Language: English

ISSN: 0044-0728

Abstract/Notes: The authors discuss the impact of standards and testing on curriculum and instruction. They begin with a brief history of the growth and development of academic standards and high-stakes testing. Next, they review relevant research on the impact high-stakes testing has had on curriculum and instruction and discuss ways that high-stakes testing has influenced student-teacher relationships. They also discuss specific problems faced by social studies teachers in the era of academic standards and high-stakes testing.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3200/TSSS.98.2.54-58

ISSN: 0037-7996, 2152-405X

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Language: English

ISSN: 0003-0112

Abstract/Notes: Using the method of qualitative metasynthesis, this study analyzes 49 qualitative studies to interrogate how high-stakes testing affects curriculum, defined here as embodying content, knowledge form, and pedagogy. The findings from this study complicate the understanding of the relationship between high-stakes testing and classroom practice by identifying contradictory trends. The primary effect of high-stakes testing is that curricular content is narrowed to tested subjects, subject area knowledge is fragmented into test-related pieces, and teachers increase the use of teacher-centered pedagogies. However, this study also finds that, in a significant minority of cases, certain types of high-stakes tests have led to curricular content expansion, the integration of knowledge, and more student-centered, cooperative pedagogies. Thus the findings of the study suggest that the nature of high-stakes-test-induced curricular control is highly dependent on the structures of the tests themselves.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3102/0013189X07306523

ISSN: 0013-189X

Language: German

DOI: 10.7788/bue-1953-jg58

ISSN: 0006-2456, 2194-3834

Abstract/Notes: Overcoming challenges to quality early education in developing nations, TEACH Rwanda, one high-performing education system, offers a model of childhood learning through sensitive teacher dispositions, child-centred play, and culturally relevant materials. This manuscript provides a unique window into the practices of a quality early childhood system in Rwanda and articulates how these high-quality approaches to early childhood education can be executed successfully in developing nations with limited resources. The guidelines for practice and illustrations from real classrooms are relevant for a range of educators around the world. One key to success is the programmes’ homegrown professional development approach featuring Rwandans teaching Rwandans, which builds capacity within the system. The professional development description encourages administrators and directors to establish such programmes which can successfully build capacity and sustainability within their schools.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2019.1578760

ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275

Abstract/Notes: A review of the literature on mixed-age settings reveals benefits in the areas of social and cognitive development. Research on the psychosocial advantages of mixed-age groupings is less consistent. Factors such as group size, age range, time together, and context-specific curriculum activities may have a relationship to the level of success and positive outcomes for children in multi-age groups.

Language: English

ISSN: 1068-6177

Abstract/Notes: There is now a well developed literature on the impact of high stakes testing on teaching approaches and student outcomes. However, the student perspective has been neglected in much research. This article draws on a mixed method longitudinal study of secondary students in the Republic of Ireland to explore the impact of two sets of high stakes examinations on student experiences. The analyses are based on surveys completed by 897 lower secondary students and 748 upper secondary students, along with 47 lower secondary and 53 upper secondary group interviews with students. Findings show the presence of impending high stakes exams results in increased workload for students, with many reporting pressure and stress. Throughout their schooling career, students clearly favour active learning approaches. However, for some students, particularly high-aspiring middle-class students, these views change as they approach the terminal high stakes exam, with many showing a strong preference for a more narrowly focussed approach to exam preparation. This article highlights how students shift from a position of critiquing exam-focused teaching methods as inauthentic to accepting such methods as representing ‘good teaching’.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s11092-012-9154-6

ISSN: 1874-8600, 1874-8597

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/0895904810374848

ISSN: 0895-9048, 1552-3896