Standardized Testing
As a high school senior, I have taken more than my fair share of standardized tests. Many students have not so fond memories of testing days. They cause a lot of stress, so much so that many call for an end to the tests. However, these tests are widely used and have been helpful in the past. The first American standardized tests were introduced in the early 1900s. They began as a version of Binet’s IQ test, which was a test designed to measure a person’s innate intelligence. Since then, they have come a long way. Now, there are two main types of tests implemented: achievement and aptitude. Achievement tests such as the ACT measure what a student has learned and the material they have mastered. On the other hand, aptitude tests like the SAT measure how well a student will do in the future. While some believe the tests are not
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Rebecca Zwick is a professor in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She uses the SAT as an example of how standardized testing has changed for the better. “Each redesign has been intended to make the test more useful to students, teachers… As a result, today’s test items are less like the ‘puzzle-solving’ questions in the early SATs and more like problems students encounter regularly in schoolwork…” (Zwick) This change makes the SAT more fair, because instead of testing problem solving ability, it now tests what the students have learned and how they apply it. Although the tests have been redesigned, they may still not be useful to everyone. There is no guarantee that students have had the same academic opportunities others in their grade, whether due to socioeconomic, language, or other barriers. A student may have a learning disability which could impact their ability to take tests and, once again, make them feel out of