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Multiple Criteria
Assessment and High
Stakes Testing
National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislators
Representative Dora
F. Olivo
State of Texas
District 27
WHEREAS, the
National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislators (NHCSL)
is the preeminent
organization serving
and representing the
interests of
Hispanic state
legislators from all
states,
commonwealths, and
territories of the
United States and
serves as a catalyst
for joint action on
issues of common
concern to all
segments of the
Hispanic community;
and
WHEREAS,
reforming
standardized testing
is one of the policy
recommendations to
close the
achievement gap as
outlined by the
National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislators (NHCSL)
and the National
Black Caucus of
State Legislators (NBCSL)
to address the needs
of Hispanic and
African-American
students; and
WHEREAS, the
results of one test
as the sole
determinant for
promotion, retention
and graduation do
not accurately
measure a student's
performance and
leads to high stakes
decisions that
affect our children;
and
WHEREAS,
children’s abilities
are best measured
through multiple
criteria of academic
indicators such as
teacher evaluations,
students' grades,
students'
performance, plus
the results of
well-designed tests;
and
WHEREAS,
teachers,
administrators,
parents and students
are concerned that a
standardized test is
consuming too much
instructional time
to the detriment of
other important
subject areas; and
WHEREAS, even
the creators of
these tests do not
recommend using one
sole test as the
measurement of a
student's
performance; and
WHEREAS, the
over-dependence on
high stakes tests is
driving some of the
best teachers and
administrators out
of the profession
and out of public
schools; and
WHEREAS,
conditioning
graduation and/or
promotion and
retention on the
passing of a single
test forces schools
and teachers to
"teach to the test,"
thereby narrowing
the school
curriculum; and
WHEREAS,
institutions of
higher education are
placing less
emphasis on a single
testing instrument
as the basis for
admissions, opting
for multiple
criteria; and
WHEREAS, the
academic research on
retention is clear
that retaining
children in a grade
is not only harmful
socially, but
academically,
resulting in a 50
percent chance that
the child will
become a dropout if
retained once, as a
single indicator,
increasing to a 90
percent chance if
retained twice;
knowing that
retention due to
single indicator of
a test is especially
harmful;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED BY the
NATIONAL HISPANIC
CAUCUS OF STATE
LEGISLATORS,
that NHCSL supports
multiple criteria as
a way of determining
promotion, retention
and graduation; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that
NHCSL supports the
appropriate use of
multiple
measurements that
include but are not
limited to the
student's grades,
school ranking,
grade point average,
writing samples,
and/or teacher
evaluations in
combination with the
student's scores on
standardized tests
as essential
elements of
comprehensive
student performance
assessment.
Adopted this 18th
day of March 2005 at
the National
Hispanic Caucus of
State Legislators’
Executive Committee
Meeting held in
Atlanta, Georgia
Senator Leticia Van
de Putte, TX
NHCSL President |
