Effects of Standardized Testing on Teachers and Learning—Another Look

This current study brings additional empirical data to the debate about the actual effects of standardized testing on teaching and learning. Specifically, this study poses a series of interrelated questions. First, what are the effects of standardized testing on (a) schools, and (b) the teaching and learning processes within them? Second, what do test scores mean? For instance, are increasing scores a reflection of a school’s test preparation practices, its emphasis on basic skills, and/or its efforts toward instructional renewal? Third, are there differences in how testing effects instruction and what test scores mean between schools serving lower socioeconomic status (SES) students and those serving more advantaged students?