by Mikyle Threats

Created on: June 28, 2008

I feel that standardized testing does indeed hinder the education process. Educators attempt to validate standardized testing of students by claiming that tests can help teachers and administrators make decisions regarding the instructional program and determine if students are truly grasping the information taught to them. School boards feel testing helps to measure their teaching methods and assist them in making necessary improvements or adjustments to the curriculum.

Many of the tests administered to students are created or developed by commercial companies who do not always select or choose the most accurate questions to help the schools to correctely assess the knowledge obtained by each student. I have been an educator for over a decade...what I have found was that depending on the personality and makeup of the student, there will be some who will perform poorly on such tests. This is not due to the fact that they may not have grasped the information, rather it is their view of test in general.

Not everyone is a good "test-taker". Often the opposite is true. I have seen my best students literally freeze when handed a piece of paper for the purpose of testing them on what they may or may not know. The mere thought of a test causes physiological actions that prevent them from recalling information they know. Tests give the connotation of formality. In an informal, no-pressure situation I have found that the majority of my students excel.

Tests are not perfect measures of what individual students can or cannot do or of everything students learn. Therefore they should not be used as the main method of determining whether or not students have a clear understanding of the material learned. Too much emphasis is placed on one test. Most teachers will pass or fail a student based on test scores. The impact this may cause a student, who not a good test-taker, can be damaging to their personal growth. The amount of importance placed on test scores may create an uncomfortable evironment for a lot of students causing them to crumble under the pressure.

There are more effective ways to gauge how well a student is progressing in school. The student's body of work and effort devoted to their education should be a teacher's guide in deciphering which students needs additional help and which do not. Required reading with "own-words" summaries is extremely useful in ensuring the information has been understood. Classroom discussions that get the real thoughts of the student is very effective. Teachers and school boards should consider other methods in the classroom. I think that testing is the method of choice simply because educators are afraid to use creativity and forward-thinking. They stick to the same ol' same ol' which may have been okay in the beginning of the 20th century, but it does not work in today's world. The world is evolving and so should our schools.

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