Standardized Testing

In the third unit of the course Argument 1954, we studied contradictions by looking at the relationship between: thesis, antithesis and synthesis. We also went to a cool FE to the Newberry Library where we learned about the struggles that black in Chicago went through to get basic civil rights.How they weren’t served at certain restaurants, couldn't buy a house in a white neighborhood, and had to have their own separate things. If they crossed the real or imaginary lines of racial segregation there would be consequences. For example, when a black boy accidentally swam across the non-existent dividing line while swimming at the beach , the whites got mad and started beating the boy up. That is when a riot in the city started, with the fighting and violence starting at the beach and moving into neighborhoods leading to many injuries and deaths. For our action project, we had to choose a topic that is going on in our world and that had a thesis (someone's point of view) and antithesis (a point of view of someone who opposes). I chose the topic of standardized testing because it’s something I disagree with strongly. As I worked on this project I had difficulty structuring everything so it makes sense and I also learned that standardized testing is a very controversy in our country right now.


Thesis:

Everything in life is based on a test, but why? Isn’t there more to a person and more to their knowledge than what is shown on a piece of paper? I argue that standardized testing should be abolished from American schools.

Support for my position:

There is a Selective Enrollment test that you have to take before graduating 8th grade to know what elite high school you can apply to and which of the remaining schools you have a better chance of attending. From a young age American students are tested every year which supposebly tracks their skill levels. By the time they’re in high school you have to take an ACT or SAT test junior year and based on that score, you have a good sense of which colleges will accept you. The topic of standardized testing matters to me a whole lot right now because I am a currently a junior in high school, this year I am taking the ACT. I am a bad test taker; I take several ACT classes to help me ready, but when I take a practice exam, I always get nervous, panic and end up forgetting everything I know. I don’t like how a piece of paper determines your knowledge and I think that colleges should give students an opportunity to show them who they are and the many things they have to offer beyond what a piece of paper says. Also, testing for hours stresses students out, which adds to the stress that we already have at school and exhausts our minds. For the first test, we are lively, but once we get half-way done, we are mentally exhausted from trying to get the correct answer so our scores won’t be low.

Quotes that support my thesis:

“A 2012 study by the Brookings Institution determined that states spend $1.7 billion per year on testing, an enormous increase over the $423 million states spent in 2001 before NCLB, according to the Pew Center on the States. All of this money has fueled a booming testing industry, with companies like Pearson racking up billions in sales.” -Quinn Mulholland from Harvard Political Review.

“Standardized tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful. According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include "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, integrity."
-Valerie Strauss, "The Myths of Standardized Testing,” Washington Post, Apr. 15, 2011.

“Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don't already know. Ask any teacher and she can tell you which students can read and write. That telling usually comes in the form of letter grades or evaluations that break down progress on skills.”
—Jori Bolton for Education Week.

Antithesis:

The opposing side is for standardized testing because many believe that giving these tests to students will show what they know, and that tests have a positive impact on the students. Standardized test show their basic skills, making sure they master them and that the student has met the academic requirements. My opponent on this issue believe that teachers and administrators might otherwise cheat and alter students’ grades. They also believe that teachers’ own class/homework grade are not an alternative to the standardized tests because they are unreliable and too subjective.

From the opposing quote:

“Standardized tests are not narrowing the curriculum, rather they are focusing it on important basic skills all students need to master. According to a study in the Oct. 28, 2005, issue of the peer-reviewed Education Policy Analysis Archives, teachers in four Minnesota school districts said standardized testing had a positive impact, improving the quality of the curriculum while raising student achievement.”
-Stuart S. Yeh, "Limiting the Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing" (204 KB), Education Policy Analysis Archives, Oct. 28, 2005. 

Synthesis:

Both side of the standardized testing debate can agree that students should know basic skills. Another point both sides can agree on is that there are valid studies that support our sides, so we each have data to prove our points about the negative and positive effects of testing.

A way to move beyond this argument is to imagine another way to asses students. One idea for alternative testing is having students create a project that includes a sample of basic skills, including English, Reading, Math and Science. A student can choose the topic they want to research and take materials that they will need to bring this project to life. Another solution is to have a small oral test along with paper testing. Adding the oral test, however, means the written test will have to be shorter. In order to share my synthesis I would get a group of supporters of this argument and talk with the test-makers, organizers, school council, or alderman to propose my idea. My goal would be to show them that if we approach testing in a different way, the students will benefit and school officials and government will still have an assessment of what they’re learning. It will be a win, situation for both sides. Thinking about this synthesis has transformed my point-of-view from instead of wanting to get rid of testing altogether, I realized there can be an alternative that won’t make students stressed out and satisfy education leaders.

Questions I have for the Opposition:

1. What happens to the students who can’t meet the standardized test requirements?
2. How does sitting in a chair for hours have a positive outcome, especially with elementary kids?
3. You say peer-review is very helpful, but how does peer-review help a student in an individual test?
4. Why does our world have to be based on tests?

Questions the opposition might have for me:

1. People say that the government doesn't spend as much money on education as it should, so what can you say about buying and making these new tests for students? 
2. Why do we need empathy, courage and compassion, when this world is based on academics and how smart you are? Clearly, tests are important.
3. Can grades that aren’t from standardized test even be trusted? Can we trust that the student got that grade without extra credit?

Bolton, Jori. “Here's Why We Don't Need Standardized Tests.” Education Week. July 8, 2014. Web. March 16, 2016. “Is the Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?” ProCon.org. Web. March 16, 2016.