Hey guys, I’m here with one of the most requested topics for Technicality ever, let’s
get technical.
I am a student.
That’s pretty obvious, but, more specifically, I am in high school student, and, seeing that
it’s now September, us high-schoolers, and really students all over are in full-on back
to school mode, and, you know what that means: standardized tests.
The tests that I personally have to start working on are the PSATs, the SATs, the ACTs,
Subjects tests, and AP exams.
Man, just saying all of those is overwhelming.
While I have to get ready for those tests, other students around the US are getting ready
for theirs.
Public school students have to take 112 standardized tests from pre-kindergarten to the time the
graduate high school, which nearly 8 a year, and it’s that many tests that can makes
students go...
WHYY???
So here’s what we’re gonna do today: we’re gonna take a deep dive into standardized testing,
ultimately concluding that standardized testing, or the system of evaluating students we have
in the status quo, is an inaccurate and harmful system.
To do this, though, we to look at both sides of the issue to truly grasp both arguments.
I think a logical place to start, though, it to answer that students question.
Why?
Why do we have all these tests?
Where did they come from?
Early standardized tests were based off Army IQ tests known as Alpha and Beta tests.
The test was sorta a placement test for the army; your score would tell you where would
you fit best.
In January 2002, George W. Bush along with bi-partisan congress support passed the No
Child Left Behind act.
The goal of NCLB is to increase America’s overall ranking when it comes to education,
or, more specifically, things math, reading, and science.
To put it lightly, compared to other countries, America wasn’t ranked at the top.
Or anywhere near the top.
Since the NCLB, standardized testing is now more frequent than ever.
When Obama ran, he was fiercely opposed to all the standardized tests, but, while president,
in February 2009, “Race to the Top,” became law, which, among other things, incentivized
schools that did better in standardized testing with a financial reward.
Ok, so now that we’re caught up, let’s dig into benefits of standardized testing.
One!
Curriculum.
Because teacher pay is dependent on student test scores, it makes sure that teachers actually
teach what they’re supposed to teach.
All students get the same information, which means it’s also easy for students to transition
between schools if necessary without a new student being ahead or behind.
It also confirms that students are being taught grade-appropriate material, and not material
that is too easy or too hard.
Two!
Progress.
Standardized tests gives students, teachers, and parents a good read as to where the students
are in their classes.
Students learn what they need to focus and improve on, teachers know what they’re class,
as a whole, needs to review, and parents get a sense of how their kids are doing compared
to other kids in the country or in the school district, as well as how they progress over
the years.
Three!
Objectivity.
When you get a letter grade, it’s likely some amount of subjectivity is involved.
Whether that be being graded on a curve (which means being graded relative to how well other
people in your class did), or just the teacher incorporating their opinion of you or, if
it’s a writing thing, being hit because the teacher disagrees with the arguments you
put forth.
For example, if a teacher REALLY likes standardized tests, there’s the possibility that their
perception of me won’t be to great after watching this video.
Oh no.
Standardized tests take the objectivity out of tests not only because questions are thoroughly
made and reviewed by experts, but also because the robots who grade your scores have no opinionated
element.
Fouth!
Skills.
Standardized tests help kids develop skills like working under pressure, time management,
studying, and more, skills that are helpful in real life.
And finally, fifth!
Government help.
Because standardized test scores public record, they allow the government and lawmakers to
easily access what actions need to be taken when it comes to schools and learning.
They can see what subjects America, as a whole, is excelling at, and what needs more focus
and funding.
Now that we’ve covered the most popular arguments for standardized testing, let’s
take a look at all of the negative effects of standardized testing, but first, let’s
quickly rebut the affirmative arguments.
A matter of fact, let’s put all the affirmative arguments in a box over here, and each time
I refute them, we can just cross them out like this.
*buzzer sound effect* Nah, that’s too dark.
How about *duck quack sound effect* Ahh that better.
First, on the curriculum, standardized tests don’t enforce a curriculum, they restrict
it.
More on that later.
Second, on standardized test giving you a sense progress, not only can you get a sense
of how you’re doing in a class without standardized tests (like maybe, look at your grade), but
this point is null because anyone who gets their results from a standardized test knows
that they really only give you an overall percentage.
The only way you could truly get a sense of progress would be if they showed you exactly
which questions you got right and wrong.
Third, on objectivity, here’s a quote from Fairtest.org, the national center for fair
and open testing, “The only objective part of most standardized tests is scoring, when
done by an accurately programmed machine.
Deciding what items to include on the test, how questions are worded, which answers are
scored as "correct,” how the test is administered, and the uses of exam results are all made
by subjective human beings.”
Fourth, on skills, don’t tell me the only way to learn stuff like time-management is
to take a standardized test, no, that’s crazy, you can learn those in other ways.
And finally, fifth, it’s actually pretty scary that we use standardized tests to make
important decision, because as I’m about to show, they may not be a great measure of
the landscape.
That being said, let’s jump into the cons.
One!
National Rankings.
Standardized tests have failed to do what the NCLB set out to achieve.
From 2002 to 2009, on a test that’s administered worldwide known as the Programme for International
Student Assessment, the United States dropped over 10 ranks in math and science with no
change in reading.
Oops!
Two!
Inaccurate measurement.
Standardized tests are a terrible measure of student knowledge, performance, and ability.
While they do test stuff like memory, they miss on a lot of skills that are crucial to
examining students.
Gerald Bracey, an American education policy researcher, once said that standardized tests
don’t show a student’s, get ready for this, quote "creativity, critical thinking,
resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy,
self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness,
sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, [and] integrity."
S-- so a lot things.
Why is this?
Well, the answer is that it’s hard to measure how good or how smart or even just how a student
is in standard way.
William Hiss, who’s done research on this topic, has said quote, “The human mind is
simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement
tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply
a trip up a blind alley.”
So, what do these tests measure?
Three!
Wealth.
Above all else, standardized tests test how much money your parents make.
Time after time, graph after graph, there’s no refuting this.
A matter of fact, one study shows that quote “the combination of 4 such variables (number
of parents living at home, parents’ educational background, type of community, and poverty
rate) accounted for a whopping 89% of differences in state scores.”
Why?
Well, to answer that, let’s look to this BBC article.
The thesis of it is that the 1%, instead of focusing on buying stuff that makes them seem
rich, you know, stuff like fancy cars, expensive clothing, et cetera, is now focused on spending
money on things that don’t make you seem rich, but will progress you and your family’s
social status.
The rich spend more money on stuff like health, retirement, and, what we’re interesting
in, education.
A quote from the article: “Education accounts for almost 6% of top 1% household expenditures,
compared with just over 1% of middle-income spending.”
The upper-class is spending money on stuff like tutors, tests preps, nice schools with
tons of resources, enriching after-school programs, and more, and they’re getting
a very clear and very valuable return.
Other groups have also seen standardized tests work unfairly against them, so if that’s
something you’re interested in, check out this PBS Idea Channel episode which is basically
a deep dive into this point.
Click the i.
Also, rest in peace PBS Idea Channel *praying hands*, you will be missed and we support
you in your next endeavours.
Four!
Stress.
Standardize testing is incredibly stressful.
And if you don’t believe me, ask literally any test-taking student, and I’m sure they’ll
tell you that taking a standardized test that is important and intimidating, and, not to
mention, timed, isn’t exactly the most relaxing thing ever.
Standardized test?
More like standardized pest!
Up top!
This effect is known as, fittingly, test anxiety, and it comes likely from all the pressure
we, as a society, put on kids and kids put on themselves due to the inflated importance
of the test, and impacts of it can go beyond feeling bad and poor exam performance.
This Business Insider article furthers, quote, “Children can suffer from negative thoughts
such as: “If I don’t pass this test, I will never get a good job”.
They can also suffer physiological symptoms such as tight muscles or trembling and distracting
behaviors such as playing with a pencil.”
And finally, five!
Teaching to the test.
Teaching to the test, or as I like to call it, TTTT, is formatting your curriculum around
the standardized test just so a student can get a high mark on that test.
Here’s a quote from this paper on the topic.
quote “A 2007 national study by the Center on Education Policy found that since 2001,
44 percent of school districts had reduced the time spent on science, social studies,
and the arts by an average of 145 minutes per week in order to focus on reading and
math.
A 2007 survey of 1,250 civics, social studies, and government teachers reported that 75 percent
of respondents cited standardized tests as the reason current events were taught less
frequently.
A five-year study completed by the University of Maryland in 2007 found “the pressure
teachers were feeling to ‘teach to the test’” since NCLB was passed has led to “declines
in teaching higher-order thinking, in the amount of time spent on complex assignments,
and in the actual amount of high cognitive content in the curriculum.””
Whuuoah.
Why is this bad?
To answer that, I’m gonna do a super cool collab with one of my favourite YouTubers.
Obama!
Take it away Obama.
>> OBAMA: When I look back on great teachers that shaped my life,
What I remember isn't how they prepared me to take a standardized test.
What I remember is the way they taught me to believe in myself, to be curious about the world, to take charge of my learning so I can reach my full potential,
to inspire me, to open up a window into parts of the world I never thought of before.
That's what good teaching is, that's what a good education is.
>> ALEX: Thanks, Obama.
If you wanna see more of him, check, uh, check out his YouTube... channel... wait.
So, in summary, standardized testing is awful because not only because it failed what it
set out to achieve, not only is it an inaccurate measure of student ability, not only is it
more of test of what your zip code is that an actual intelligence test, not only is it
so stressful it created a whole separate category of anxiety, and not only does it negatively
disrupt the curriculum, but we also have to much riding on them like teacher pay and school
admission and more.
Look, I’m not trying to argue that all tests are evil or standardized tests are ruining
education and the generation of kids who have to take them.
A matter of fact, I think that some testing is a great thing.
But if you look at the evidence against standardized testing, it’s hard to deny that a change
needs to be made.
Thanks for watching, DFTBA, and explore on.
But wait, before you head out, if you do want to explore on, I highly recommend Ken Robinson
book Creative Schools.
Ken Robinson is, of course, a wildly famous voice in education, and this book is about
how to stay creative in time of standardized tests.
And you know the best way to read the book?
Audible!
Yep, this is an ad.
Audible is the audiobook company with hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, and
if you go to technicalitystudios.com/audible by clicking the i or the link in the description
and sign up for a free 1-month Audible membership trial, you get 2, that’s right, now just
1, but 2 free audiobooks today.
Period.
That’s it.
Worst case scenario here is you cancel after a month, get 2 free audiobooks for you to
listen to forever, and help out Technicality.
There’s literally no downside.
So if you wanna check out Creative Schools and another book, or just 2 books of your
choosing, technicalitystudios.com/audible.
Thanks!
This is also a collab between a bunch of EDUtubers looking at our education system.
To see some of the other videos we made, check out the playlist on screen right now or link
in the description.
Bye guys.
We out!