The Devil's in the Details: Evidence from the GED on Large Effects of Small Differences in High Stakes Exams

Autor/inn/en	Tyler, John H.; Murnane, Richard J.; Willett, John B.
Titel	The Devil's in the Details: Evidence from the GED on Large Effects of Small Differences in High Stakes Exams
Quelle	In: Economics of Education Review, 23 (2004) 4, S.339-349 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0272-7757
DOI	10.1016/j.econedurev.2003.09.003
Schlagwörter	Educational Change; Dropouts; Standardized Tests; Mathematics Tests; Gender Differences; High School Equivalency Programs; Academic Ability; Test Construction; Educational Policy; Minority Groups; High Stakes Tests; State Standards; Florida; Texas; General Educational Development Tests + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bildungsreform; Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Standadised tests; Standardisierter Test; Geschlechterkonflikt; Testaufbau; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Ethnische Minderheit
Abstract	As part of standards-based educational reform efforts, more than 40 states will soon require students to achieve passing scores on standardized exams in order to obtain a high school diploma. Currently, many states are struggling with the design of their examination systems, debating such questions as which subjects should be tested, what should be the minimum passing scores, and what should be the rules regarding options for failing students to retake the exams. In this paper, we use data from a long-standing examination system, the General Educational Development (GED) exams, to illustrate the importance of the answers to these questions to both the number and composition of passers. We show that, among school dropouts in Florida and Texas who attempted the GED examinations, the option of retaking the examination upon initial failure was especially important for dropouts of color, and that the mathematics exam posed the greatest obstacle to females and the writing exam to males. We also show that an increase in the passing standard had a marked short-run impact on the number of school dropouts in Texas who attempted the GED exams, but that the number of test-takers recovered over several years. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10