This is a flawed answer to a flawed question.
For one, as we have learned in every ed class that we have taken so far, teaching critical thinking skills is a central part of receiving a good education. Standardized tests are, essentially, designed to eliminate any possibility for the existence of critical thinking. It is difficult to consider multiple perspectives and the construction of knowledge when there is only one right answer which can be indicated by coloring in one of five bubbles. In fact, creating standardized tests and promoting standards that demand an unequivocal answer and strongly suggest what should and should not be covered as part of course content, can quite possibly reinforce social inequalities in our society, as a whole. We reward students and schools that recapitulate the status quo and punish ones that challenge it. That is not a good teaching or learning strategy.
If there is any question whether standardized tests are truly capable of measuring learning in an effective way or if teaching to "standards" make teaching better, ask a teacher. They are, after all, experts on this subject, something that the standardized testing and standards debate seem to frequently ignore. How many teachers have you encountered that say "Standardized testing is great! It truly measures the capability of my students in an unbiased way. It is a critical part of a constructive learning process." Instead of letting politicians or for-profit testing companies determine what is best for our students and what is important to learn, why don't we let educators decide?
I encounter teachers all the time who say "standardized testing is great!" Ok, I'm kidding... I've never met anyone who has said that. I agree with your thoughts on testing and I wish it were up to the teachers and the school to decide what is important for students to learn and how to assess them. If school districts didn't have to buy testing materials and if our tax dollars didn't have to fund these state required standardized tests, think of all the money that could be allocated to more important educational programs.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we will ever come across a teacher that enjoys or acknowledges that standardized test do or measure anything. I think you hit it right on the head when you stated, "It is difficult to consider multiple perspectives and the construction of knowledge when there is only one right answer which can be indicated by coloring in one of five bubbles." As educators it appears that we are in theory to teach multiple perspectives and create critical thinkers, but are only rewarded as a school for the bare minimum.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, part of the reason that people don't want to leave the testing up to the educators is a general lack of trust towards the people in charge of the educational system. Taxpayers, cynical lot that they are, focus less on our role as teachers and more on the role of standardized testing in the first place - to make sure that the educators are doing their job. If the educators aren't, it's only natural (tongue firmly planted in cheek here) that they'd try to cover it up by inventing a way to portray failure as success. That's why you see a lot of people rolling their eyes when you try to tell them about such arcane imaginary concepts as "critical thinking" or "fine arts." They don't understand it, and they find it much easier and more helpful to see success measured in numbers with a definite cutoff for pass/fail. Until we can address that lack of understanding (an uphill battle all the way, given that a lot of people simply stop listening when you tell them they're wrong), the issue won't go away.
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