Public Forum Case Outline: Negate (Con)

Writing the Constructive

Opening:
Angela, a fifth grade student has struggled throughout the school year with English and reading. She's
received extra help during the school day and extra tutoring after school, but if she doesn't pass Texas'
day-long, untimed standardized test, the TAKS, she might not get to go to sixth grade. In an attempt to
do her best on the test, Angela spends all day on the exam. She doesn't finish till 6:30 at night. Although
most places probably don't allow a student all day to take the state test, this is a reminder that
sometimes what seems like sound educational policy to many adults—overemphasizing standardized
tests and creating these policies around them—often isn't what's best for kids. I know I wouldn't want to
be in Angela's shoes, and it's not easy to watch a child struggle like that. There has to be a better way to
assess if America's students are learning effectively.
Resolved: ​We negate the resolution which states that standardized testing is beneficial to k-12 students.
__________________

● Standardized tests take a great deal of valuable time away from everyone involved in the educational
process -- students, teachers and administrators. That doesn't mean that these tests aren't worth the
trouble but it does mean there are costs to consider;

● Main Argument One: ​Standardized tests unreliably measure student performance, and has
not improved student achievement.
a. (Sub point A)​ ​ Point: ​Standardized tests only measure a small portion of what makes
school valuable.
i. Evidence:
● A 2001 study published by the Brookings Institution found that 50-80%
of year-over-year test score improvements were temporary and "caused
by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in
learning

● A May 26, 2011, National Research Council report found no evidence

test-based incentive programs are working: "Despite using them for
several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to
use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on
achievement and to improve education."

● A student sitting for the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) is asked a

completely different set of questions from a child in California taking the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test; In connecticut, students
do essay questions, but in California, it is all multiple question.

● According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities

that standardized tests cannot measure include "creativity, critical
thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance,
reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline,
leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness,
sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity."
 ii. Explanation (it’s the “​So What”​):
● While standardized tests measure students’ abilities of memorization
and basic understanding, the tests lack in assessment of other more
important qualities in a well-rounded successful student.
b. (Sub point B) Point: Standardized tests are not objective and imprecisely measure
teacher performance.
iii. Evidence:
● A 2010 College of William & Mary study found Americans' scores on the
Torrance Test of Creative Thinking have been dropping since 1990, and
researcher Kyung-Hee Kim lays part of the blame on the increase in
standardized testing: "If we neglect creative students in school because
of the structure and the testing movement... then they become
underachievers."
● According to a Sep. 2010 report by the Annenberg Institute for School
Reform, over 17% of Houston teachers ranked in the top category on
the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills reading test were ranked
among the two lowest categories on the equivalent Stanford
Achievement Test.

iv. Explanation (it’s the “So What”) :

● Teachers may end up “teaching to the test” rather than giving students
a deeper understanding of a subject. This also creates a classroom
atmosphere that lacks creativity and can limit a student’s learning
potential due to boredom
● Standardized test data measure a combination of factors including focus
and motivation. The difference between a high scoring class and a low
scoring class often has less to do with what the students learned and
more to do with the teacher's ability to convince students who have no
real incentive to do well not to ABCD their way through the test.
● Main Argument Two: Testing is expensive and uses up the state education budget money
that could be used for enhancing other sectors of public education.
a. (Sub point A) Point: Other sectors of public education are low on funding
because schools spend so much money standardized testing.
i. Evidence
● In the United States, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top
(RttT) have both put a great emphasis on test scores as a means for
schools to receive funding. NCLB makes school funding dependent on
schools achieving adequate yearly progress in raising test scores on
state tests. As a result of both NCLB and RttT, school funding is strongly
aligned to tests scores. This focus has meant that schools and teachers
have had to adjust their curriculum and devote valuable learning time to
test-preparation.
● Lo​oked at test spending data for 44 states and the District of Columbia​, 
determining they spend $669 million overall per year on their primary 
assessment contracts, or $27 per pupil in grades three through 9. 
(Chingos reached the $1.7 billion figure after adjusting the $669 million 
figure to a
​ ccount for the states that were not included in the data​ and to 
reflect spending anomalies.) 
 ● Per-pupil spending varies significantly across states, with ​New York​ ($7 
per student), Oregon ($13 per student), and Georgia ($14) among the 
lowest-spending states, and Massachusetts ($64), Delaware ($73), 
Hawaii ($105) and the D​ istrict of Columbia​ ($114) among the 
highest-spending. 
● One of the main assumptions behind standardized testing is that the
public education system must prepare all students for college. The
reality is that a college degree doesn’t work for many student career
paths. This especially applies to "liberal arts" college degrees. Most
liberal arts graduates will shoulder college loan debt for the rest of their
lives. More value and funding needs to be placed on training,
internships, critical thinking, and on-the-job training.
 
ii. Explanation: ​If schools didn’t spend so much money on standardized tests then
they could spend that money on other sectors of public education that will
actually teach students skills that will lead them to the career path of their choice.

b. (Sub point B) Point: Other methods of assessing student performance can be

taken instead of spending money on standardized testing for all students.
i. Evidence:
● Random student sampling on a state level, social and emotional skills
survey, game-based assessments that get at higher-order thinking skills,

a. The Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland survey

both students and teachers on social and emotional factors and
use the results to guide internal decision-making. The district
uses the Gallup student poll, a 20-question survey that seeks to
measure levels of hope, engagement and well-being. According
​ n this poll do a better job of predicting
to one study, student​ o
college persistence and GPA than do high school GPA, SATs or
ACT scores.

b. Stealth Assessments- measure which skills a student has

mastered at a given moment and potentially offer insights into
how quickly students learn, how diligent they are and other
big-picture factors.

ii. Explanation
● There are other ways to monitor learning and ensure equity and
accountability if states didn't have to test every child every year that are
not necessarily mutually exclusive.

● Main Argument Three: Standardized testing puts unnecessary amounts of stress and
pressure on students of all ages that force them to depend their success on the outcome
of the many standardized tests.
a. (Sub point A) Point: Standardized testing puts excessive and unnecessary
pressure on all students causing poor mental health and anxiety
i. Evidence
 ● the Sacramento Bee reported that "test-related jitters, especially among
young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam ​comes with
instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student
vomits on it."

● Encouraged not to miss testing days, children may come to school ill and
not at their full ability for successful performance. Multiple cases of
children being moved to tears or vomiting are widely shared by
educators. ​Sleeplessness​, loss of self-esteem secondary to poor
performance and lifelong mental blocks can be seen in individual
children.

● Another article states that a ​survey of school psychologists​ showed 6 in

10 had noted increased anxiety in grade school students around high
stakes testing.

ii. Explanation - ​Standardized tests affect students mental health starting at a

young age which can progress into being more of a detriment to the student as
they get older.
b. (Sub point B) Point: Students often feel the constant pressure to exceed on
standardized tests because their college and career future rides on it.
i. Evidence

● Obama said, “But I also hear from parents who, rightly, worry about too
much testing, and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to
a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning, both for them
and for the students. I want to fix that.”

● A typical student takes 112 mandated standardized tests between

pre-kindergarten classes and 12th grade, a new Council of the Great City
Schools study found. By contrast, most countries that outperform the
United States in career success test students three times during their
school careers.

● (Go to mental health evidence and inaccurate testing evidence above)

ii. Explanation-
● The pressure seems to come from all sides: the district, parents,
administrators, the community, your colleagues, and yourself.
Sometimes it feels like you can't take a moment away from the
hard-core academic subjects in order to teach so-called
"non-essentials," like music, art, or physical education.

● High-stakes testing has become pervasive in the current educational

culture and both young students and those entering college are all
impacted by the pressure to succeed on standardized tests.
_____________________________________________________________________

Closing Statement:
Therefore, my partner and I negate the resolution that states that standardized testing is beneficial to
k-12 students. Standardized tests unreliably measure student performance, and has not improved
student achievement over the years. Testing is expensive for schools and uses up the state education
budget money that could be allocated toward enhancing other sectors of public education. And finally,
standardized testing puts unnecessary amounts of stress and pressure on students of all ages that forces
them to depend their success on the outcome of the standardized tests that they are given in school.