Test pollution is described as changes in test scores due to outside factors rather than content presented in tests.

Sources of test pollution:

-test preparation

-situational factors

-external factors

-etc.

Test Pollution

Previous methods of testing and assessment are currently not accurate due to "test pollution." With online learning, testing issues such as cheating or lack of focus have become larger, making assessing students difficult.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

As teachers and students moved to online school during the pandemic, both groups faced increased stress and confusion. The sudden shift to online learning has impacted classroom assessments, learning, teaching, and long term growth. 

Long Term Impacts of COVID on Learning and Assessment

Middleton, K. V. (2020). The Longer-Term Impact of COVID-19 on K–12 Student Learning and Assessment. In Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice (Fall 2020 ed., Vol. 39, No.3, pp. 41-44). Washington, DC.

The Long Term Impact of COVID-19 on K-12 Student Learning and Assessment

The Impact of COVID-19 on Classroom Assessment


As instruction moved to an online format, teaching became less standardized. Students learned less new material, as teachers were not prepared to teach in this new setup. Additionally, learning was negatively impacted as students were faced with more distractions and less structure while learning from home.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Learning

Teachers in the same schools or districts had very different approaches to online instruction. This will become a problem as students return to in-person learning. Without clear guidelines for teaching in spring 2020, students will will be at very different levels upon the return to in-person schools.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Teaching

Lack of standardization due to COVID-19 will impact national test scores for years to come. This will cause issues when comparing test scores to previous years to measure growth. Additionally, test scores will be inaccurate due to various modes of instruction and issues relating to online learning (stress, internet connection, loss of instruction time, etc.)

The Impact of COVID-19 on Long Term Growth

Despite the numerous challenges that online school has caused, there have been some positive developments in schooling.

Examples:

-More money for summer instruction

-Smaller in-person classes

-Local partnerships

Positive Impact of COVID-19 on Learning and Assessment

To project the potential impact of the COVID school closures on students’ learning, researchers:
- Contrasted projected learning under typical school conditions with projections of COVID-19 learning loss during the time the students would have otherwise been in school,
- Attempted to quantify the effect of COVID-19 related school closures on variability in achievement between individual students
- Examined the potential relationship between learning loss in spring 2020 and academic growth during the following year (2020-2021)
- Projected how the school closures could widen SES-based achievement gaps at the level of the school.

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