Low-stakes testing and high-stakes testing are two different types of assessments that serve different purposes and have different implications. Low-stakes testing, also known as formative assessment, is typically used to monitor student progress and guide instruction. These tests are usually given frequently and are not used to make high-stakes decisions such as graduation or promotion. Examples of low-stakes testing include quizzes, homework assignments, and class participation. These tests are not scored and graded as strictly as big tests and the results are mainly used to identify areas where the student needs more support. According to the National Education Association, “formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instruction.”
On the other hand, high-stakes testing, also known as summative assessment, is used to make important decisions about students such as graduation, promotion, or college admission. These tests are usually given infrequently, and the results have significant consequences for students and educators. Examples of high-stakes tests include the SAT, ACT, and state standardized tests. These tests are usually scored and graded more strictly, and the results are used to measure student achievement, evaluate school and teacher performance, and make decisions about student placement and graduation. According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, “Summative assessments are given after instruction to evaluate student learning and to provide a summative measure of student achievement.”
Low-stakes testing has several benefits such as:
- It provides immediate feedback to students and teachers about student progress.
- It allows for on-going assessment and adjustment of instruction.
- It encourages student engagement and motivation.
- It allows for frequent assessment, which can reduce test anxiety and increase student confidence. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “Formative assessment can improve student motivation by providing opportunities for students to take responsibility for their learning and to reflect on their progress.”
However, there are drawbacks such as:
- It may not provide an accurate picture of a student’s overall achievement.
- It may not be reliable or valid.
According to the American Educational Research Association, “formative assessment may lack the reliability and validity of summative assessment.” On the other hand, high-stakes testing has several benefits such as:
- It provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of a student’s overall achievement.
- It allows for the comparison of student performance across different schools and districts.
- It is useful for making decisions about student placement and graduation.
According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, “High-stakes testing can provide valuable information on student achievement and can be used to identify areas of educational strength and weakness.”
It also has some drawbacks:
- It may create a high-stress environment for students.
- It may not accurately measure student achievement, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- It may not be reliable or valid. According to the American Educational Research Association, “high-stakes testing may have negative effects on instruction and may not accurately reflect student learning.”
In conclusion, both low-stakes testing and high-stakes testing have their own advantages and disadvantages. Low-stakes testing is useful for monitoring student progress and guiding instruction, while high-stakes testing is useful for making important decisions about students. It is important to consider the purpose of the assessment and the implications of the results when deciding which type of testing to use. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “Both formative and summative assessment have important roles in the educational process.”
By the way, you can remember that low-stakes testing is less stressful than high-stakes testing because it is typically a low-pressure assessment that is used to check student understanding and progress along the way. In contrast, high-stakes testing is high stress because it is typically a high-pressure assessment that is used to determine a student’s overall performance or achievement at the end of a course or school year.
LS = Low-Stakes testing is Less Stressful
HS = High-Stakes testing is High Stress
References:
National Education Association. (n.d.). Formative assessment.
POP QUIZ
1. What is the main purpose of low-stakes testing?
a) To make important decisions about students
b) To monitor student progress and guide instruction
c) To measure student achievement
d) To evaluate school and teacher performance
2. Which of the following is an example of a low-stakes test?
a) SAT
b) Quizzes
c) State standardized test
d) Homework assignments
3. What is the main purpose of high-stakes testing?
a) To make important decisions about students
b) To monitor student progress and guide instruction
c) To measure student achievement
d) To evaluate school and teacher performance
4. Which of the following is an example of a high-stakes test?
a) SAT
b) Quizzes
c) State standardized test
d) Homework assignments
5. What are the benefits of low-stakes testing?
a) Provides immediate feedback to students and teachers
b) Allows for ongoing assessment and adjustment of instruction
c) Encourages student engagement and motivation
d) All of the above
6. What are the drawbacks of low-stakes testing?
a) May not provide an accurate picture of a student’s overall achievement
b) May not be reliable or valid
c) May create a high-stress environment for students
d) None of the above
7. What are the benefits of high-stakes testing?
a) Provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of a student’s overall achievement
b) Allows for the comparison of student performance across different schools and districts
c) Is useful for making decisions about student placement and graduation
d) All of the above
8. What are the drawbacks of high-stakes testing?
a) May not provide an accurate picture of a student’s overall achievement
b) May not be reliable or valid
c) May create a high-stress environment for students
d) None of the above
Answers
- b
- b & d
- a
- a & c
- d
- b
- d
- c
The entire blog post, quiz questions, quiz answers, and mnemonic were generated entirely with ChatGPT. The image was generated with DALL-E. With the exception of a few capitalization and formatting changes, the contents above were created by artificial intelligence.
This writing is a great starting point for a blog post; the information is pretty good in this case. It opened up the door for me to add flair (for instance, I might have added recent news about Columbia not requiring SAT or ACT scores from now on or talk about how Powerful Teaching offers great examples of low-stakes and no-stakes testing).
One of the odd issues I dealt with was ChatGPT’s arbitrary use of a hyphen between “low/high” and “stakes”. Almost all the cases of “low-stakes” had no hyphen and roughly 60% of “high-stakes” included the hyphen. My guess is that ChatGPT is drawing from a biased set – namely the internet. Similarly, we know ChatGPT consistently fails the “Linda Problem” and AI has severe challenges rendering hands and teeth (warning: don’t Google “AI hands” or “AI teeth” if you want to fall asleep tonight).
If you are curious about the reaction to ChatGPT in education, check out the articles at the bottom of this newsletter.
The prompts to generate content:
TEXT: Can you please write a technical article about low-stakes testing vs big tests? Cool! Thanks. Now can you write it with attributions? Can you please write a multiple-choice quiz that covers the content in that article? How about initialism to remember? ======= IMAGE: abstract pencil and watercolor of someone taking a written test
