High-Stakes Testing: Looking back to move forward

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Sessions
  In Paper Session: Race, Culture, and Power in Mathematics Education

Abstract

High-stakes testing takes on many forms in the current U.S. school setting. From Special Education testing to state testing programs and more, you can find a high-stakes test being implemented at almost any time of the year in any U.S. K-12 school or classroom. Much of the testing process and retrieved data is highly subjective and inequitably analyzed causing significant harm for our most vulnerable student populations. Riddled with a racist, sexist, and ableist history, high-stakes tests have played a long and twisted role in U.S. education. As we move education forward in the midst of a contested political environment, I suggest our education leaders consider forms of assessment that are equitable, appropriate, and based upon what is truly best for our students, particularly our students of color who have already faced such significant harm through the U.S. education system.

Author

• Noelle Haskell, University of Northern Colorado