Guidance from Iowa Testing Program (August 2005)
Not really. Obtaining the highest possible
test score is not necessarily the primary goal. The notion of test preparation
is often associated with students preparing to take a college admissions
test such as the ACT or SAT. On such tests, students want to maximize
their score to optimize their chance of being admitted or being eligible
for scholarship aid. Test-taking strategies that promote the highest possible
score are used in conjunction with practice tests to foster greater confidence
in anticipation of taking the actual test. However, the purpose of using
an achievement test, like the Iowa Tests, is to find out just how well
a student has achieved. Trying to get the highest possible score, at seemingly
any cost, is not consistent with that purpose. There are no particular
consequences for the student (no admission decision, for example); the
test score should represent what the student knows. Scores that are artificially
high are likely to cause some students to get less teacher attention than
is needed and to keep the students from various instructional programs
that might help them improve. Thus, scores that misrepresent a student’s
performance are more likely to be harmful than helpful to that student.
Test preparation or test-taking practices that promote artificially high
scores could harm students who need extra instructional attention. The
use of inappropriate preparation practices may keep a school off the “Watch
List” or from being designated as “in need of assistance,”
but it will not serve the interests of low achieving students whose scores
disguise their actual level of achievement. Nor will it serve the needs
of the school or district to understand the true achievement of all students
so that instructional programs can be modified based on student needs. |