Stress Begins in Kindergarten: A Look at Behavior During Standardized Testing
Abstract Kindergarten children's behavior before, during, and after standardized achievement testing was explored through a qualitative study in two classrooms (n = 36). Simultaneously quantitative data were collected in one of the classrooms (n = 21) before and during the testing. Data were collected through observations in the classrooms, interviews with children and teachers, and audio and video taping of the children. For the quantitative component of the study, frequencies of stress behaviors were observed using a scan sampling method. Qualitative findings indicated an increase in behaviors reported to be stress related during the testing and a decrease in those behaviors following the testing. Copying and calling out answers during the testing were also observed frequently. Children also marked incorrect answers, but when interviewed after the test, could respond correctly. Quantitative results supported the qualitative with a statistically significant increase in the proportion of stress behaviors ...
How can good educational practice move be~ond pockets of excellence to reach a much greater proportion of students and educators? While many children and young adults in school districts and communities around the countrt have long benefited from the tremendous accomplishments of successful teachers, schools, and programs, replicating this success on a larger scale has proven to be a diJficult and vexing issue. In this article, Richard Elmore addresses this problem by anal’tzing the role of school organ izat ion and incentive structures in thwarting large-scale adoption of in novative practices close to the “core” of educational practice. Elm ore then reviews evidence Jrom two attempts cit large-scale school reform in the past — the progressive movement and the