High-Stakes Research: The Campaign Against Accountability has Brought Forth a Tide of Negative Anecdotes and Deeply Flawed Research. Solid Analysis Reveals a Brighter Picture. (Feature)‪.‬

"MAKE-OR-BREAK EXAMS GROW, BUT BIG Study Doubts Value" intoned a front-page New York Times headline in December 2002. The article continued, "Rigorous testing that decides whether students graduate, teachers win bonuses, and schools are shuttered does little to improve achievement and may actually worsen academic performance and dropout rates, according to the largest study ever on the issue:" Thus a deeply flawed study was catapulted to national prominence. More important, its conclusions were opposite those found through rigorous scientific studies. The report in question, authored by Arizona State University researchers Audrey Amrein and David Berliner, purported to examine student-performance trends on national exams in states where legislators have attached "high stakes" to test scores. High-stakes testing has become a lightning rod as more and more states adopt accountability measures in response to the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. While it is crucial to analyze and debate the wisdom of such policies, the discussion must be informed by evidence of the highest quality. The controversial nature of high-stakes testing has led to the hurried release and dissemination of research that lacks scientific rigor, of which the Amrein and Berliner study is one of the more egregious examples.