Standardized Testing: Good or Bad?

Welcome to Limits and Lattes!

My name is Courtney. I am working towards my Master's in Teaching at Stevenson University. My Bachelor's degree is in Applied Mathematics, so I hope to teach math at the high school level. I am starting this blog for one of my graduate courses, but I have always wanted to write a blog about something I'm passionate about.

This week in class we discussed standardized testing. We explored both the benefits and drawbacks of standardized testing in schools. Going into the discussion this week, I was very against standardized testing. I felt like an unnecessary emphasis was placed on standardized tests since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2002. The No Child Left Behind Act requires all 50 states to administer annual testing. Some schools put a lot of pressure on teachers to prepare students for standardized tests during class time. In my experience, teachers tend to put a lot of stress on their students to perform well on standardized tests. Many teachers tend to “teach to the test” if they feel like student performance will affect their jobs. When teachers "teach to the test," instruction time is consumed by test preparation.

I went to Maryland public schools for my K-12 career. I took countless standardized tests over the years, including Maryland State Assessments (MSAs), High School Assessments (HSAs), and Benchmark Assessments. I started taking MSAs around 2nd or 3rd grade. Almost every high school math and English class I took had a Benchmark assessment. As a student, I had a lot of standardized test anxiety. The test questions seemed so different that the questions we answered in class. The standardized math tests were always multiple choice, but our in-class math tests were comprised of mostly performance-based tasks.

When I was a student, I didn’t feel like any of these assessments helped demonstrate my learning. I felt like I could only express myself in the free-response questions. On Benchmark assessments for English, we were often expected to write an essay. I liked writing essays because I felt like it helped prepare me for the writing portion of the SAT (yet another standardized test). We would spend a couple classes writing practice essays before the Benchmark. While I appreciated the opportunity to prepare for the test, it often put us behind schedule.

My personal experiences with standardized testing might make me a little biased. I understand that students need to take standardized tests so that the Department of Education can make sure that students are meeting standards. Standardized tests also ensure that students of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in lower-funded schools are still learning what they should be. Standardized tests can also help identify possible learning disabilities in students.

I believe that standardized tests can be useful, but they need to be conducted better. Standardized-test-type questions should be integrated into the curriculum throughout the school year. "Teaching to the test" and cramming practice problems days before the test stresses out students and makes standardized test results less useful. As a teacher, I will do my best to effectively prepare students for standardized exams without letting my personal opinions get in the way.