Standardized Tests: My Brief Philosophy

When it comes to my philosophy of standardized testing, I would consider myself more against than for it, but still appreciative of the concept.  I do think that standardized tests have a place in our educational world, but not how they are now.  Especially in the realm of secondary education, so many students are score-crazy, pushing aside most dedication to true and meaningful learning in hopes of bettering the test score.  It is sad to see a world where one number shapes who you are or what possibilities await.  It should sadden other teachers, I think, too.  For many standardized tests, students are locked in a room with no resources and asked to demonstrate content mastery with sometimes confusing context.  In what world are we left to fend for ourselves with not even so much as a dictionary to help us?  In what profession will we be unable to ask for help or check our work against reference materials?  What real life, post-educational situation are we preparing students for with this type of test?  I cannot think of one.

In math content areas, standardized test questions can become overly complex and filled with excess context that can make getting to the actual math quite difficult.  How is it a fair assessment of skills if students cannot even get to the point in the problem to demonstrate that skill?    How can we take away the unfairness felt by less-affluent students who may not have experience with certain vocabulary, or who may not be able to afford to re-take a test?  Clearly, I have many questions that I just cannot find answers to.  As a student, standardized testing was just a part of school.  I developed my skepticism of the process at a young age, when I compared my ACT scores with some friends. When I received a lower score in the math section than my friend who struggled with it dearly, I began to question.  When I scored higher on English, a subject I struggled in, than my friend whom it came easy to, I began to question. We also took HSA assessments in high school for certain subjects.  These tests were rather uneventful and the teachers did not seem to bring them up often.  I almost felt as if teachers did not really pay them any attention and just assumed we would all score adequately.  I do not remember any feedback on our performance, so these tests did absolutely nothing for my perception of my learning.  I do not feel I demonstrated anything on these tests because I never received any feedback on the content performance.  The score report was minimal and stated a percentile rank along with some comparison data.  As a young student, this does not really help me much.  In my lifetime, I have only ever taken the ACT one time, which, as I mentioned before, only built up my skepticism of standardized testing. Where I do agree on the need to have a baseline method to establish and demonstrate a student’s basic skills, our current testing system needs heavy revamping, in my opinion.

As a student, I remember enjoying research and presentation projects where I have the freedom and time to take some responsibility for my own learning and then be able to share my findings with my classmates.  With the bias on testing created by my personal experiences, I can take steps to prevent too much influence in my own assessment decisions.  I teach the state-tested content of Algebra 1 currently and the emphasis on the test is well felt through the department.  I will not let my own disagreement on the matters interfere with my willingness to help best prepare my students for this test.  I will continually offer a multitude of assessment methods in my classroom to allow my students the most well rounded experience possible in math class.