Who Cares About Standardized Tests Anyway?

African American children and adults are often kept out of educational programs, schools, universities, and jobs because of low standardized test scores. Standardized test scores are used as indicators of academic quality, achievement, and knowledge. For example, one purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act is to improve the academic achievement of all students. To comply with the law, school districts use standardized tests to assess and provide evidence of academic achievement (Yell, 2006).

Standardized tests are sometimes used to determine bonus pay and cash awards for teachers and students. The Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science (AAIMS) identified 11 schools in Arkansas with poor Advanced Placement (AP) participation rates (Hermes, 2007). Students from those schools who score at least a 3 on the AP tests (which are standardized) and their teachers will receive cash awards.

The AAIMS also identified schools whose AP participation could be improved. Teachers at those schools will receive cash awards if more students "score well" (Hermes, 2007). Similar incentive programs regarding AP exams have been implemented in Texas and New Mexico (Jackson, 2007; Schmidt, 2007). In the New York City public schools, students are also being paid to achieve on standardized tests and more than $500,000 has already been distributed (Medina, 2008b).

Louisiana school officials recommended that standardized tests be used to determine bonus pay. The Recovery School District, which operates 30 public schools in New Orleans, proposed a plan in which support staff, teachers, and principals would receive bonus pay if schools achieve certain teest scores. The bonuses range from $1,500 to $5,000 (Associated Press, 2007).

In the New York City public schools, researchers are looking at teacher effectiveness at 140 schools by studying students' improvement on standardized test scores (Medina, 2008a). Some participating principals did not inform their teachers that they were being evaluated in this manner. Furthermore, school officials mentioned that they may use the data to make decisions regarding teacher pay and tenure. The teachers' union and politicians immediately resisted this idea ("Albany Fails Again," 2008). They also said that they may make the findings about individual teachers public.

In some school districts in Texas, students who pass the state mandated standardized tests are given days off from school. The students who do not pass receive more attention from teachers (Chavez, 2008).

The emphasis on standardized tests may, however, pose additional problems. Some teachers and other school personnel may be encouraged to cheat. In Florida, 50 school staff members were disciplined for cheating or making errors during test administration. Ten teachers in the 10 years prior to 2008 lost their teacher certification permanently (Kaczor, 2008).

Not all educators welcome the emphasis on standardized tests. A teacher in the state of Washington refused to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning because he deemed it emotionally and academically harmful to students. He received a nine day suspension without pay for his stand (James, 2008).

Standardized tests such as the SAT and the American College Test (ACT) are used by colleges and universities for admissions purposes. Some researchers argue that highly selective universities place too much emphasis on college admission tests (Schmidt, 2008). In the case of home-schooled students, however, test scores provide a means by which universities can compare their academic achievement with other students. These students usually do not receive grades or recommendations from third parties, such as teachers. Therefore, in addition to the SAT and ACT, some colleges require home-schooled students to take at least two or more SAT II subject tests (Wasley, 2007).

Even college-bound athletes must receive certain scores on the SAT or ACT in order to play sports their freshman year and receive athletic scholarships. For Division I universities, a sliding scale is used and the higher the student's high school GPA in core courses, the lower the SAT/ACT requirement, and vice versa. A student with a 2.4 GPA in core courses would need an 860 on the Critical Reading and Mathematics sections of the SAT or an ACT sum score of 71. In Division II colleges, a student needs a combined SAT of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68 in order to meet academic eligibility requirements. A sliding scale is not used in Division II colleges (Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, n.d.).

Educational institutions are not alone in using standardized test scores. For example, when recruits sign up to join the military, they take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which consists of standardized tests in eight areas, including word knowledge and paragraph comprehension (ASVAB Career Exploration Program, n.d.). A score derived from the reading and math subtests determines whether recruits are allowed to join their military branch of choice. The Air Force requires the highest score and the Army the lowest. The test scores also determine whether recruits can pursue their chosen careers once in the military (The ASVAB Explained, n.d.). More job opportunities are open to those with higher scores. Test scores can also affect pay, because enlistment bonuses are dependent on the military job.

Sometimes standardized tests must be passed in order to obtain certain jobs. In many states, teachers, regardless of how many degrees they have, cannot become certified unless they pass certain standardized tests. Most states have a standardized test as a component of the bar exam that lawyers must pass in order to receive a license to practice law. Applicants for the police force have to take civil service exams that often have a standardized reading comprehension section.

I assert that the gatekeeper approach to standardized testing is unwise, and I do not always support limitations based on test scores. There are others who agree with me. For example, educators, psychologists, and university administrators at Tufts University developed optional assessments to measure other characteristics, such as creativity, and have used them to supplement the traditional admissions procedure (Sternberg, 2007). This supplement increased the diversity of their entering freshman class. In fact, over 750 universities have some type of test optional policy (Perez, 2008).

Administrators at Northeastern University...