Editing Standardized test (section)

=== Teaching to the test ===
{{Main|Teaching to the test}}
Teaching to the test is a process of deliberately narrowing instruction to focus only on the material that will be measured on the test.  For example, if the teacher knows that an upcoming history test will not include any questions about the history of music or art, then the teacher could "teach to the test" by skipping the material in the textbook about music and art.  Critics also charge that standardized tests encourage "[[teaching to the test]]" at the expense of creativity and in-depth coverage of subjects not on the test. Critics say that teaching to the test disfavors higher-order learning; it transforms what the teachers are allowed to be teaching and heavily limits the amount of other information students learn throughout the years.<ref name="Williams">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Mary |date=2015 |title=Standardized Testing Is Harming Student Learning |url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=OVIC&id=GALE&#124;EJ3010692244&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon |access-date=March 28, 2018 |website=go.galegroup.com}}</ref> While it is possible to use a standardized test without letting its contents determine curriculum and instruction, frequently, what is not tested is not taught, and how the subject is tested often becomes a model for how to teach the subject. 

Externally imposed tests, such as tests created by a [[department of education]] for students in their area, encourage teachers to narrow the curricular format and teach to the test.<ref name="Put to the Test: The Effects of External Testing on Teachers. Educational Researcher">{{cite web |title=Goswami U (1991) Put to the Test: The Effects of External Testing on Teachers. Educational Researcher 20: 8-11 |url=http://edr.sagepub.com/content/20/5/8.abstract |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202022524/http://edr.sagepub.com/content/20/5/8.abstract |archive-date=2013-02-02}}</ref>

''Performance-based pay'' is the idea that teachers should be paid more if the students perform well on the tests, and less if they perform poorly.<ref name="Williams" />  When teachers or schools are rewarded for better performance on tests, then those rewards encourage teachers to "[[teach to the test]]" instead of providing a rich and broad curriculum. In 2007 a qualitative study done by Au Wayne demonstrated that standardized testing narrows the curriculum and encourages teacher-centered instruction instead of [[student-centered learning]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Au |first=Wayne |date=2007-06-01 |title=High-Stakes Testing and Curricular Control: A Qualitative Metasynthesis |journal=Educational Researcher |language=en |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=258–267 |doi=10.3102/0013189X07306523 |issn=0013-189X |s2cid=507582}}</ref> New Jersey Governor [[Chris Christie]] proposed educational reform in New Jersey that pressures teachers not only to "teach to the test," but also have their students perform at the potential cost of their salary and job security. The reform called for performance-based pay that depends on students' performances on standardized tests and their educational gains.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arco |first=Matt |date=June 12, 2015 |title=Christie Education Speech in Iowa |url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/christie_education_speech_in_iowa.html#incart_2box_politics_index.ssf |access-date=July 25, 2016 |website=NJ.com}}</ref>

Critics contend that overuse and misuse of these tests harms teaching and learning by narrowing the curriculum. According to the group [[FairTest]], when standardized tests are the primary factor in accountability, schools use the tests to narrowly define curriculum and focus instruction. Accountability creates an immense pressure to perform and this can lead to the misuse and misinterpretation of standardized tests.<ref name="Holloway" />