Standardized tests have long been an accepted facet of education, from kindergarten to graduation, but are they serving their purpose? And what exactly is their purpose? Controversy abounds over the importance placed on standardized testing in schools, but one thing seems certain. In whatever form they are given, they aren’t going away any time soon.
Schools use the results from these standardized tests and others like them for many purposes. Among them are to help determine school and grade readiness; develop academic programs and curriculum; evaluate existing programs; identify students for special groups and programs; measure a school system’s performance against other systems; and to determine acceptable standards for graduation. These goals sound benign enough, and good results have come from testing in school districts across the country.
Critics, however, point out that standardized tests give an incomplete picture of the state of education, and are biased against low income and minority students. The multiple choice questions, they claim, are culturally biased towards white, middle class Americans, leaving students outside that group at a disadvantage. An even larger problem may exist that affects all students, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Many schools place too much emphasis on test scores.
School performance and improvement is often measured solely on the basis of test scores, and administrators and teachers feel the need to shape curriculums based on standardized tests. Opponents of such teaching methods point to the fact that such a narrowly designed curriculum ignores many important skills, such as a student’s reasoning ability. In fact, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing has observed that individual student assessments by teachers using observational checklists is a far better indicator of student performance than a standardized multiple choice test.
While school districts, which sometimes use test results to obtain special funding, and opponents of standardized testing continue to investigate alternatives, there are things that parents should be aware of concerning the testing of their children. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 gives parents and guardians access to a child’s school records, including test scores. Parents and students must be given notice well in advance of testing and students have a right to equitable treatment. Concerns or questions about testing should be brought to the attention of a school administrator or a child’s teacher.
