High-Stakes Testing in Southern West Virginia: A Phenomenological Study of Teachers in a Rural County

This study was conducted to the feelings and ideas of students in rural Southern West Virginia. The basis for this study was to determine whether preparation for high-stakes testing created a negative impact on the students' education and whether test anxiety contributed to a lack of student achievement. This qualitative phenomenological study consisted of interviews with teachers based in a rural county in Southern West Virginia. These teachers ranged in experience from 3 to 38 years in a classroom with many of the teachers have most or all of their teaching years within the county. During the study, the teachers reported spending an inordinate amount of time in preparation for the high-stakes test. Ironically, the teachers also reported that test anxiety was a minimal problem within the county. In fact, the teachers reported far more apathy toward the high-stakes test than anxiety. The current method of high-stakes testing measures very little as there is no way to determine that the students are putting forth best efforts on the high-stakes test. Recommendation for future research includes studying the feelings of the student with regard to high-stakes testing.