The influence of high stakes testing on student engagement

A missing element from the design of high-stakes testing systems is the consideration of how they affect students' educational experiences and perceptions of school. Little is known about student responses to high-stakes testing, yet the logic of standards-based reform makes an underlying assumption: that students will be motivated to conform to this challenge. Whether current education reform efforts, including high-stakes testing, are contributing to the drop out rate is undecided in the current literature. However, it is important to understand how high-stakes testing might be perceived by high school students themselves, and how these factors interact with students' engagement in school. Building on the literature base, the pilot study I conducted for my qualifying paper, and earlier research I conducted with the Consortium for Policy in Education, High Schools Accountability Study, this study explores the following research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between high school students' level of engagement in school and their perceptions of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)? (2) If a relationship exists, does it differ by student demographic attributes such as race, class, and academic status? Findings from this study utilizing survey research indicate that there is a relationship between student engagement in school and their perceptions of the CAHSEE, although, it is somewhat weak. On average, student's perception of the future influence of the CAHSEE can help predict student engagement in school, although this depends on the frequency and amount of information they receive about the test, their college motivation, their race, academic status, and school they attend. Important differences were also observed for students who passed the CAHSEE and those who did not. Most students who did not pass the CAHSEE had average to low grades, were from families of lower socioeconomic status, and were Latino and African American. Students who did not pass the CAHSEE reported to be more focused on the exam and work more intensely toward it. For both those who did and did not pass the CAHSEE, much of these patterns appeared to be related to student beliefs about education and work, and what they perceive as possibilities.