Term Paper
on Standardized Assessments
In
recent years, the effects of standardized or “high stake” tests have become a
cause of an ongoing debate in the United States of America. Important decisions
are often based on the results of standardized testing programs. This has caused
concern among educationalists who are constantly pondering over the issue
whether these tests really are useful in terms of student assessment. An
independent survey conducted by “Phi Delta Kappa International” revealed
statistics in favor of standardized tests. I personally believe these statistics
do not reflect the actual scenario. In his article “Resisting Test Mania”, E.
Wayne Ross has discussed the various reasons why standardized testing is
detrimental to education. His paper is based on the book “The Case against
Standardized Testing” written by author and former educator Alfie Kohn.
His first argument is that testing often destroys students’ natural interest to
learn and they focus more on attaining high test scores rather then striving to
achieve knowledge about the subject matter. This often causes anxiety and
frustration among students and they can never perform according to their true
potential. Moreover, Standardized tests often measure shallow thinking. In a
study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, elementary school
students were classified as actively engaged in learning if they asked questions
while they read and tried to connect what they were doing to past learning.
Those students who just copied down answers often relying on guess work were
declared to be superficially engaged in learning. The study was concluded by
stating that high scores on standardized tests exhibited the superficial
approach to learning.
Ross further strengthens his argument by stating that tests are often time
consuming and thus cut into the time for learning. He explains that students are
often judged by test scores as they are considered to be the final measure of
one's potential. I fully agree with Ross when he asserts that it is impossible
to assess a student’s intelligence, achievement, and competence through
standardized tests. In my opinion, these tests should not be intended to measure
the quality of learning or gauge the student’s capabilities.
The third reason Ross presents against standardized tests is that they often
advocate standardization of curriculum. Students are often presented with biased
and one-dimensional view of the subject matter. This causes confusion and
uncertainty among students and they lose interest in learning. I believe that
for the development of a rounded personality, students must be imparted with
several different perspectives regarding a subject matter so that they can
think, infer and reach a conclusion themselves.
Education is about acquiring knowledge and knowledge should only be measured so
that the processes and products of learning are openly displayed. Standardized
assessments do not fulfill this criterion in any way and thus their practice
should be discontinued.
