The Problem of Standardized Testing

I loathe standardized testing with a passion that cannot be exaggerated. Simply hearing the phrase is enough to elevate my heart rate and get my blood boiling. So, when I came across this quote from The Times, my reaction was not favorable: ' "Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first-graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools"' (qtd. in Tower).

How can this possibly help children? Forcing children to read specific material is a sure way to teach them to reject that material; instead of nurturing interests as they arrive and letting children explore the pleasure of reading, limiting children to certain forms of reading will alienate them from everything positive associated with the experience. Yes, there is a time in everyone's academic experience when they will have to read material they don't enjoy - but is kindergarten really the place to begin? And all for higher test scores?

I am of the belief that standardized testing helps no one - least of all the children who are being forced to endure the process. Evaluative testing can be extremely helpful, especially when it is necessary to gauge the understanding and capabilities of a group of children. Evaluative testing can tell a school whether a student is ready for AP calculus, or whether they'd benefit from further instruction before moving on. Evaluative testing tells an English teacher that he needs to focus more on commas before moving on to verb tenses. But standardized testing as it is utilized today shows only how well a student is capable of sitting at a desk for six hours filling in scantrons. Standardized testing tests only a student's ability to take a test, and is in no way an accurate marker of an individual's intelligence, ability to applied knowledge learned, quality of education they have received, nor their ability to succeed in the world of higher education. Two-hundred multiple choice questions cannot inform a panel how well an individual can communicate, the strength of their analytical thinking and reasoning, nor their ability to apply mathematics and scientific information to relevant occupational and academic problems.

I would be willing to suggest that most adults would have a difficult time sitting at a desk for six hours straight in a highly regimented environment. School children are forced into an environment in which most adults would fail, and they are required to perform for not only the benefit of their school, but also for their own well-being. Schools now require passing grades on standardized tests in order to receive passing marks from the school itself, while denying youth basic instruction in a number of fields because, simply, the material won't count on the standardized test.

My arguments can go on, and on, and on. In the end, what I really want to say is this: educators, and not politicians, are the ones who should be maintaining our education system. Until that happens, our children will continue to suffer.


Work Cited
Tower, Tara. "If letting kids pick books fosters love of reading, let's let them." Statesman.com. Statesman.com, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010.