By Ella Stone
Every year we have standardized testing for Math and English three times, and by the third time, everyone seems a little tired of it. Are these tests actually providing information for the school, or wasting everyone’s time?
These tests are used to measure student achievement; however, students tend to not take them seriously and rush through, so the question coming up is if we should keep them around. When we evaluate students by giving each of them the same tests, we find the gaps and who isn’t meeting academic expectations. But, if students aren’t taking them seriously, then the information isn’t accurate and some students that are actually ahead may seem behind. From a practical standpoint, these tests may be seen as helpful to encourage students to work towards achieving higher scores for colleges to see, or for potential scholarships. But if you ask anyone, it’s not graded, so it doesn’t matter.
Many argue that these tests only capture students’ test taking abilities, rather than their critical thinking abilities or creativity. Teachers also tend to teach towards the test so students score higher, rather than just teaching them the curriculum they may need more for future classes, or even life. Some teachers are saying that it forces them to narrow down what they teach and doesn’t let them explore the subject as much as they would like, which can make classes boring and students uninterested. Teachers who love teaching are the teachers that students love, not the ones who seem forced to be there.
Abandoning these tests completely doesn’t seem to be the best option. We need to focus on evaluating all aspects of learning goals. If these tests were gone completely, it would be hard to find data in another way. But, just viewing a student based on three tests a year is unfair, especially under certain circumstances, like an off day. It’s important to find a middle ground, whether that is a whole new version of the test or a more spread out version. I think we need to give students the chance to really show off who they are besides through a multiple choice two- hour test.
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