Visual Representations In spring 2001, I collected around eighty (80) drawings made by Arizona public school educators regarding their views of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Educators from around the state of Arizona attending professional development activities in the Phoenix valley were asked to make visual representations of their feelings "while administering the AIMS" or "while preparing their students to take the AIMS". This website is offered to provide educators and the public access to the database of eighty drawings in the collection. Further, interested individuals may provide their reactions to their reading of specific images via an on-line comment form. The website is designed so viewers can browse images by the author's role (such as Elementary Educator or High School Educator; see menu choices on this page). What purpose do these visual representations serve? My intent is to analyze the collected drawings in a manner that will enhance our understandings of issues in education—primarily the impact of a state mandated test on educators' and students' lives. You can participate in this process by "seeing" one or more educators' re-presentations of the AIMS on this website and sharing your reactions with me via an on-line form provided for each of the drawings in the collection. Please consider the following prompts when you view the drawings: How does this particular representation relate to your role as an educator? What meanings did you draw from this representation? Information for On-line Participants I am a doctoral student working under the direction of Dr. Thomas Barone in the College of Education at Arizona State University. I am conducting a research study to understand the impact of a state mandated high-stakes test on educators’ roles. I have collected drawings made by Arizona (USA) public school educators expressing their feelings about a state mandated high-stakes test which are available at http://ganesh.ed.asu.edu/aims/. I am requesting your participation in this study via an on-line response form. Your participation is voluntary and will involve viewing a drawing or drawings of your choice and submitting your comments via the on-line form that accompanies each drawing. If you chose to participate, information you provide along with your response may be used in a research report which may take the form of a published article in a journal or book which may be electronic or print publication(s). There are no foreseeable risks to you if you participate in this study. As participation is via an on-line form on the Internet, complete anonymity cannot be assured; however, personal identifier’s such as name and email address are not required to participate in this study. The possible benefit of your participation is increased knowledge about the impact of high-stakes testing of public school children on the role of educators and researchers better understand the use of visual methods in education research. If you have any questions concerning this research study, please feel free to contact me at ganesh.tg@asu.edu or Dr. Thomas Barone at barone@asu.edu. If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research, or if you feel you have been placed at risk, you can contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, through Karol Householder, at 480.965.6788. What is the AIMS? The state of Arizona, adopted the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) —a competency test that students must pass to graduate from high school. It is based on the Arizona Academic Standards, which are skills in reading, writing, and mathematics that students statewide are expected to master. The AIMS is administered in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, and high school grades in all Arizona public schools. Initially, the class of 2002 was to be the first cohort of students required to pass the AIMS graduation test (only the reading and writing portions) in order to receive a diploma. Later, the class of 2004 and all subsequent classes was required to pass the reading, writing, and mathematics portions of AIMS to earn a high school diploma. On August 27, 2001, the Arizona Board of Education unanimously endorsed the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jaime Molera's proposal to postpone the AIMS as a graduation requirement until 2006. AIMS results are reported for each student as "Falls Far Below the Standard, Approaches the Standard, Meets the Standard, and Exceeds the Standard" in reading, writing, and mathematics. Though the AIMS as graduation requirement is postponed to 2006, since the 2000 administration of the test, all students in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, and high-school grades are required to take the AIMS test. What are high-stakes tests? Swope & Miner (2000, p. 140) define 'High-Stakes Testing' as follows: "When an educational decision is based on a single test score-whether a student will advance to the next grade level, be able to enter a preferred program or school, or even get a high school diploma. High-stakes are also applied to schools and teachers, with judgment, rewards, or punishments, based wholly or primarily on standardized test scores."