Educational Psychology

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Questions

Our questions focus on part of each assumption.

➢ How much emphasis should schools place on reading, mathematics and science? What

role should art, physical education, social studies, and music play in school classrooms?

➢ Do standardized tests measure students’ performance on content standards adequately?

Should schools be judged on students’ scores on standardized tests? Is it important that

classroom observations of students (by teachers or others) are not included.

➢ Will students and teachers be motivated by the tests. Stiggins (2004) argued that while

high achieving students may be motivated by tests many students who find the tests

difficult will give up and so be less motivated. Do you agree with Stiggins or the

assumption underlying NCLB?

➢ Are the unintended consequences minimal? Is classroom instruction improving or

becoming narrowly focused on test taking skills and content?

References

Fuhrman, S. H. (2004). Introduction, In S. H. Fuhrman & R. F. Elmore (Eds). Redesigning accountability

systems for education. (pp. 3-14). New York: Teachers College Press.

Educational Psychology 347 A Global Text