Eleventh grade suddenly has moved a step closer toward becoming the year of the lab rat, as Illinois students now will face a two-day exam marathon that tests for college readiness, understanding of tough new Illinois standards and mastery of basic workplace skills.
The Prairie State Achievement Exam, on which the State Board of Higher Education this week was putting the final touches, will be administered starting next spring to all high school juniors, regardless of whether they plan to attend college.
Amid the nationwide movement toward standards-based testing, this plan makes Illinois a trailblazer in dealing with the vexing problem of getting students to care about the test. And those who never planned on college now may suddenly consider it.
In states where exam performance does not figure into graduation or college admission, students have had little incentive to do well on–and in some cases, to even show up for–the tests.
Administrators across the country have tried all manner of incentives to change test-takers’ minds, from the (silly) distribution of candy bars during tests to the (less than equitable) awarding of scholarships to high scorers.
In Illinois, officials now are trying to get auto insurance companies to shift their rate-discounting eligibility for young drivers from grade-point averages to Prairie State scores.
By incorporating the traditional ACT college entrance exam into the Prairie State, college-bound students will have an extra incentive to try hard. And by including a special section that tests for critical job skills, even those who do not plan to attend college will have reason to care–but only if employers follow through. Businesses will need to get into the habit of paying attention to these “work keys” scores in their entry-level hiring decisions.
Standards-based testing may be a laudable way to ensure students are learning what they should be learning. Still, there’s a troubling reductionist element in the current zeal to size up students by their test scores.
It is worth remembering that one risk of investing standardized tests with greater meaning is that other important qualities that can point to future success–qualities such as creativity or leadership–may become devalued.
Of course it’s up to colleges not to base their admission decisions solely on ACT or SAT test results, but the reality is that standardized test results sometimes become the first easy basis for whacking down a towering stack of applications. Education officials must take extra caution to ensure that such high-stakes testing doesn’t have the effects of limiting classroom autonomy, stifling teacher creativity or narrowing the curriculum. Educators need to spend as much time as possible teaching students, rather than teaching the test.
