses a Vygotskian approach, which understands teaching and learning as culturally-mediated human activity and interaction, to analyze the findings of a survey of 1000 teachers on the impact of standardized testing on teacher practice with regard to teacher attention to equity-oriented education in Chicago. The objectives of the paper are three fold. First, the paper seeks deepen our understanding of the impact of increased standardized testing on teacher practices. Second, the paper seeks to explore the reported impact of increased standardized testing on teachers’ work and professional lives in Chicago. Third, this piece seeks to explicate some of the most common challenges and opportunities provided by standardized testing as identified by teachers in the study.

Author

• Arlo Kempf, University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education