by Ernest Capraro

Created on: June 17, 2009

When inclusion and accommodation are the rallying cries of modern day education, it is hard to imagine what place standardized testing has in the classroom. It is entirely at odds with the proven notions that all children are different, have unique skill sets unique learning styles, and yes - unique testing styles as well. As teachers strive to help every student flourish, one has to wonder what impact standardized testing must have on them.

It is readily apparent that the first impact standardized testing has upon teachers is frustration. State-mandated testing takes up an immense amount of time both in preparation and actual test-taking. It interrupts normal classroom procedures, and significantly diminishes the time a teacher can spend teaching the material they long to share with their students - the same material that could be spurring a love of learning in those same students. Instead, teachers sacrifice their time and talents, monitoring stacks of bubble-in-your-answer tests while students struggle wearily through tests they could care no less about. Teachers become teachers because they have a passion for their subject and for learning. They never become teachers for a love of standardized testing, and every moment that it burdens them is a frustration, building stress.

Standardized testing is designed to focus on "core" material. Generally speaking, this amounts to the bare-bones basics required to have a grasp of the subject. A remote panel of experts decides what material is most important. There is little to no consideration given to areas that are of interest to students, because that is not considered relevant. By taking away the interest, standardized testing helps to doom students to boredom as teachers are forced to present the mandated basics instead of developing concepts to their fullest, fascinating real-world extents. Without the rigid structure set by the demands of standardized testing, a teacher could explore with her students how their interests intertwine with the topic at hand. The geometry teacher might well have a class that was obsessed by world cup soccer (football outside the U.S.) for instance. She might then explore three-dimensional objects constructed from polygons (like a soccer ball) - a well-developed branch of geometry, though more advanced than likely to be found on a standardized test. When the interest is there, students are capable of much more than mere basics - and they have the impetus

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