The Pros And Cons Of WIDA Assessments

546 Words2 Pages

1. When researching I found a post that listed a couple of limitations with the WIDA assessment. The first limitation is that the “students take almost the test each year” (Strauss, 2015). I found that some people believe that because the test is given annually the students will have been exposed to the questions in years before because “only one-third of the test’s items are refreshed annually” and because that “even the weakest students are able to improve their scores from one year to the next” (Strauss, 2015). Another limitation I found when researching is that with the WIDA assessment is that there is no appeal process. What this means is that if a student happens to do well on the WIDA assessment then they are no long able to be in “ESOL …show more content…

I also believe though that this is a typical standardized test that is more for the state, then the student. When I first started this I had no opinions on the WIDA assessment I actually didn’t know what it was but know that I do, I agree with the professional critiques of the assessment. The lack of an appeal process if saddening, only 30% of the test is refreshed every year, so 70% of the test, the students have already seen, and that makes it easier for the student to get a higher score. The students higher score could be an accident due to the fact that they have already been exposed to the materials. I believe this assessment could be good for the kids that know English really well or do not know it at all. If the student falls into the middle where they are okay but not completely struggling, then I believe this test can make them not get the help and support they still may need. I feel like this assessment is important so that English language learner get the help they need and deserve, but I also believe though that this is a typical standardized test that is more for the state, then the student. This WIDA is just a typical standardized test there to test the English proficiency of an English language

Show More
Related

  • TAAS Test and STAAR Educational Test in Texas

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1990’s, I grew up taking the TAAS test or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. I did not know why we had to take them but everyone had to and teachers tried to prepare us as much as they can. Then in the 2003, the state decided to change it to TAKS test or Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. I knew that I had passed, but as a student we do not question why we have to take these tests. We are only told that they are important to our education and graduating to the next grade or from high school. A few years afterwards they had switched to a new standardized test form called STAAR which stands for State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. It seems that a last few tests were not accurate in monitoring students’ progress and controversy surrounding incorrectly scored questions. The STAAR test which has been supported in legislative passage will now be the current standard method of assessing students and districts. The focus shifting mainly on standardized testing has left Dallas Independent School District with less than stellar performance compared to other districts.

    Read More

  • Problems with the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Test

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...wledge which can be detrimental to the students who have surpassed these standards. The test does not encourage students to increase their knowledge, but only to meet requirements. Teachers should be able to tell if a student is ready to pass on to the next grade level without a standardized test based solely on each student’s grades, work, and intelligence as revealed in the classroom.

    Read More

  • Virginia's Standards Of Learning (SOL)

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since this test has been devised, the number one question everybody is asking is, “ isn’t it unfair to base a student’s entire future on one test, when he or she simply could have had a bad day when taking the test”? The president Kirk T. Schroder of the Virginia Board of Education, answer this question by saying, “First of all, these tests are untimed, so no student is under arbitrary time pressure in taking the test.

    Read More

  • Wati Assessment

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will be using two assessment tools when conducting the final evaluation assignment, the SETT and the WATI. Before making any AT decisions it’s important that the IEP team collect initial data using a systematic and multidimensional approach (Marino, 2006).

    Read More

  • PT1420 Unit 2 Assignment: Assessment of People with Disabilities

    443 Words  | 1 Pages

    I read the Syllabus very carefully, as requested, and I do not have any questions. The topic I choose to do a web field trip on to search and return with one fact is “Specific Populations to assess: developmentally challenged”. I am using information from APA.org, which is where I found the one fact that was requested for this assignment. What I found was a set of guidelines for the treatment and assessment of people with disabilities that were developed by a task force of APA specialists. I am using the section “Testing and Assessment” which includes Guidelines 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 (APA Task Force, 2017) I found the fact that I am going to share under Guideline 15 which is “Psychologists strive to determine whether accommodations are appropriate for clients to yield a valid test score” (APA Task Force, 2017, Guideline 15).

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of No Child Left Behind

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another major criticism of the “No Child Left Behind” deals with the implications of using a standardized test as means of assessing achievement.

    Read More

  • Virginia Governor Candidates Views on Abortion and Education

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    I couldn’t agree more with their stances. Although I do not like SOL tests, and I am about to graduate, I think improving the tests and making them more easier to pass is a great idea. Yes, I agree that the teachers are underpaid and they go through so much on a daily basis to teach children the material.

    Read More

  • Multidimensional Assessments In Social Work

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to formulate a thorough assessment or intervention a social worker must first evaluate all the contributing factors that influence a client’s life. Problems faced by clients are rarely a result of a single factor or influence. Many individual, interpersonal and environmental factors must be evaluated to fully understand the cause of problems. Multidimensional assessments must be used to determine biological, psychological and environmental issues that contribute to problematic outcomes (Hepworth, Rooney, R., Rooney, G., & Strom-Gottfried, 2013.). Along with conducting multidimensional assessments, social workers must also evaluate stages of development, and assess how age can influence behaviors (2013). All contributing factors must

    Read More

  • Fast Bridge Assessment Paper

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 21st Century Educator is inundated with a plethora of assessments which dominate the education landscape from one side to the other. Whether one is assessing formatively or summatively, educators are evaluating on a weekly basis. In fact, in Citrus County, students take a reading comprehension test called Fast Bridge three times a year, which helps them see their potential college readiness skills and what improvements they need to work on. They also take a District created assessment twice a year, which consists of 9 grade level passages that they must take over a 2-month period time. This test focuses mainly on all of the standards that our students will be tested on in the Spring FSA. Not to mention, the formative assessments given on a

    Read More

  • Argument Against Standardized Testing

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Standardized testing is an unfair and inaccurate form of judging a person’s intellect. In many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores, partly because America does not currently have the capabilities of fairly scoring the increasing number of tests. Additionally, many students today are not native English speakers, and their capabilities could be grossly underestimated by these types of exams. Although President Bush is a supporter, many influential people are against this bill, including the largest teacher’s union in the United States, which has formed a commission in opposition to the President’s proposal.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is added pressure to schools to get better scores which adds pressure to the educators and the students. The added pressure can cause health problems with the students or the educators. If health problem come from the stress of the tests it could negatively affect the student’s ability to learn (Pros and Cons, 2013). The test itself is a problem as well. The test is supposed to be unbiased based on the grade level but in most cases the test is not. As much as they try...

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Clinical Assessment

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    The clinical and statistical approaches have both proven to be successful methods in clinical psychology. Each approach has its pros and cons depending on the type of situation that is being dealt with. Clinical judgment can be a complex process because it requires a patient’s data which are composed of samples, observations, signs of underlying states and the clinician’s responses. According to Sundberg, Tyler and Taplin (1973) clinical interpretation may consist of 3 different levels: Level 1 deals with clinicians being familiar with certain experiences, and therefore, making a prediction based off of that. An example of this would be the SAT or GRE assessments. Level 2 is comprised of clinicians carefully observing a patient’s behaviors and coming up with a conclusion based off of the behavior characteristics that the patient displays. In level 3, based off of the individual’s determinants in a specific situation, the clinician seeks a consistent understanding. For example, blood responses on the Rorschach test can be a determinant of hidden aggression, which would then lead to future impulsive outbursts or losing control of oneself (Sundverg, Tyler and Taplin 1973). Although both the clinical and statistical approaches have proven to be beneficial, I believe that clinical psychologists should not rely more on statistical predictions and prepackaged treatments than clinical judgment and individual patients.

    Read More

  • Standardized Testing Argument Essay

    1662 Words  | 4 Pages

    This argument goes along with the other two mentioned and explained above. There isn’t much that is positive to say about these assessments. It places so much pressure on students to perform well and pressure on teachers to teach what is going to be on the test. This brings negative energy to classrooms. An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests. He claims, “Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don’t already know” (Jouriles, Greg). He also goes on to explain that one’s test score isn’t reliable and that we should trust the teachers when grades are published. A school system can accurately judge the students in the school on what they are good at better than the standardized tests do. They can break down many different aspects of what students need to improve on and what they are already knowledgeable of. Students need to learn more than just the test information. Only studying and learning test material makes students less diverse and leads to boring lectures in the classroom. Another article written by an organization called Fairtest adds, “Some students simply do not test well. Many students are affected by test anxiety or do not show their learning well on a standardized test, resulting in inaccurately lower scores” (Fairtest). These tests punish students for what they can’t control, making them stressed and panicked that they won’t graduate or move on to the next grade. Some children are from low-income families attending schools with large classes with little to no materials for learning what is on the test. In addition to that, some teachers have never been educated on test content, which is not their fault, and this results in low-test scores. This all leads to why there are such negative feelings throughout classrooms of many

    Read More

  • The Issue with Traditional Testing Methods

    3576 Words  | 8 Pages

    So what’s the big issue with traditional testing methods? They’ve been instituted for years and no one seemed to have a problem before now. Well, in the past decade, the nation’s citizens have become increasingly compassionate towards students and their individual needs. President George W. Bush has gotten generous praise for his No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 as a result of popular concerns among communities across the country. While the act may still have areas in need of improvement, it illustrates that educators, parents, and students alike have been desirous of reform within school systems. “The number of calls complaining about high-stakes exams coming from parents...are increasing, and is a reason for concern” (Report, 2001). The recent act caters to the actualization that students are different from one another, and in order for teaching and learning to take place in a non-discriminatory manner, adjustments must be made. According to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), “Alternative assessment is any form of measuring what students know and are able to do other than traditional standardized tests. Alternative forms of assessment include portfolios that are collections of students' work over time, performance-based assessments, and other means of testing students such as open-ended essays with no single correct answer, and project work that involves collaboration with peers” (2000). Students learn in many ways. Some learn by listening to lessons and may prefer an environment with the aid of music and rhythm. Others may be visual learners who gather information by looking at photographs or watching videos. There are still others that learn kinesthetic...

    Read More

  • Teacher Effectiveness Evaluations

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    Initially, the teachers interviewed were concerned about then new evaluation system – especially after being flogged by negative, media induced hysteria that stated, “SBA and other test scores are used to measure student achievement growth under PED’s model and are supposed to count for 50 percent of the overall evaluation” [emphasis added] (Last, 2013...

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of WIDA Assessments

Open Document