The Power and Pitfalls of Standardized Testing

Filled in Standardized Test
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Standardized testing has become a bigger issue in education than ever before, and it can be a very polarizing topic for teachers and administration. The actual definition of standardized testing is when all students taking a test have to answer the same set of selected questions, allowing for people to make comparisons among groups using the results. Although standardized tests have been apart of the American education system for a long time, the current idea of testing every year for all grade levels is a newer progression. The history of standardized testing in the United States has roots dating back to the 1800s, when teachers began searching for ways to formally test students. Throughout the 1900s there were computer and societal advancements that further promoted standardized testing and increased the ways it could be used. Then, in 2001, the No Child Left Behind education reform expanded the use of standardized testing even further, making it the foundation for school assessment and funding. 

I believe that standardized testing can be a very useful tool in classroom, but it is needed in moderation. In modern day classrooms, I believe that standardized testing has become the solution for all problems at the state and federal levels. While it can be a powerful tool, giving tangible and easy to understand evidence of where a student and school ranks, I think this overemphasis of testing has made the classroom a less personal and meaningful place. This is not a new idea, and several figures in history predicted that this may be a problem as standardized tests grew in popularity. One such figure was John Dewey, who observed that "“Our mechanical, industrialized civilization is concerned with averages, with percents. The mental habit which reflects this social scene subordinates education and social arrangements based on averaged gross inferiorities and superiorities.” I see this trend and overemphasis on numbers and percents even more in our education system and world today. Because of my thoughts on how standardized testing is being used in education, I think schools and the government should be thoughtful and intentional about when and how testing is used.