SATs. ACTs. Keystone Testing. PSATs. NYs Regents. These words haunt most students all over the country. From the hours and hours of studying to the hundreds of dollars spent on tutoring and test prep, standardized testing has become a controversial topic amongst school districts everywhere. Aptitude tests are increasingly popular in the present age in order to determine school acceptance and intelligence. However, putting a pen to paper and filling out a scantron has become a way to judge students, and it is being put to a stop. The rise and fall of standardized tests is a major topic in the education system, and people are raising their voices about it.

We all have taken them and we all know what they are, but for some background, standardized tests are any from of tests that require students to answer the same bank of questions and are scored in a consistent manner in order to compare students to each other. These tests are commonly multiple choice in order to compete kids against each other in the academic world. There is computerized scoring in order to keep the system unbiased and efficient. However, certain tests have open-ended questions that are scored by humans against a strict rubric and guidelines (ED Glossary).

Many educators and test experts are for standardized testing because they consider it to be fair, objective, and an even way of assessing student’s academic achievement. They believe it is unbiased way to judge students. There are many different types of tests, including achievement tests, aptitude tests, college-admissions tests, international-comparison tests, and psychological tests. Achievement tests measure skills and knowledge of students and what they have learned in school. These evaluate teachers and school districts and determine academic placement plans for students, such as if they are advanced in their level or if they need extra accommodations. Aptitude tests predict future success in academics and other areas, such as math abilities, language, or even musical talent. They attempt to predict how well kids will do in a future setting, but these are controversial. College-admissions tests, as we are all aware of, are used to determine whether students should or should not be accepted into colleges or programs after high-school. International-comparison tests are taken by a random sample of students from different countries in order to compare the education levels and proficiency of different countries. And finally, psychological tests, such as IQ tests, measure peoples cognitive, developmental, etc., abilities (Ed Glossary).

There are arguments about standardized tests, but educators and administrations administer them in order to monitor the schooling systems in the United States. They hold educators accountable for student performance, evaluate whether students are learning, and show gaps in learning and academic progress.

Since the No Child Left behind Act was put into place, educators have promoted standardized testing and competition in order to “improve educational standards”. This reform started as a way to improve education, but it turned into a systematic way of teaching and putting students into a cookie-cutter box where everyone was expected to learn the same. However, there are major problems with this method of teaching.

First of all, standardized tests cost lots and lots of money. Not only are the administering costs astronomical, but the test prep and materials alone cost schools and students thousands and thousands of dollars. Students in low-income neighborhoods do not have the access or resources to perform proficiently on these tests, and in return, students are being affected and teachers are even being fired. According to the NY Times, social scientists have said that the best predictor of test scores is family income, so students with lower income families have less of a chance to do well (Ravitch). Studies show that higher income students are in the top half of testing scores where poorer students score at the very bottom. The failure rates on standardized tests are insanely high for black and Hispanic students coming from low-income neighborhoods, especially because of the lack of resources and opportunities (Ravitch).

The government has spent billions in order to phase in these tests and change the curriculum to teach to the tests, which present another problem. A major issue amongst students, teachers, and parents is the fact that schools are teaching to the standardized tests instead of teaching meaningful information to educate students. Because of this, students are not leaving school with real life experiences or knowledge, but with the ability to fill out bubble sheets and answer multiple choice questions.

Overall, the schooling system is America is become a standard and uniform way of teaching kids. Students are not learning the material they need to go into the world and succeed, they are learning the material to perform well on tests. The controversy continues on whether these tests are positive or negative and what affects they have on the system and students themselves. The question remains, will students be judged on their knowledge, intelligence, and effort, or will they be defined on their SAT scores?

Sources:

https://www.edglossary.org/standardized-test/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/opinion/sunday/the-common-core-costs-billions-and-hurts-students.html?module=inline