The Downfalls of Standardized Testing
A cornerstone of American education since the mid-1800s, standardized testing is used to provide an objective measure of student performance, ensuring that students from all over the country are tested on the same standards. It is an assessment method that is built on the principle of consistency; all test takers answer the same questions, and all questions are graded in the same way. However, the necessity of such immense focus on standardized testing has become increasingly questionable.
A glaring testament to this are the current college application requirements. Currently only 4 percent of Common Application colleges require submission of the SAT or ACT, two of the most highly regarded standardized tests in the US education system. In the fall of 2023, around 85 institutions completely disregarded those standardized test scores in their application process, including the entire University of California system.
Moreover, the MTA, which represents over 10,000 educators in the state of Massachusetts, is an avid supporter of removing the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) as a graduation requirement for high schoolers. As an organization, they have petitioned to bring up this topic in the 2024 ballot, and have currently been collecting signatures from supporters.
So, what is the reason for this?
Standardized testing like the AP exams and MCAS has put high amounts of pressure on teachers to produce high test scores from their students, resulting in a narrow curriculum that only “teaches to the test.” Teachers are given little room to adjust their teaching methods to the preferences of their students, and instead are forced to abandon teaching topics that are not deemed “worthy” to learn, simply because they are not on the test, like leadership and group collaboration skills. Consequently, this also puts stress on students who adopt a tunnel vision mindset and work towards everything just for a high test score.
Additionally, years have shown that standardized testing is far from the best measurement of a student’s performance. It neglects to take important factors into account, such as a student’s prior test taking experience, their access to test preparation resources, and even the amount of sleep that a student was able to get the night before taking the test. What's more, these standardized tests limit themselves to evaluating knowledge in math, science, and English. It is unable to properly get a sense of creativity, critical thinking, artistic ability, and other areas that cannot simply be measured by a right or wrong answer. In the world of standardized testing, everything is black and white, or at best, shades of gray.
Instead, research has shown that instead of exemplifying the importance of standardized tests to measure a student’s accomplishment, a student’s high school GPA is a much better indicator of their performance and potential. It is a much broader range of measurement that encompasses a student’s overall performance throughout their four years of high school through a variety of their grades, projects, and exams. It also considers the progress a student could have made from freshman to senior year due to the larger time period it assesses.
Although standardized testing will continue to play a role in American education, it seems as though the heavy focus placed on it may begin to diminish. Its effectiveness is rightfully questioned, as it does not accurately measure student learning and growth, places unnecessary pressure and restrictions on teachers, and has more advantageous alternatives that could be used in its place. After considering all these factors, it is not difficult to see why more and more institutions have made submitting standardized test scores optional, or have even stopped reviewing them at all. Is it time to reconsider our reliance on standardized testing?
by SOPHIA DU