Should Nathan Kuncels Do Standardized Tests Matter?

Those Tests

In Nathan Kuncels’ speech “Do Standardized Tests Matter?” the question is raised why is a person successful. Is it because of their biology, opportunities, or just luck? The second question he asks is how can we measure potential success? He argues that standardized tests are a reliable source. Not only are standardized tests not a good measure of potential success, they don’t prepare students for life outside of school, may suppress creativity, and they don’t get most students excited about learning.

First off, there’s just more to life than standardized tests suggest. Some may argue that standardized testing prepares students for leadership roles in the real world, but I would like to ask how? In life rarely do we come across

a situation where there are four definite options and only one is the best. Life isn’t this black and white and choices are seldom presented in such a straightforward manner. In the world of occupations and careers, rote memory work isn’t all that matters. What matters is what a student has truly learned. In Niki Adeli’s talk “What Standardized Tests Don’t Measure” she tells a story of how a teacher told her that to learn about the frog she must memorize all the vocab words. There is a difference between memorization and learning. When we learn, we are able to apply our knowledge in a beneficial way. Standardized tests place the emphasis on the memorization of concepts and details not on the application of these things.
These tests don’t assess skills like empathy, work ethic, critical reasoning, the ability to work with others, communication, and self-discipline to list a few. These abilities and other area’s of intelligence are equally important because humans need more than rote memory skills to be successful in a career or at a university. For instance, you can score a 30 on your MCAT, but if you can’t show empathy to patients, or communicate effectively with your co-workers, you probably won’t be that successful of a doctor.
Secondly, these tests may suppress creativity and when I say creativity I mean, “The state or quality of being creative.

The ability to transcend traditional ideas and to create meaningful new ideas” (blog.grodge.org). While some argue that being able to identify the “best answer” is another measure of creativity, it actually limits creativity. Standardized tests leave no room for creative, out of the ordinary solutions because they are looking for a certain answer. If a student has a better solution than the options given for the question asked, and they write it down on the side of the test bank, their answer will be marked wrong. The student, upon receiving their score, may begin to think that creative answers are not acceptable and become discouraged because the test scores were lower than expected. A former teacher, Ron Maggiano, who won the Disney Teacher Award quit his job for this very reason he is quoted as saying, “I can no longer cooperate with a testing regime that I believe is suffocating creativity and innovation in the classroom. We are not really educating our students anymore. We are merely teaching them to pass a test. This is wrong. Period” (washingtonpost.com). To prepare students for these tests school curriculums have become centered around teaching kids how to do well on the test. Projects and other class activities are cut because more time must be spent on test prep. So not only are the tests not testing creativity, but teachers aren’t teaching in

creative ways.
Thirdly, standardized tests don’t seem to instill within students a desire to learn. Standardized tests aren’t getting kids excited about learning or helping them discover what they are passionate about. Standardized tests require students to learn the same things that students all over the world are learning. Are all students interested in the same thing? No… so why do we test them based on the premise that they are? Perhaps if we were to give students a freer reign within their own education, allowing them to pursue what they are passionate about, they might learn more and be able to apply that knowledge in a more practical way. Students should be free to follow their curiosity and get excited about their discoveries. Teachers should enhance this process. Sadly, some curriculums are centered on standardized tests. And what student is excited about that?
Success isn’t whether or not a student can answer test questions correctly. It should be based on how well they can apply what they learn. So I encourage you all to think about this for when we are in positions to change the system. Change is never easy, but it’s worth it.

References
http://blog.grdodge.org/2013/01/02/celebrate-the-new-year-with-creativity/
http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-standardized-exams-a-good-way-to-prepare-students
Do standardized tests matter? | Nathan Kuncel | TEDxUMN hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv_Cr1a6rj4
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/standardized-testing-costs_n_2213932.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/22/11-problems-created-by-the-standardized-testing-obsession/
What standardized tests don't measure | Nikki Adeli | TEDxPhiladelphia hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woVtj8GH678