Nearly every student both in Cedar Park as well as across the country can relate to the nag of the upcoming testing season at the end of every school year. Standardized testing, typically in the form of state testing, college admission tests, and AP testing, “is designed to measure the extent to which a student has learned and their ability to apply that knowledge and skill” (Texas Educational Agency). My initial research on this topic brought me to the quote “[standardized testing has] created a definition of success and achievement using very limited metrics” (Camhi). As a student myself this raised many questions but most importantly the question that will be guiding this essay; how can standardized testing be improved and what alternatives …show more content…
More and more of society has begun to question and reconsider these tests, especially after the 2020 pandemic caused a massive number of schools to shut down and allowed very few students to take any of the tests in the 2019-2020 school year, which also caused lasting effects into the 2020-2021 school year. Further, several parents have complained that “[students] spend too much time on state testing and the stakes are too high” (“The Truth About Standardized Testing In Texas – Texas Business Leadership Council”). The State of Texas has taken the feedback into account and has begun to edit their state testing, STAAR, process. At the University of Massachusetts Lowell, professor Lauren Turner emphasized “education is the great equalizer, but the SAT is a barrier to access. It became this fiery hoop you had to jump through … some kids test well and some kids don’t test well, but the SAT is not an accurate indicator of intelligence or a student’s likelihood of success in college” (Wesnofske and Webster). Thus far, a few proposed alternatives have sparked interest such as portfolio observation, social skill surveys, game-based tests assessment to test problem-solving, and assessing over multiple measures, with more substitutes to come (University of the