Are your for or against standardized testing? This one question divides parents, teachers, and even governments from one era to the next.
Pros
The arguments for standardized testing haven’t changed much over the years. Proponents say that they:
- help parents and teachers assess a child’s current strengths and weakness compared to their peers (locally and nationally)
- they help guide what is taught across a nation at a certain age
- they allow for tracking a student’s improvement over time
- they allow higher-level data processing of how certain groups of students are performing and what areas of weakness need to be addressed.
Cons
On the other end of the spectrum, detractors claim that standardized tests:
- take creativity out of the classroom because teachers are forced to “teach to the test”
- they create additional performance measures for schools in lower income areas to fail at due to factors outside of the school’s control (“testing bias”)
- they are often used to judge an individual teacher or school unfairly
- puts extra emotional stress on students at a young age with an oppressive testing environment
This girl – a fourth grader from Florida – knows exactly how she feels about standardized testing. She shares her thoughts with the local school board… You don’t want to miss it!
What has your experience of standardized testing been so far?
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Sarah Forrest is a Literacy Specialist for the Easyread System, and online program for children with reading difficulties, dyslexia, and more. Get a free trial at www.easyreadsystem.com
