Myth 16: High-Stakes Tests Are Synonmous With Rigor and Difficulty

Moon, Tonya R. (2009). Myth 16: High-stakes tests are synonymous with rigor and difficulty. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 277-79.

In this article, Tonya R. Moon explains how high-stakes tests have led to the "adoption of instructional approaches that resemble testing methods and formats (Pedulla et al.,2003)" and "negative coaching where excessive amounts of time are spent on activities that focus on the test." Moon argues that approaches like this have taken away from the rigorous, high-quality curriculum all students deserve.