High Stakes Testing

High stakes testing can be defined as including any and all achievement tests that are used to make decisions about students in kindergarten through high school graduation. Such decisions include promotion from grade to grade, placement in special programs, graduation, and college admission. Results of high stakes tests are also often considered an indication of the impact of the local education system, with public acclaim and financial award attached to positive designation. Tests in general, when used appropriately, can provide some of the best measures of student learning, but when used inappropriately or in isolation may have unintended consequences. Achievement tests provide information on student learning and teacher feedback on practices, methods, and curriculum. The tests themselves are not necessarily problematic, but their use and the attachment of high stakes based on performance may affect students or schools in unintended harmful ways.

Major examples of achievement tests...