It is widely recognised that high-stakes assessment can significantly influence what is taught in the classroom. Many argue that high-stakes assessment results in a narrowed curriculum where students learn by rote rather than developing higher cognitive skills. This paper describes a study investigating the various cognitive objectives present…

Twenty studies of the effects of teacher questions on student achievement were reviewed. Internal validity of experiments and integrity of treatments were less adequate than population and ecological validity. Whether teachers used predominantly higher cognitive or predominantly fact questions was found to make little difference in achievement.…