Standardized tests have been a subject of controversy since the passage of the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001, and these high-stakes tests are frequently a subject of concern for parents, teachers and students. Following are five of the most frequently asked questions about state mandated testing.
What is the Purpose of Standardized Testing?
The U.S. Department of Education explains that the purpose of state-funded mandated testing is to accurately measure student learning. The entire goal of public schooling and the educational department is to teach students, and some form of measurement is required to determine the success of various educational programs. These tests serve as the primary measurement tool in the overall quality management of various schools and common core programs. While these tests do not give teachers an opportunity to individually review test scores with each student, they do provide valuable insights into broader issues like overall curriculum efficiency and underperforming school districts.
How are Children Impacted by Testing?
The U.S. Department of Education ensures the public that data received from state-mandated tests are essential in the fight to prevent children from being in an unsatisfactory learning environment. While the department recognizes that testing is stressful on students, it is deemed a necessary process. Standardized testing is often considered high-stakes because scores determine if schools will receive more funding, if students will pass or fail and if certain teachers will be fired. These high-stakes do influence and limit student learning by putting extreme focus on certain areas while limiting others, creating harmful stress levels for students and subjugating students to issues related to internalized failure.
Does Testing Influence Teaching Methods?
One of the problems with the increase in high-stakes testing is the impact it has on the nature of teaching. In an extensive research study, the National Education Association found that teachers reported spending around 54 school days dedicated to tasks associated with testing. This amounts to around 29 percent of teacher’s total work time in a school year. The time devoted to teaching mandatory testing material further diminishes each teacher’s individual autonomy and classroom authority. Many schools are forced to narrow the entire curriculum of certain areas that are not included in state tests, which usually means cutting programs like music or art. In many states, companies face a conflict of interest when they are contracted by the state to produce both the standardized test and test prep materials. Due to this quandary, teaching resources are often hyper-focused on test-related material.
Are Standardized Tests Biased?
Recently, a growing number of civil rights groups have made claims that standardized testing is both racially and economically biased. It has been widely established that lower income, African American and Latino students score significantly lower on standardized state tests than their privileged White or Asian peers. Sociologists are conflicted as to why this is the case, but the overwhelming correlation between wealth and test scores is undeniable. Bias is often found structured into these tests through discriminatory question selection, accidental bias, lack of cultural awareness, socio-economic bias and even outright racism. Though state tests are subject to extensive review by committee, bias remains problematic.
Is Testing Efficient?
This question is highly controversial and a frequently debated topic amongst academics, politicians, teachers, students, congressman and sociologists. Currently, there is insufficient information to accurately measure the efficiency of such programs. While testing certainly serves its purpose, the negative components associated need to be considered when pinpointing the real-world efficiency of implementing these standards.
Mandated state-wide testing has been widely criticized since 2001 as multiple unintended consequences have come to the public’s attention. These five most frequently asked questions about testing should give you a brief overview of both the negative and positive attributes of standardized tests.
