690+Rothstein+Jacobsen+Measuring+Social+Responsibility.

One question on the test is associated with the ECR reading by Rothstein/Jacobsen—Measuring Social Responsibility



"Socially responsible citizenship has long been an important purpose of school, but teachers and schools have cut back on developing citizenship skills because accountability sanctions now rely solely on academic test scores."

schools give more instruction time on subjects they know students will be tested on.

"As a result, schools serving disadvantaged students have responded to NCLB by widening the achievement gap in social responsibility and other curricular areas for which the schools are no longer held accountable (McMurrer, 2007, 2008)."

results of a study at U of chicago: measure antisocial scores of children age 4 then at 12; at both ages lower economic children had lowest score

if social responsibility is not taught bc the focus is on math and literacy, then equity is not advanced.

"In an era of accountability, if it can't be tested, it won't be done."

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): in 1949 gave cooperative games or exercises, discussion points, observers rated different age groups, did they help the group, demean the group, take leadership, disrupt, etc. results considered unsatisfactory bc kids scored low

in 1969 NAEP interviewers asked 9, 13 & 17 year olds questions about civil rights (race and age) the draft, rights of individuals, religious freedom, scores were better

in 1977 NAEP: questions on social advocates for stopping physical abuse

authors suggest that if social justice questions were on tests, we would focus on that too and not just math and reading scores

in 1970s NAEP budget was cut in half, causing it to stop observing behavioral outcomes, later becomes just a pencil/paper test.

"Yet the design of early NAEP challenges the assumption that assessing social responsibility is impossible; it demonstrates that what really stops us from pursuing a balanced accountability system is cost and vision, not capability. Sending trained observers to schools around the United States would cost more than assessments consisting only of machinescored booklets, but the cost to student learning is far greater when we fail to invest in such a balanced accountability system."