ASSIGNMENT: Midterm Essay

Standardized Testing: Friend or Foe?

EDEC 260-001/002
Marco Sgro 260692101
McGill University

Wednesday, October 21th, 2015

The current education system in North America is based on

Essentialism, an educational theory which states that school curriculums
should be based on traditional (basic) skills and subjects. This theory asserts
that certain basic skills and subjects are of paramount importance for the
development of human culture. These skills and subjects, which include
reading, writing, arithmetic, history, mathematics, science and literature, are
what should be focused on in schools (Gutek, 2004, p.263). Essentialism has
withstood the test of time and has been present for many years. It has had a
considerable influence on the structure of our school system and was the
inspiration for the Standards Movement (Gutek, 2004, p.264). This
movement suggests that academic standards should be heightened and
student achievement should be measured in a uniform manner using
standardized tests (Gutek, 2004, p.264). Standardized testing should no
longer be required because it has many negative effects on students, as well
as on teachers. Standardized tests restrain the power that teachers have in
the classroom and do not evaluate students equally. Furthermore,
standardized tests are not a good method to evaluate educational quality.
Standardized testing restrains the powers that teachers have in
deciding what exactly to teach their students. Since students and teachers
are evaluated on their performance on standardized tests, teachers only
teach what is on exams. They want their students get the best grades
possible. The No Child Left Behind Act, implemented in 2001, mandates that
"in order for schools to qualify for federal aid, they must establish annual

assessments in reading and mathematics for every student in grades three

through eight"(Gutek, 2004, p.268). School districts must improve the grades
of all their student and those who do not make progress will be penalized.
This leads to the teaching of test material only and neglects many other
subjects that would give students a well-rounded education (Gutek, 2004,
p.268). Moreover, the beliefs of the ruling class are imposed on schools.
Dominant groups use the school curriculum to transmit their construction of
reality to further generations, so they can maintain the status quo and keep
control over society. Schools are not neutral institutions, as one might think.
They are used to give some groups power and take it away from others
(Gutek, 2004, p.317).
During class, we saw an excerpt from the television series The Wire
named "Re: American education sucks: Too much emphasis on testing". In
this video, administrators in a particular school are demanding that teachers
only teach the subjects that will be on the standardized tests their students
will be required to take. They want the students of this school to improve
compared to previous years so their institution is not taken over by the
government. By only concentrating on these subjects, many other important
ones that students are having difficulty with are being neglected. A quote
from the video that resonated strongly with me was "You dont teach math;
you teach the test". I find that this is a relatively accurate interpretation of
our actual education system, which troubles me deeply.

Standardized tests are not a good method to evaluate educational

quality, and do not evaluate students equally. These tests are created by big
companies who are only interested in making profits and are not necessarily
interested in administering a proper exam (Popham, 1999, p.8). Not all types
of knowledge are tested on standardized tests (Popham, 1999, p.8). Many of
them only evaluate superficial thinking, which does not promote higher-level
thinking (Kohn, 2002). Many important variables (social, economic, etc.) have
significant effects on student achievement and cannot be evaluated by these
exams (Gutek, 2004, p.268).
Our education system should be based on other theories besides
essentialism. As previously mentioned, standardized testing resulted from
the fact that schools are based on this theory. Establishing an education
system founded on other theories, thereby eliminating standardized testing,
might prove to be worthwhile. Critical Theory states that schools, as well as
the education system as a whole, are places where different groups fight for
power and where opposing ideologies contend for influence. Critical Theorists
are committed to empowering minority groups (Gutek, 2004, p.309).
Teaching from a critical theorist approach could help students learn about
other cultures and play a role in empowering them. One might go about
doing this by changing the curriculum so it includes the views of minority
groups, since it currently includes the sole views of the majority only. These
new views could then be incorporated into standardized tests so that those
who are part of minority groups would have an easier time completing them.

Pragmatism is a philosophy that claims that the only things that are real are
those that are experienced or observed. It champions the use of the scientific
method as a means to conceive intelligence (Gutek, 1996, 101). Based on
this definition, mayhap pragmatism could encourage students to work in
groups and do projects, which fosters cooperation. The aforementioned
scientific method could also be used to experiment with different concepts.
Students could then apply their know-how to real life situations. This type of
knowledge is exactly the thing that standardized tests do not evaluate, which
is why it is critical that this method of testing be discontinued.
Alfie Kohn is an American scholar who has studied education, parenting
and human behavior (Leddy, 2011, p.9). Kohn is one of the most outspoken
critics of standardized testing and has written much about this topic. He is
opposed to standardized testing because, according to him, standardized
tests only measure superficial thinking. Studies have shown that the
students that receive high test score on the CTBS and MAT exams were more
likely to use superficial approaches when learning (Kohn). Superficial learning
has been described as " cop[ying] down answers, guess[ing] a lot, and
skipp[ing] the hard parts"(Kohn, 2002), which does not promote higher-level
thinking. Moreover, the vast majority of experts and organizations tied to this
topic castigate the use of tests like these to base important decision on. The
National Research Council, the American Educational Research Association,
the American Psychological Association, as well as the American Federation
of Teachers (an organization that is usually pro-testing) are against this idea

(Kohn, 2002). Additionally, many teachers are leaving their field because of
what tougher standards and accountability, consequences of standardized
testing, are doing to their profession. Many prospective teachers are deciding
to change career paths because they feel that standardized tests will put too
much pressure on them (Kohn, 2002).
To conclude, standardized testing should no longer be required in
schools because it has many negative effects on the students who are
subjected to it and the teachers who must teach the curriculum it influences.
Standardized tests restrain the power that teachers have and do not
evaluate students in an equal manner, in addition to not being a good
method to evaluate educational quality. The Standards Movement began as a
way for school administrators to evaluate students and measure their
academic achievements. It started as a way to help students identify their
weaknesses and improve on them (Gutek, 2004, p.268). In my opinion, these
positive consequences are outweighed by the negatives ones that
standardized testing has.
During my school years, I have had many encounters with
standardized tests. I can say that not many of them have been positive. On
numerous occasions, I have had teachers that went through course material
too quickly so they would have enough time to cover everything that would
be on the upcoming MELS exams. Because of this, some students did not
have enough time to fully grasp the gist of the material, which led to them
having difficulty during the remainder of the class. This exact scenario has

happened to me in numerous physics and chemistry classes I have had in

the past, two subjects I have struggled with over the course of my studies.
This just goes to show that the problems that standardized testing create are
not just theoretical problems, but indeed have tangible effects on how
students learn.

Works Cited

Gutek, A. G. (1997). Philosophical and Ideological Voices in Education. Boston, Allyn

& Bacon. (Dewey
and Pragmatism, pp.93-101).
Gutek, A.G. (2004). Philosophical and Ideological Voices in Education. Boston:
Pearson Education.

(Essentialism, pp. 263-273; pp. 309-320).

Kohn. A. (2002). Standardized Testing and Its Victims. Retrieved from
http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/standardized-testing-victims/
[machipisazim]. (2008, October 28). Re: American Education Sucks: Too Much
Emphasis on Testing
[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6_r7YAImS0
Leddy, C. (2011). "Belmont essayist Kohn puts education system to the test". The
Boston
Globe. p. G-9. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
Popham, J.W. (1999). Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality.
Educational
Leadership, 56 (6), 8-15.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/WhyStandardized-Tests-Don't-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx