Preschool/Kindergarten teachers’ conceptions of standardised testing

Figures & data

Figure 1. Achievement levels for preschool/kindergarten tests according to the old (bottom) and new (top) distributions, as depicted in the Cito LOVS. Colours vary according to the software used

Figure 2. Timeline of the study procedure, date format dd-mm-yyyy

Table 1. General information on interview participants, percentiles are indicated by P_i.

	Ria	Rianne	Ina	Irina	Renee	Mona
Relevance	P81	P76	P2	P15	P81	P37
Informative	P96	P90	P4	P63	P24	P51
Age [years*]	55	25	30	55	45	55
Experience [years*]	25	5	5	25	20	10
Grade level	Kindergarten	Kindergarten	Preschool/Kindergarten	Preschool	Kindergarten	Preschool
Class size*	20	15	10/10	15	15	20
School size*	300 (P75)	300 (P75)	200 (P50)	250 (P65)	650 (P95)	300 (P75)
foreign background*	5% (P50)	0% (P15)	30% (P85)	0% (P15)	5% (P50)	5% (P50)
low educated parents*	5% (P45)	10% (P70)	15% (P80)	5% (P45)	5% (P45)	5% (P45)
Exit score*	P65	P70	P10	P45	P75	P65

Note: Pseudonyms are used for the respondents, numbers in rows with * are rounded to the nearest 5 (50 for school size), in order to preserve confidentiality.

Table 2. Main coding themes related to the preschool/kindergarten Cito tests

Coding theme	Example
Necessary conditions for testing	‘He can do well, if he concentrates.’
Strategies to accommodate conditions	‘His mind is somewhere else. Now I’ve moved him closer to me.’
Target group for test administration	‘The children who drop out [score IV/V], they take it again.’
Emotionally charged statement	‘Yeah, it’s an awful test.’
Relationship to the curriculum	‘Not natural to kindergartners. Sitting at a table with a pencil.’
Information gained from the test	‘He did better than I thought, because he got a I.’
Alternative means to the test	‘But I also use the KIJK and what I observe on my own.’
Professional autonomy of teachers	‘We’re professional enough to see whether the child can do it or not.’
Purpose according to the teacher	‘[Children] who score below average don’t meet the standards.’
Expectations of other stakeholders	‘They expect group plans to be organised according to the Cito test.’
Use or impact of the test	‘You place the weakest in a group, and verify what needs to be practiced.’
Characteristics of the test	‘We [test] digitally, but children swipe, while this requires mouse-control.’
Societal context (of the child)	‘Every child comes to us differently, some parents don’t offer anything.’

Figure 3. Graphic representation of the main co-occurrences and clusters. Each box represents a separate code. Solid lines indicate co-occurrences reported by at least two teachers. Dashed lines indicate connections that occurred frequently, but not for a particular teacher

Exploratory Mokken scale analysis with item H coefficients for the two scales

	Brown (2006) factor structure
Scale: The Cito test is useful for teachers (H = .34)	Second order	First order	Hi	(SE)
Assessment results should be treated cautiously because of measurement error*	Irrelevant	Inaccurate	.38	(.070)
Assessment forces teachers to teach in a way against their beliefs*	Irrelevant	Bad	.37	(.066)
Teachers should take into account the error and imprecision in all assessment*	Irrelevant	Inaccurate	.36	(.068)
Assessment results are filed and ignored*	Irrelevant	Ignored	.30	(.105)
Teachers conduct assessment but make little use of the results*	Irrelevant	Ignored	.29	(.087)
Scale: The Cito test provides valid information (H= .40)
Assessment provides information on how well teachers are doing	.	.	.50	(.041)
Assessment helps students improve their learning	Improvement	Improves learning	.48	(.047)
Assessment is a way to determine how much students have learned …	Improvement	Describes abilities	.48	(.042)
Assessment is a good way to evaluate a school	School Accounting	-	.48	(.048)
Assessment is an accurate indicator of a school’s quality	School Accounting	-	.46	(.053)
Assessment establishes what students have learned	Improvement	Describes abilities	.45	(.055)
Assessment results can be depended on	Improvement	Valid	.45	(.050)
Assessment is an accurate indicator of a teacher’s quality	.	.	.45	(.044)
Assessment results are trustworthy	Improvement	Valid	.43	(.052)
Assessment feeds back to students their learning needs	Improvement	Improves learning	.42	(.054)
Assessment results are consistent	Improvement	Valid	.42	(.055)
Assessment is integrated with teaching practice	Improvement	Improves teaching	.42	(.047)
Assessment determines if students meet qualification standards	Student Accounting	-	.42	(.055)
Assessment is a good way to evaluate a teacher	.	.	.42	(.044)
Assessment provides information on how well a group is doing	.	.	.42	(.046)
Assessment is an imprecise process*	Irrelevant	Inaccurate	.41	(.052)
Assessment provides information on how well schools are doing	School Accounting	-	.38	(.058)
Assessment is unfair to students*	Irrelevant	Bad	.35	(.061)
Assessment measures students’ higher order thinking skills	Improvement	Describes abilities	.34	(.064)
Assessment information modifies ongoing teaching of students	Improvement	Improves teaching	.33	(.074)
Assessment allows different students to get different instruction	Improvement	Improves teaching	.33	(.070)
Assessment provides feedback to students about their performance	Improvement	Improves learning	.30	(.056)
Assessment interferes with teaching*	Irrelevant	Bad	.30	(.068)
Assessment is assigning a grade or level to student work	Student Accounting	-	.25	(.073)

Note: The items ‘Assessment places students into categories’ and ‘Assessment has little impact on teaching’ did not fit any scale. Reverse-coded items are indicated with *. Items added to the questionnaire are indicated by a ‘.’ in the original factor. Removing these items had no effect on the scales.

Table

Coding theme	Main codes (number of subcodes, if applicable)	Example
Necessary conditions for testing	Conditions for testing related to the child (7) Practical conditions for testing Conditions related to the teacher (2)	The child needs to be able to focus The test takes a lot of time You need to know the manual somewhat
Strategies to accommodate conditions	Before test administration During test administration After test administration	We avoid the word ‘test’ Children that have trouble concentrating sit close to me If a child is anxious I re-test him or her one-on-one
Target group for test administration	Dependent on the grade-level Dependent on the previous test score Dependent on grade retention Dependent on confidence teacher Dependent on parent request	We don’t administer the test in preschool We re-test children in June if they score a D/E in January We don’t test a child that is going to repeat kindergarten I only test a child when I have doubts about his/her level I sometimes re-test when the parents ask me to
Emotionally charged statement	Positive affect teacher Negative affect teacher Positive affect child Negative affect child Positive affect other stakeholder Negative affect other stakeholder	I’m glad that we have this test It’s a horrible test Children love working in a booklet Children get stressed and anxious when tested Parents think the test is important Some of my colleagues hate these tests
Relationship to the curriculum	Play should be central in the curriculum Cognitive challenge is important in (pre-)K Education should be child directed The test is not on (pre-)K level Other skills than those tested are important	Children learn mainly by playing Challenging children in language is vital at a young age Children will ask about writing when they are ready The level of the test is too difficult for many children His score is good but he still acts too young for his age
Information gained from the test	Achievement level Differences in test scores over time Scores on subcategories Observation during the test administration Answers to specific questions	This child scored a D on language You can see that her achievement score has gone up If numerical understanding is low, you can focus on that I noticed that he is unable to listen to my instructions You can see here that he worked from right to left
Alternative means to the test	(Un)structured observation by the teacher Teacher designed tests Other external tests	You have your own observations which tell you a lot I gave them a small task to see if they could do it We also have a vocabulary test in October
Professional autonomy of teachers	Teacher’s sense of trust Teacher’s sense of professionalism Teacher’s sense of freedom and pressure Teacher’s sense of autonomy support	Why do you need the test, trust the teacher for once And it’s like someone wants to check if I’m good enough I am forced to administer this test Sometimes you miss things that the test helps you see
Purpose according to the teacher	Confirmation for the teacher/child (2) Evaluation of the teacher/curriculum (1) Evaluation of the child’s mastery (3) Guideline for what a child is expected to know Guideline for what a teacher is expected to teach Familiarising children with formal testing Indication for grade-skipping or retention	The test is a confirmation for you as a teacher The test can tell me if what I offered was sufficient The test shows what a child can and cannot do The test shows what a child needs to know I look at the test to see what needs to be taught For us the main idea is that children get used to testing I would be hesitant to send him to first grade with two D’s
Expectations of other stakeholders	Control/confirmation of educational process Making the grade (scoring at least average) Growth between test administrations Few or no expectations	Parents want to know a child’s level, the test provides this The school wants to know if I am on par with expectations Parents want to see if their child has grown The educational inspection is not interested in the results
Use or impact of the test	Use of the results (7) Impact of the test on education (2) Impact of the test on the behaviour of others Limited impact or use of the test	We use the results to arrange children into groups I teach the word ‘Antlers’ as they often struggle with it Parents practice at home so their child scores higher In practice you don’t do a lot with the results
Characteristics of the test	Form in which children are tested Content of the test Administration of the test (2) Continuity between tests	Assignments in the test are all in 2D Questions can be interpreted in multiple ways The test is just a snapshot of the child’s development The tests between years are so different
Societal context (of the child)	Background/context of the child Higher external demands	Some children just learn more from their parents Society just expects more nowadays

Brown, G. T. L. (2006). Teachers’ conceptions of assessment: Validation of an abridged instrument. Psychological Reports, 99(1), 166–170.

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