How perceptions of autonomy affect suburban elementary school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy regarding state-mandated testing

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act directs states to establish annual assessments to measure student mastery of state-established learning expectations. American public school students in grades 3 through 8, with few exceptions, take a series of state-mandated assessments each year; students in grades 10 through 12 take a series of state-mandated assessments at least once during those years. NCLB and state laws mandate considerable consequences if students do not perform well on the assessments. Research suggests that the standardized tests associated with NCLB affect curricula and pedagogy. What is not known is the level of control teachers believe they have over the curricular and pedagogic changes, and how that level of perceived control affects teachers’ perceptions of their ability to prepare students for the state-mandated tests. The purpose of this research study was to examine how teachers’ perceptions of autonomy affect their perceptions of efficacy regarding state-mandated testing. Data were collected with the Teaching Autonomy Scale (Pearson & Hall, 1993) and follow-up interviews with teachers from a suburban Connecticut public school district. The findings of the study suggest that teacher perceptions of autonomy do not significantly affect their perceptions of efficacy regarding the state-mandated tests associated with NCLB. The findings also suggest that teacher perceptions of autonomy do affect how teachers view the state-mandated standardized tests. Teachers with high perceived autonomy tended to report that the state-mandated tests had less of an impact on their classroom practices; had some discretion regarding how to use curricular materials in their classes; said that their students performed well on the state-mandated tests because the students engaged in authentic learning exercises that taught the students the skills and concepts assessed by the tests; tended to view the state-tests as assessments of the reading, writing, and math curricula; and tended to report that the state-mandated tests had mostly positive effects on education. Implications for practice, public policy, and further research are presented.