FINAL PROJECT OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS ON LANGUAGE TEACHING

FINAL PROJECT OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS ON LANGUAGE TEACHING

Possibilities and Problems of a Standards-Based Approach: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By

SUPRAYOGA

NIM. 100221509259

State university of malang

graduate program in English language TEACHING

2012
 

Possibilities and Problems of a Standards-Based Approach: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A. PROBLEM WITH THE CONTEXT AND NATURE OF STANDARD

Standards movement is viewed as a one-size-fits all approach (Ohanian, 1999). Those holding this view think that all students should learn the same things in the same way, at the same place, and get tested on the standardized tests.

One-size-fits all approach is indeed problematic. Children learn and develop in highly individual and idiosyncratic ways.

B. PROBLEMS WITH TOP-DOWN VERSUS BOTTOM-UP STANDARDS

The differences about who should  develop and enforce the standards. Fitzgerald (1979), Revitch (1995) stated some believe that standards should be nationally produced and nationally assessed. They believe that schooling in the United States, which has no national curriculum, would be strengthened greatly by national standards enforced with national tests as they are in France, Great Britain, China, and Japan.

Many argue that state education departments are the most appropriate to take on national development and assessment.

Many school reformers argue against standards imposed from afar. They prefer only standard-setting effort that are local. They believe that local, context-conversations about teaching, students, and their work are the most effective mechanism for deep instructional change (Sizer, 1995).

C. PROBLEMS WITH TESTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Establishing standards does not guarantee that the standards will be translated into practice or that people will use them in ways that lead to better teaching and learning. Neither does establishing standards guarantee that the standard will be achieved.

Standards-based performance test, which made up of multiple-choice, fill in the blank, true-false items, are a significant improvement to test students’ knowledge, skills; and understanding. However, 25 states that claim to be implementing new standards still use old style-norm-reference tests (Education U.S.A., 1999)

1. Assessing New Standards with Old Tests

New standards are still being assessed by old tests because the test development is expensive and the nature of standards-based performance tests remain unchanged-to evaluate in norm-reference ways.

2. Technical Problems in Test Development Undermine Public Trust

First the problem of reliability of the assessment.

Second the accuracy and the validity of the test results. An error in the scoring in New York City’s 1999 reading tests lowered the test score to below “passing”. Thousands of students are incorrectly barred from moving on the next grade.

3. High-Stakes Testing Causes Harm

High test scores have always reaped rewards for students in the form of placement in high tracks or groups or actual dollar rewards or free or reduced college tuition (National Center for Fair and Open Testing, 1999).

Low test scores are facing unprecedented “tough” consequences for their performance. “No promotion” for students who do not meet the proficiency standard set as passing for their tests (International Reading Association, 1999; Koretz, 1996; Linn, 1996; Madaus, 1989; National Council on Education, Standards, and Testing, 1992).

4. Sanctions and Reward Increasing for Teachers and Schools Based on Students Tests Scores

Many states and districts are tying salary increases to the student test scores of individual teachers.

Teachers and principals can be reassigned if their schools do not perform well on district tests. Low-performing schools are closed, teachers and administrators are removed, then the schools are reopened with the new name; and with new cadre of teachers and administrators (the new cadre are only for two or three years to bring up the score or lose their position).

D. INTENDED AND UNINTENDED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF HIGH-STAKES TESTS

1. Teaching to the Test

Standard- based approach influenced teachers to focus on whatever is thought to raise test scores rather than on instruction aimed at addressing individual student needs (Jones & Whitford, 1997, p 277)

The test-related sanctions and rewards for teachers have created temptation for school personel to cheat or to manipulate test results (Clotfeller& Ladd, 1996: Darling-Hammond, 1997; Smith & Rottenberg, 1991)

2. Fueling Racial and Class Antagonisms

Standard- based approach has barred children who are less affluent, who are minority, who are in special education from attending schools in the most affluent (prosperous) districts.

3. Teacher-Proofing Instructional Programs

Standard- based approach has made teachers pace their instruction according to district mandates (high test scores) rather than in response to the students’ needs. They even abandoned their teaching practices that have been nationally recognized and recommended.

4. Investing in Testing Rather Than Teacher Learning

Standard- based approach has made some districts invest their limited money on testing rather than on helping teachers to be better teachers by learning how to teach in more effective ways.

5. Relying on the Results of Only One Test as the Basis for High-Stakes Decisions

Requiring only one way to demonstrate standards threatens to leave behind those who are best able to demonstrate what they know and can do in diverse or divergent ways. We must have flexibility in our assessment.

F. THE NEED FOR STANDARDS FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN

If we want students to learn more, we should not spend much of our time and money on testing.

Opportunity to learn standards have to do with ensuring that all students have equal and adequate fiscal resource and access to well-prepared and fully qualified teachers, as well as access to high quality curricula, instructional materials, technologies (Baratz-Snowden, 1993; Darling-Hammond, 1991, 1993, 1994b, 1995, 1997; Darling-Hammond & Falk, 1997) . Attention to educational system , health and social environment are needed to allow individuals to reach their potentials( Boyer, 1995; Jackson, 1993).

G. OPPOSITION GROWS TO HIGH-STAKEDS USES OF STANDARDS AND STANDARDS-BASED TESTS

Parents, civil right activists and educators object to the increasing standardization of the curriculum in the name of standards and to the degree that districts and states are relying on test scores for making decision about student promotion and high school graduation.

H. CHANGING THE COURSE OF STANDARDS-BASED APPROACH

Standards can either support more ambitious-teaching and greater levels of success  for all students, or they can serve to create higher rates of failure for those who are already least well-served by education system.

Students need to be the center of all our school improvement efforts.

Helpful Standards	Harmful Standards
Improving the quality of teaching	Equate harder with better
Articulate core ideas and critical skills	Focus on retention of prescribed, disconnected facts and skills
Formulate “reasonable expectations”	Required specific skills and competencies
Serve as a means for educational stakeholders to developed shared meaning and common expectations	Serve as a means for disciplinary experts to assert the importance of their respective fields
Are assessed through multiple standards-based performance tasks	Are assessed through multiple-choice, norm-referenced, standardized tests that emphasize the skills and factcs
Are supported by teaching and assessments	Are accompanied by teaching and assessments that emphasize one “right way” and one “right answer”
Promote teaching that is responsive how to how students learn	Promote teaching that emphasizes conveying information and covering content
Use assessment results as one of many sources of evidence to inform instruction,	Use assessment results as the sole basis for making decisions about what group or track students should be placed in
Are accompanied by standards for the opportunities  to learn-	Focus exclusively on content and performance standards for students

REFERENCES

Brown, H.D. 2000. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. San Fransisco, Longman.

Richard Amato. Patricia A. 2005. Academic Success For English Language Learners. New York, Longman.

Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2006. An Introduction to sociolinguistics. Australia, Blackwell Publishing.