Making Room for the Middle Grades: High-Stakes Teaching in an Era of High-Stakes Testing

Abstract

This case study describes a middle school language arts teacher attempting to maintain high standards of instruction while attending to the increasing demands of high-stakes assessments. Understanding how this teacher, Lisa, maintained effective pedagogy while attending to the external demands of standardized assessments offers ideas for maintaining responsive pedagogy in an era where assessment is moving toward uniform expectations for all middle school students. The tensions that emerged between Lisa’s professional beliefs and the opportunity to enact these in her daily practice raise questions about the current trend in assessment procedures in middle school language arts classrooms.