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Critics of standardized testing argue that they do not accurately measure creativity, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking. They also believe that tests can be biased against certain populations and may encourage teachers to focus on teaching test-taking strategies instead of providing a well-rounded education. Some critics are concerned about the emotional and physical distress that high-risk testing can cause in children. They suggest that multiple assessment methods should be used to evaluate student learning.
With the increasing use of standardized tests to evaluate students and schools, some critics have started talking about the flaws they see in the hopes that they will stimulate a discussion that could lead to reform. These tests can be a valuable educational tool, providing a baseline metric to see how children perform in relation to their peers, but some people have raised concerns about how much they are relied on for feedback on student performance. Most critics care a lot about children and the education they receive, but feel that tests alone cannot accurately communicate whether a child is learning and progressing. These critics have taken their grievances to a wide variety of forums and include parents, teachers and education professionals concerned about children’s well-being.
One of the most frequent criticisms of standardized tests is that they do not measure creativity and problem solving skills. Because they’re typically presented in a multiple-choice format, a teacher can’t, for example, see where a child went wrong when they failed to solve a math problem correctly, because no work is shown. Additionally, critics believe that the questions are often too simplistic for children to fully demonstrate reading comprehension, critical thinking, and problem solving. Especially in the case of reading selections, there may not be a single “right” answer to a question, and learning why children choose the answers they do could help educators provide better support.
Critics who find the tests too simplistic believe that knowing information by heart doesn’t always mean the information has been digested. For example, a student may be able to answer a question asked when Columbus came to the Americas, but may not understand the cultural and historical implications of the Age of Exploration and the profound impact Columbus had on global history. Test takers are not given the space to process and explore issues because it would make them excessively expensive to administer and evaluate.
Many critics are also concerned about test-taking bias. Some cultural and linguistic biases may be impossible to eradicate completely from standardized tests, critics believe, meaning some populations such as girls and minorities may be disadvantaged. While test writing companies do their best to weed out obvious bias and offensive language, it’s a tough thing to fix entirely.
Educators are concerned about these tests because many of them feel they encourage teachers to teach students test-taking strategies and to “teach the test,” which could negatively impact the quality of education these teachers can offer. Critics are concerned that students may be forced to study a narrow range of subjects, rather than explore a wide variety of issues, and that they won’t learn valuable life skills due to the stress on standardized test performance. Many teachers believe that standardized testing limits the curricula they can teach, because they want their students to succeed in important and sometimes life-changing tests.
This is also a concern for some critics, who believe that high-risk testing practice is potentially harmful to children. Some children show extreme emotional and physical distress when faced with standardized tests, and educators have recorded children crying, vomiting or acting aggressively due to the pressure created by high-risk tests. Some educational evaluators are also concerned that such tests could lead to cheating, because students are eager to perform well and teachers want to see their students score well.
Critics of standardized testing believe that children should be assessed in multiple ways, rather than using only one system to assess student needs and learning. Teachers play an important role, because they interact with children in the classroom on a daily basis and can talk about the potential problems they see, as well as provide educational enrichment and support. External observers can also participate in assessments by holding interviews with teachers and students, participating in active classes, and considering other assessment methods to complement testing.
