You have most likely taken many standardized tests. From the SOL, VGA, i-Ready, or even the SAT, ACT, etc. in high school. These tests are meant to measure your mastery in a specific subject. But, are they really worth doing? And what are the alternatives?
The Benefits
Standardized tests are designed to give students no unfair advantages over others. They give the same test questions, environment, and even pencils.
This creates objective test scores that can be used to measure the performance between different groups of students. It also helps teachers understand what students have already learned or need to learn.
On the other hand, teacher grading is biased and inconsistent across different classrooms. Standardized tests are not biased as an answer is either right or wrong.
Except…
These standardized tests don’t do their job well. Consider this: You wake up with only 4 hours of sleep after studying all night. You realize that you’re going to be late for school, so you skip breakfast. You take the test with anxiety that you’ve gotten all the answers wrong.
This is essentially the worst possible condition to do a test. If this ever happens to you (hopefully never), you’re doomed to get a worse score than a person who is perfectly fine.
Standardized tests are affected by factors outside the testing room too. Even if they give the most fair conditions, the scores will still be imperfect.
Besides, standardized tests only measure how well you can take a test. There is no correlation between the SAT and your future.
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I can guarantee that.” -Michelle Obama
A study involving 55,000 students who go to Chicago public schools showed that standardized tests showed much less correlation to success in college compared to GPA. Standardized tests are only good for showing current success and for the teacher to adjust the course accordingly.
The Alternatives?
Performance-Based Assessments have many different forms. It could be a presentation, an essay, a free-response, or anything else that involves creativity. These assessments are not only a way to show that a student has mastered a topic, but gets them to be creative and sometimes even make a physical project using materials. For group projects specifically, it gets students to collaborate, which is an important life skill.
Technology can also help us measure performance. Khan Academy has a way to track progress in a massive number of topics. It can see who has and hasn’t mastered a specific topic. This can help the teacher detect who needs extra help.
Enough of a good thing can become a bad thing. That’s especially true for standardized test. Schools need to consider and determine if a test will help or hurt, and consider if there are better alternatives in the process.
RELATED STORIES:
https://standardizedtests.procon.org/
https://aspenjournalism.org/the-pros-and-cons-of-standardized-testing/
https://fairtest.org/facts-whatwron-htm/
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/standardized-testing-still-failing-students
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/17/11/when-testing-takes-over
TAKE ACTION:
- Ban standardized testing in schools: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/stop-standardized-tests-2
