Hearing New Voices: Novice Teachers and High-Stakes Testing

This study explored the experiences of novice elementary school teachers teaching reading or mathematics in grades 3, 4 and 5 in the high-stakes testing environment in public schools of northeastern North Carolina. The information gained from this research is meant to serve as a motivation for change regarding serving the needs of novice teachers both through their teacher education programs at universities and in their schools and school districts. The phenomenological approach was utilized to research the lived experiences of eight first- or second-year elementary school teachers. The central research question was: In a high-stakes testing environment, how do novice teachers experience teaching reading and mathematics in grades 3, 4 and 5? Face-to-face interviews generated descriptions and transcripts of interviews with co-researchers which gave the researcher a better understanding of their experiences as novice teachers. A thorough analysis revealed themes, patterns and underlying meaning.