Test kids annually. Pressure teachers to improve their scores. Watch student achievement rise.

That's the theory behind high-stakes testing in 27 states, including Kentucky and Ohio.

Too bad there's so little proof it works.

A new national study, the largest yet on the subject, concludes high-stakes tests have little or no effect on true student performance, as measured in other, more objective ways.

Sure, most states will brag that their test scores are going up. But periodic changes in testing methods make accurate year-to-year comparison difficult.

In addition, high-stakes tests are designed by each state to guide what teachers cover in class. Just because teachers get good at focusing their lessons doesn't mean students are learning more.

Nevertheless, even more of this useless exercise is on the horizon. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, every state must soon begin testing all children annually in the third through eighth grades.

The Bush administration promises "real consequences" if scores don't improve. Parents will be given the option of transferring their kids, and low scores may lead to takeovers of "failing" schools.

Standards, measures

I'm all for high standards. But just as schools ought to meet them, so should the testing methods used to judge them.

These don't. High-stakes tests - so-called because they carry dire consequences for teachers and schools - create the impression of accountability without the substance.

The study, funded by teachers' unions and conducted by Arizona State University, examined how students in high-stakes states performed on other measures of achievement.

In Kentucky, fourth-grade math scores have decreased in comparison to the national average on a test known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Kentucky's fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores have increased, but so have the number of disabled students exempted from NAEP tests, the study found. This means Kentucky's true results are unclear, it said.

Ohio's NAEP scores also were labeled unclear because of the increase in exemptions.

The study also examined dropout rates in states with graduation exams, such as Ohio, which requires students to pass its final proficiency test in order to get a diploma. Ohio's dropout rate has increased since the testing began, the study found.

Writing portfolios

Why might students be learning less in states with high-stakes tests?

Consider Kentucky's writing portfolio requirement, part of its testing program. Fourth-, seventh- and 12th-graders spend a year polishing five pieces of writing to be scored by trained reviewers.

Teachers are not allowed to explain errors in the papers, only to point out where they may lie. This leads to endless drafts and redrafts, exhausting all involved.

Do students learn something in the process?

Sure. They learn to hate writing, and not much more.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com or 859-578-5584.