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Standardimed'Reading Tests; Do They Help or Nurt Tour.Child.

INSTITOTIOL North Dakota Univ., Grand Porks. ;enter for Teachingand Learning. .. . 4

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.NOTS 12p:s Best copy available. 4

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MMUS IRON North Dakota Stud, Group .on Valuation, Center for'Teething and tearting, University of North Dakota,Grand Forks, ND 58202 (50.50 ea., 10 or more00.40 .

ea.)

EBBS PRICB MF01 Plus Postaae. PC kit Available from: !DRS.USCRIPTORS Plesentary Pducatical.*Reading Tests; Response Style

(rests); Standardised Tests; Test Sias4 *TestingProblems: Test Interpretation: *Test Items; TestPesults; Test Validity

ABSTRACTIntended for parents, this guide discusses the

effects of standardised tests on children, using test items fromrecent standardized reading teits vhich have been adminisioned tochildren aged 7 to 13 and children's responses to these items. Ppreach item, comsents are made about the ambiguity of the items thevarious interpretations that can be applied to item content,influencing the answer; measurement of knowledge content rather thanreading ability; test makers' biases: or confusing language andformat. The authors comment about the effects of these tests: (11class 'placement and labeling: (2) pressure on teachers to coachstudents for t"..e testsr(3) negative effects on curriculum; (4) costscf improving reading programs, based mainly on test scores; (5),effect on children's self-concept; and (6) reaction of parents totheir children, based on test scores. (MH)

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'the teat questions in this booklet aro typical of thoso found on thewual opentnorcidl-atindadlii0411,0inttpatameWitFV.T. s-to chiKron's rospenmr, come from into(viewa withchildren in scr.00ls that uzle standardized reading toots.

When teacho-6 glve a test, they, hope that nll the children willThen'thfi.y will know th:a the childr en.have loomed what

has been taticilt lo thermBut the p'op:o who standardized tests design them so

Lit half the ci Limn mtr:q *UV (score bilow "grade level").iloriwmber, "c.:k<1.) lover simply the middle scerohuli mustalv:P.y:.. be ab:)..;) f'.nd tiv!; odaw.

lt's very tkacr a firoup papur-anci-pencil te3t, totAca:.,tiro roadirit., wit;mut ccinfusing It wit'a the child*s

backt::.ound, spo11,nowledoe, thin;<ing abty and cuilurniTh: ro;:ding cjc1u k..*;t in the confidon.

hns ati (gation to L,:..4;11 your ch:id toroz:d l!rri sh.-1%.; how your ch,ki k chno.1.11:= t:2st

thi7t dem:,,tdthat stuidordized tesh do notCo t.

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Are those pictures clear? Do they have "correct" answers?

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n Janebeips Mother look for her umbrala.

Li Mother is cleani»g the house all by herself.

n Mother thinks ane is under the table.

answered: "Jane helps her mother look for her umbrella."Thci lestmakor had something else in

Does this prove that Maria connot toad?WIN.. 41.104. 1111. .4111. .01.....1.0

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-D The boy helps 1 he goat. pull the cart through the gate.

1-.1 The gate i:1 open so the boy and goat ean Ito t.1 ro

The boy got out of the Wagon and closed the gate..0 ... .

tr. tho holy door et tough F,o that yOu can be sus oyour air.wei i coifed? If you ate not, h; this because your readingis at fault?

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Are the "correct" answers always the best ones?

To keep swam to <- carr lutld 1

After the test. Derrick said, "When I want to keep something, .

I carry it."

"No," said Yvette, "when I want to keep something, I hold it."

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A giant is always 0 huge 0 fierce 0 Mean 0 scary.

The correct answer.is huge. But if children pick scary, does thatMean:that they are "wrong" or that they can't read huge, fierce, or mean?or giant?

11. (*)oose the %%old that .40 ciquplete. each sentence.

A .a;:c indk idual

5. touch). 7. Isty6, old 8. wise

Mark selected "old" to complete the sentence.

The testmaker's answer was "wise". What was actually wanted wasa synonym though this was never stated in the instructions.

These items are from word knowledge subtests. All the childrenabove clearly knew the meaning of the words in question. Yet, someof the children received low scores and some high scores becausethey differ ed in the way they reasoned or because theirexperiences were not thesame.

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valsr14 or tonultrow. His heart rtivint What biggerstesi,hail man ever taken? Ills wopils, khoing hisOm IAA CAM dtgitit OW of minims of leleviSion-.

rfor num, one giant lean for mankind!** Indeed. the-.entire world held its breathas Neil AldenArmstiimg been& the first human to set foot on themoon.

Ile paused and renwmlwred the leen-agetreceived his pilot's license on his sixteenth birthday.even befinv he received a driver's licensi.;. IL. re-called the Korean War and the seventy-eight mis-sions he had flown for the U.S. N'avy. Then herementhered his training in aeronautical engineer-ing and the experimental' aircraft he had flown,including. the X-15 rocket plane..

Other memories flushed by: being chosen the firstnon-military astronaut and carrying out the firstdocktig oi two orbiting spacecraft. Now he was thefirst .nortal to touch the moon. He blinked andlocmed on the strange scenery in front or him. Itu as time to take the next step.

30 Which- of these words best describeS Arm-. strong's space-career?

s long 7 thoughtful

reckless adventurous

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10 year ol Sarah said, "He's had a longcareer a9d now he's thinking back on it. See

'he.loarnsid to fly before he was 1.6."

Fred Said: "It's reckless. He took lots ofchances. He never worried about anything.He's like that man we read about who likedto climb mountains because he liked thrills. .

Diane said, "Adventurous because thisreminds me of Star Trek which is anadventure story."

Did any one child do a better job reading this?

some day- 1 Anuill A.t in bed. Today btat- om. of thow day..

Good morning,- %loot Don't you hate a eleanto %sear? That one look. dirty.-

" :Nun.- Da4, - tour -hoe. are on the it rung feet:.I got tireeil all me: again. 1k the time I ate hreakfa.t. my

rereAl ssa. oggy. Theo I -topped. a- wocil. for Hill. He %as nothome. Ile had alreittl gone to .ehool. I stalked tlwre alone.

hen I got to milool. Dill t *died. Here come. Sam.,the

14 Why .was Sam so slow in getting toschool?

c=: He overslept.

=3* He had to get dressN1 twice.

He fooled around.

c=> He did not like school.

Most of the children with whom this question was discussedsaid "Sam.was fooling around." A few children said "Hepi obablyand his nds called him a snail."

The orrect answer is: He had to get dressed twice.

't like school; that's why he was fooling mound

If the children's experiences are different from those of thetest makers, questions like those above will be difficult toanswer correctly. Such questions are unfair because theyreally ask for an opinion, and an opinion cannot be "right"or ."wrong". While some childien share the test makers'opinions, some do"not.

ARE THOSE THAT DO NOT POOR READERS?

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iic atitountt in atmim parts of th41a:and,i4.y are the most conunon insects on earth.AI low...11 many ants are hard uorkers, others do

* no uork at all One kinrl 'if ant that does not workis the Amazon ant. Amazon ants amfierce fight-ers, but they cannot dig their own nests or evenfeed themselves. They actually have slaves to dothese things for them. The slaves, anothcr kind ofant, are captured in battle by the Amazons.

You can suppose that without slaves Amazonnts would --

0 go to workrun awaymake nests

co die

According to legend, there were people knownas Amazons: They probably

were warriors0 couldn't feed thethselvesC) WCIC stroll!! workers

%%ere fotnid in all parts of the world

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Special knowledge?

These tests are given to your children tofind out if they can read . . . Not todetermine if they know about specifictopics or have learned particular facts.Yet, finding the answer to the firstquestion here requires scientificknowledge.

Many children who read well wouldanswer by saying that ants, like peopwould soon learn to go to work if thedidn't have slives. However, the cortcanswer is die.

For the second question, where 'we aremeant to assume that ants are like people,several of the answers semi equallysensible, unless the child already knowsthit the Amazons of ancient legend .

were warriors.

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A cinder is a piece of El rock E] sand111.=1.4.11111.11111

Are you sure what a cinder is? If you're not,.gloesIt mean you can't read?

The 8 year old who reads this easily may, indeed,have difficulty with the math requirA,

r 1 fire brick fl burned coal

In 1877 a machine appeared which surprisedmany people. ('an you guess the name of thisstrange new machine?

AS you spoke into the mouthpiece and turnedthe handle, a tube covered uith a thin piece of-tinmoved around. As the tube moved: a needlepressed deep lines into the tin. As you turned thehandle once more, the needle touched :tgainst the'same lines and played back )our words.

.1 his ma, the first phonograph! flow differentfrom the hi-fi of today!

About how many years ago did the machine firstappcar?

kt :!5 k::`. 50 Co 100 'j MO

The three test items above reqtlire special knowledge of hi..toly, math or science. These items donot test reading, but give an advantage to a child who j lucky enough to know these facts whichare not a part of the 3rd grade curriculum in most schools.

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F.11:4 la 141 t4` (Questions-I:2n)-I. Loa at each. ba. Part of Pitch tirst word is undo-

lined. !torah. what sound is represented by theiterhned. ktter Is). One of the other four w*rdtisthat muse sound..Choe).4e the word that haS the same sound.

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5 boxer

order

t I -buoy .4 honest

Lt) further (t warm

v, power I aloud

Q!) rode LO drove

I. Read each line. In some lines, three of the fourIfyllabks, when put together, will make a word.The other syllable is extra.

II. 'Find the ext ra syllable in each line where. t eesyllables will make-a word.

IV. Fill in the space that Nis the same number as ihesyll.tble you have chosen. If no word can*made, till in the space marked N.

35 1 num 2 tor 3 cal. 4 i 35 .X Q CD 0

49 1 pha 2 al 3 tion 4 bet 49 Of,PCN,

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reading? Try the itema.

REMEMBER: Under test orditions,you ere not permitted to.say any of, thewords out loud.

Many teitS Include items like these.It ispossible for a good reader to failthis section or for a paor reader whohas been drilled.onsuch exeroisep todo Well:

Many programs which .produce goodreaders do not teach children theseparticular skills..

Regional variations in pronounclitioncould also confuse some good readers.

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Do test makers' biases confuse children?ea,

Perhaps you might understand how some children find this confuengif you were asked the following question?

L 0 protection O. friendship 0 ommunity 0 home. A ncickbarhood is a .............e.....m.......How would you describe your neighborhood? If your descriptioncliffered from the answer the test makers had in mind, would this mean .

you couldn't read or had an insufficient vocabulary?

i The club meet ing is at. Mother's house, today.

D The 'may is over, and everyone is 1;oing home.

11 All of thew! hers have children in school.411.401.140.444.1...

One child said, "It can't be the first choice; I don't see my mother there."

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Polieenwn are our friends. They help us to cross the street.They keep cars moving. Sometimes they scold people, butonly when the people do something Wrong. Everyone shouldobey policemen.

While some children might agree that policemen are their friendsor that policemen "scold people, but only when the people dosomething wrong", tnere are other groups of children who do notshare this view based on their life experience. Their resPonseto this paragraph does not determine whether or how well they read.Is itiair to penalize them for their different beliefs?

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Does the language and format confuse some children?..11110 a

Ntin t.iinitiis 1i %1. in the building. i'eopleoften run into eauli other in the halls, andchtldron .pla\ tag tlwri.. The stairs areertmded will, grown-tips sittine and talk-

s.srd's 4111 six of them, liest \% it apartment at the lwad the

"Sometime.. it dot sill brollIt'r MP." Sarahi todaN I want

alone. I %%Ain to reach otit and feel somee9np1N spare. And I heiSe s11111(1 specialhoti!this I IiiI heed .I() %Wilk pri

StiIllt hititi Ilirii WIN 111* .1 tin\pIetv if sio.tt e 1I1.11 fit 1 I OW Wants, It I ehtI1(1

ilea find it. I'd (Mk 104 /11.(0%% little

Pethaps this passage in the CMS, 3r(i and 4th grade, test given in New York Citywas included in order to be "fair" to inner city children.

ARE TI lIZ ASSUMPTIONS APPROPRIATE? 8

is THE WORDING FAMILIAR to innercity children or any others?

-(r.) PKil and paperbuildino

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Our system of numbering and eounting,_.was first used thousands of years ago inIndia. K.no%n as the Arabic system, itwas brought to Europe about the year 900.

*The Arabic system has ten characters, from0 through 91 and it is based on the number10. .1 his means that there are ten ono 11ten, ten tens in one hundred, and so forth.The zero was the last figure to be addedto the system. It makes our.. use of placevalue in arithmetic possible.

paper the way, many children did? The .

"correct" answer Wilms.

Doesn't this queition mk for.judginent asmuch as for reading sidll?

A paragraph like the one to the left is.readable but confusing. Could you ex0ainplace value after reading about it here.

Wills child who can read this paragraphnecessarily tib able tO understand It? Do youthink most ayear-olds can be eipected to .

read and underatand this?

Try the following tests; see how well you do. The first Item ippeags on a test meantfor 8-year-old-children. (College students have difficulty answering the questions!)

In some towns in Italy many Italian childrenhelp their rtrents on small farms located ondry or rocky hillsides. Many of these farmsare poor, and nearly all are less than tenacres in site. Italian fat ming families mayplant and har%est several crops on theirsmall plots: %%heat on the lower levels; thengrapes. It Mts, and nuts on higher slopes.*Much or the tt ork is done with cpilturiesaoldtools like the hoe, the sickle, and the plow,rather than with the tractors used on farmsin the fet tile river valleys.

Which tdls most about this story?.nactors arc used in river valleys.Italy haS-many farms and hills.Wheat is Italy's main crop.I aiming in Italy can be hardmolt.

Italy's dry farmland is probably--0 coastalOD dusty

useless0.) swampy

Centuries-old means that the tools are

0 valuable museum pieces0 similar to those used years ago® so old that they are broken0 not nutde anymore

farms are !?mall because

0-) the government wants them small0 tra.-tors are not usedGI a Eamily cannot Lend mote

there are several crops

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4.1ihistest item is intended for fth gradi children

dotted farm.young jackpines marching across an open field,.

how long ago thp luckless -farmer found-out thatsand plains did not grow corn.. Jackpines tell tall

tales to the unwary, for they put on several whorls

11. . Why was the farm.abandoned?

1 The farmer did not like to farm.

2 Corn does not grow well in sand.

3 Trees had crowded uut the crops.

4 The farmer and his family died (ifa plague.

12 'The author ,believes that counting growthrings on elm trees gives

5 their age incorrectly

6 their age almost exactly

7 thPir age within ten )r twenty years

8 their age if the treel; are hundreds ofyears old

13 A "tall tale" is a story that

1 is told about trees and farms

2 originated.among lumberjacks

3 is extremely long and interesting

4 exaggerates the truth considerably

01

blocks the barn dodr. Its rings date back to the

drought of 19:10. Since that' year no man hascarried milk ot4 of this barn.

14 Which of the following iiest describes theauthor when he found the abandoned farm? ,

5 curious

6 miwary

7 unlucky

8 surprised

15 What is this story mainly about? ^.

a

1 who owned the farm

2 where the drought occurred

3 why jackpine trees grew on theabandoned farm .

4 how the author found the date of thedrought

16 What is the best title for this story?.

5 'rile Young Pines"

6 "The Little Creek"

7 `Ishe Tree's Story"

8 "The Marching Elm"

How many times did you have to read the passage in order to be able to answer the questions?

How would your comprehension stand up if you had to read, and answer questions on 12 or

more passages of this sort in a time period of approximately 35 mihutes?

If you had problems, do you think it was your reading ability, the content, the questions,

the directions, style or even the artificial testing situation?

DO YOU THINK YOU NEED REMEDIAL READING?

How your child does on thes, kinds of tests may tell us something, BUT NOT whether he or she

knows how to read.

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ffects of Standardized Tests on Children--Stimtlirclized tests, 8uøts1Vose tlescribid Ifl thIS **IA, havemany effects on children and schools:1. They often determine children's futuredass pliteMent and

classification (slow, bright).2. They put presiure on teachers to spend large portions of time

coaching children for the teststrying to outwit.the test makers.3.* They affect the curriculum, the skills, and the values.of Ihe

school, since teachers win often shape the school day to fit thetests, not the children.

4.. Large sums of money are giVen to schools to improvitheirreading programs. The success of these prógrams is often.determined.by,tebt scores:.

5. Children judge themselves by how they, do on the tests. Theyassume that test questions are what reading "Is all about."

6. Parents, not having.seen the tests, often judge their childrenby their test scores., too.

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