Widening the Margins: The Un/Intended Consequences of Common Core and High-Stakes Testing

• In Event: Assessment Policy and Practice: Examining the (Unintended) Consequences

Abstract

With adoption of Common Core came development of high-stakes exams. Though researchers have investigated CCSS and related policies, less attention has been directed toward understanding how standards translate into testing. Due to influences that high-stakes tests exert on teaching, research must investigate what changes in test content are associated with CCSS, as well as the impact of these changes on students and teachers. This study examines modifications made to one exam by comparing pre- and post-CCSS literacy tests administered to students in New York. Findings suggest that the rush to implement more “rigorous” exams resulted in inequitable assessments, more representative of college equivalence rather than readiness, making them developmentally inappropriate and not culturally nor linguistically representative of the diverse populations.

Authors

• Jody Nicole Polleck, Hunter College - CUNY

• Jill V. Jeffery, Leiden University