What Is It in Testing That Pressurizes Teachers? Results of a Teacher Survey in Hungary

• In Event: 61.087 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: 61.087-3 - Accountability Results: Its Impact on Teacher Practice, Instruction, and Students' Lives

Abstract

Teachers’ responses to high-stakes testing have come to the forefront of research. Although literature generally relates teachers’ perceived pressure to high-stakes testing, research on the impact of centralized testing, regardless of its aims and purposes, on teachers is scant. This study uses mixed methods to examine whether test-related pressure is only perceived by Hungarian teachers teaching in grades where high-stakes testing occurs, to identify sources of pressure, and to examine the effect pressure has on teachers’ instructional practices. Findings show that teachers feel pressurized by diagnostic and summative system-level assessments alike. External and internal sources of test-related pressure prevail. However, data also suggests that the extent to which sources exert pressure does not inevitably draw along shifts in teachers’ practices.

Authors

• Edit Tóth, MTA-SZTE Research Group on the Development of Competencies

• Agnes Hodi, University of Szeged