Why Is Standardized Testing Wrong

Standardized Tests: Right or Wrong? Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, once said that, “sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent students do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” These tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s(Is the Use), but now, many people are starting to realize that standardized tests are not as convenient as they thought they were. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act required all schools in the United States to test students in grades two through twelve annually in reading, math, and science(Is the Use). But since then, the U.S. has dropped from 18th in the world in mathematics to 36th, with a similar change in science as well. On the other hand,

Obviously, this is not true. Instead, a group of educational organizations and civil rights groups are saying that standardized tests are an advantage to white and Asian students. For example, “in Virginia only 45% of black students in each school must pass standardized math tests while 68% of whites, and 82% of Asians must do the same,”(Rooks). Also, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing says that students of color are more likely to be held back because of low test scores and score lower on college admission tests such as the SAT and ACT(Racial Justice). In addition, research has shown that minorities have lower test scores than whites because of hidden biases in the development of standardized tests(Reese). Standardized tests also favor those with socio-economic advantages. If one child lives in an environment with bad teachers and poor classroom basics, and another child lives in an environment with great teachers and many opportunities, how are they both supposed to succeed on a standardized test? It is almost impossible. And, in another way standardized tests are discriminatory, a study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says that the gap for achievement test scores between rich and poor have grown by almost 60 percent since the 1960s(Rocks). As it has been seen, standardized tests are not fair to many different

SAT scores have been shown to be effective in predicting a student’s future performance in higher education, the military, and in the work force(Kemmerling). But, hundreds of colleges have already stopped requiring the SAT for college admission to inherit racial and economic inequality(Rocks). On another note, it is said that many parents approve of standardized testing. In reality, only 14 percent of parents said that testing is very important in measuring school effectiveness(Walker). Although standardized tests may seem like a safe and trustworthy option, they really