For centuries, standardized tests have been used in education systems to
determine the examinee’s capability. Standardized tests are tests that are designed in a way so that every element of the test, such as the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations, is consistent. Tests such as multiple-choice ones or time-limited ones fall in this category. Most schools and institutions use this type of test to determine pupils’ capability and performance. Standardized tests have long been a controversial topic which almost everyone has an opinion about. The title of this essay, for instance, was a statement by Amanda Parsons, a sophomore from Boulder, Colorado during a protest against standardized tests. Many consider that standardized testing is
an objective way to grade pupils, as all the examinees are given the exact same
treatment, thus abolishing any kind of bias or advantages one pupil may have
over others. However, standardized testing is an unreliable way to measure
pupils’ knowledge and performance and it should be revoked.
During high school, all students in
my year were required to take a standardized biology essay. I had studied hard
and was confident that I’m going to pass the test. However, on the morning of
the test, I had an argument with my parents, disabling me to focus on the test.
As a result, I failed the test. My experience shows that standardized tests
overlook the anxiety or other emotions the students may have on the testing
day. As they evaluate a student’s individual performance on one particular day,
they do not take external factors and the student’s process and growth into
account. There are students who cannot perform well under pressure. Many of
these students understand the content and are actually smart, but due to their incapability
to perform under stress, it does not show on their test scores. These tests
also do not evaluate the growth of the students over the year. A student could
have worked hard and improved tremendously over the year, but still failed the
test given.
Another reason why standardized
testing should be revoked is because it creates a grade conscious mindset on
both the teacher and student, leading the teacher to “teach to the tests” and
the student to “study to the tests”. This means that the teacher only teaches
the materials that will be tested and the student studies only to get good
grades instead of studying to gain knowledge. This practice can harm a student’s
overall learning potential. This mindset can also lead to unhealthy competition.
For example, during my high school years, there are a group of students that
stole the question sheet for the next day’s examination and gave out the
answers to their friends. Since students strive to get a good score, uncaring
of the methods used, they resort to cheating. Schools and teachers are also
affected by this phenomenon, as evidenced by numerous cases during the National
Exam in Indonesia. Teachers giving out answers to the students via text
messages, principals stealing the exam papers, and plenty of other cases show
how this mindset is harming the education system. Also, there are cases when
students receive low scores, they feel demotivated and discouraged to try
harder, as standardized testing compares one student’s performance to others
and rank them.
Standardized tests can place a huge
amount of stress on students and teachers alike. This may affect the health of
the students and teachers. Test Anxiety is a psychological condition wherein
individuals experience extreme distress that can cause mind block in learning
and hurt test performance. This condition is very commonly found amongst
students who take standardized tests. There are also several cases wherein
examinees threw up or passed out before, during, or after the exam due to
stress. More dangerously, this stress can produce feelings of negativity
towards learning and education.
On the other hand, standardized
testing has its own advantages. For one, standardized testing is convenient, as
it allows students to be compared locally, regionally, or even nationally. It
also is objective in nature and allows the grading of the answers to be done
easier. Standardized testing can also measure specific knowledge and thinking
skills. However, this convenience is incomparable to the disadvantages of
standardized testing. Many students and parents alike have voiced their
opinions against standardized tests. Many great and successful figures have
spoken against standardized testing. For instance, Michelle Obama, the First
Lady of the United States, said, “If
my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I
wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.”
In
conclusion, although standardized testing is used in most schools and
institutions nowadays, it is an inaccurate way to determine students’ capabilities.
The education system needs a new system to determine students’ capabilities,
one that takes the growth and development of the students into account. Students
are different individuals with different interests and characters which should
be put in mind during their examinations. As Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to
climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
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