The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

Do standardized tests measure a student’s intelligence or ability to think critically? How does the ACT and SAT play a big role in placing students in categories without any real concept of that student’s capabilities? There are many reasons standardized tests are used; to get an idea of where a student is academically in the school year, to see how much a grade has improved academically year after year, as well as, what schools a student can attend throughout their schooling careers. Standardized tests have a variety of different uses, but unfortunately do not define any particular student’s intellect.

On standardized exams, all test takers answer the same questions under the same conditions. They have the same time limit, the same test setting, and they usually take the tests in multiple-choice format. Most of these tests: the ACT, SAT, and TCAP, reward quick answers to superficial questions. However these do not measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any way whatsoever. If anything these tests provide a test for a student to challenge their academic minds, rather than their common intelligence. Yet, the tests use encourages a specific curriculum, alternate methods of instruction, and harmful practices such as grade retention and tracking. Things like this cause a lot of trouble for these test takers.

Are standardized tests like the ACT and SAT objective?

One may believe each test would be entirely objective, but ironically it is not. The only objective part of most standardized tests is scoring. The reason the scoring is so objective is due to the grading format which is primarily done by an accurately programmed machine. However, deciding what items to include on the test like: how questions are worded, what answers would be considered “correct” in a matter of specifications, how the test is administered, and the uses of exam results are all made by human beings. This way of analyzing most standardized tests gives a sense of subjective

testing.
Are standardized test scores "reliable"? A standardized test is completely reliable if you would get exactly the same results the second time you administered it. All standardized tests have "measurement error." This means an individual's score may vary significantly from day to day due to testing conditions or the test-taker's mental or emotional state. Scores of young children and scores on sub-sections of tests are particularly unreliable. Although the grading is reliable through the districts grading scales, it still does not give “reliable” information on whether the student thinks critically and creatively.
Do test scores cause differences between other people who took the tests? In some way the test scores do differentiate students, yet, it does not specifically provide a synopsis of every student’s mind-set and intellect. The goal of most standardized tests is to sort out students and rank them according to their test scores. In order to do this, test makers must make small differences in grades appear larger than others would originally see. For example, questions that most students get right or wrong are removed because they do not help with ranking that student. This is solely because of measurement error. Measurement error is the idea in which two people with very different scores on one exam get similar scores on a retest, or vice versa. On tests like the ACT or SAT, two students' scores must differ by at least 3 points on the ACT, or 144 points on the SAT before the test’s sponsors are willing to say the students' measured abilities really differ.
Do students who take tests remove bias when taking their tests? Studies show that most test-makers review items for obvious biases, such as offensive words. This is due to the fact that any test taker can read the question entirely different then the person beside them. However, many forms of bias are not superficial. Test-makers occasionally use statistical bias-reduction techniques. This is a process in which most bias questions within standardized tests are removed or revised, yet, these cannot detect underlying bias in the test's form or content. As a result of this process, biased cultural assumptions built into the test as a whole often are not removed by test-makers.