Why Perfect Scores Don’t Make for a Perfect System: The Debunking of Standardized Tests

In 2021 alone, I took five standardized tests. This number seems manageable over the course of the year, but it took a huge mental toll on me. I spent 15 hours and 30 minutes taking the ACT, SAT, PSAT, and two AP exams last year. This does not include time spent studying and even more time stressed about the test, scores, cancellations, college applications, and staying safe during the pandemic.

I know for a fact though, the number of standardized tests I took would have been higher if we had not been in a global pandemic. But to say the least, the thousands of other high school seniors in the US and I got lucky. Colleges and universities across the country decided to make the ACT and SAT college entrance exams optional for admission.

Going “test-optional” became the new normal for most schools (with some even going “test-blind”) and also became a loaded word, putting students who chose not to submit still at a disadvantage of sorts. Despite this though, it has pushed the ACT and SAT to the forefront of the argument of whether standardized tests are an accurate measurement of knowledge and preparedness for further education. It is, after all, just a test.

No Child Left Behind… in Rich, White Neighborhoods

The introduction of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act by former President George W. Bush in 2002 required public schools to administer standardized tests in reading and mathematics to measure proficiency and growth. The goal of this act was to give the federal government a role in holding schools accountable for student performance. This act was created with surface-level good intentions. It was an agreement by two major political parties as well as civil rights and business groups that sought to bridge the wealth gap in education. However, a focus was put on English-language learners, special education students, and minority children living below the poverty line.

An incentive was thus created for states to administer these standardized tests. Although it was not mandatory for states to comply, they would risk losing sought-after federal Title I funding. States soon realized that lower student test scores led to staff replacements and school closures while higher student test scores, on the other hand, allowed for more consistent funding and support. Test preparation became the main focus in school, instead of actual learning, and the groups of students needing more assistance were being left behind more than before. The NCLB was later replaced by the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that scaled back the role of the government in these tests. (Read more about the ESSA that went into effect in the 2017–18 school year here)

Numbers, Metrics, & Everything a Child is Not

Defenders of standardized testing argue that these tests do offer sufficient, useful metrics for gauging how well not only students but also teachers perform in the classroom.

Aaron Churchill, an education policy researcher, is a proponent of standardized tests and believes there are three key reasons why these tests are essential to the success of a school. These reasons include the objectivity, comparability, and accountability of the tests. (Churchill) He further breaks down these reasons by explaining that the tests are good because they are a set standard, meaning each student receives the same tests. The test questions are even adapted each year to become fairer and less biased towards particular groups. (Moulon) All the tests are graded the same as well; this makes the scores easy to compare.

These scores can hold schools accountable too for the quality of education they are providing to the students. Churchill says, “​​There are good schools and rotten ones; there are high-flying students and pupils who struggle mightily. We need hard, objective information on school and student performance, and the best available evidence comes from standardized tests.” Quality of education and curriculum is the number one priority in the defenders’ eyes.

Roots in Racism

Opposers of standardized testing, on the other hand, believe that these tests only show which students excel at taking tests and are unfair to minority students.

Young Whan Choi, a California educator, furthers that racial and gender discrimination is still built into the tests when he says, “Too often, test designers rely on questions which assume background knowledge more often held by White, middle-class students.” (ProCon.org) Often students from lower-income families do poorly on the tests compared to their higher-income counterparts who can afford test prep. Another issue that opposers have with these tests is how they only test a few subject areas so students only have to master what the test covers. They believe this is a poor attempt to test mastery and, “…that if you pressure people to improve on just a few aspects of their job, some of the other important aspects of the job will stay the same, and some will deteriorate.” (Walsh)

In addition, teachers often have to spend instructional time going over test prep instead of filling in gaps that their students may have in subject areas. In 2015, a study done by the National Education Association found that about 70% of educators also believe that their state’s tests are not “developmentally appropriate” for their students and that the “narrowly prescribed curriculum” does not match up with the right grade levels, further proving their stance on the tests. (Walker)

Making Profit off of Failure

Behind the scenes, standardized testing is also unsurprisingly a money-making business with the biggest test publishers, like McGraw-Hill, the College Board, and NCS Pearson, making billions of dollars a year on tests.

Between the SAT, PSAT, and AP exams, College Board makes hundreds of millions of dollars on these tests each year. They make their profit from charging high fees to take each examination. Every AP exam costs $95, meaning if you are a high-achieving student, you could spend up to $500 a year on AP exams alone. These exams are what help colleges determine if you can get first-year credit for specific courses based on your exam score. However, most schools require high AP scores to receive credit and many times, do not grant credit no matter the score.

It costs a little over $50 to take the SAT. This is a more manageable score compared to the AP exams, however, the College Board tacks on additional fees for late registration, answer services, and score sending that drive up the price. Many students do not score what they want the first time they take the test which means, if they have the means to do so, they have to retake the test again and again. This means more test costs and additional fees. All of this spending just to attend one college and maybe get one or two classes out of the way.

TheRealCollegeBoard.org has a great article about the College Board’s finances that I highly recommend reading here.

The Game of College Admissions

The SAT and ACT only measure one thing: your ability to master the test content. Pre-pandemic college admissions relied heavily on these scores to compare students and choose ones to admit. Wealthy, and oftentimes white, students have more access to expensive test prep services (a whole million-dollar industry itself) and can take the tests, fees and all, as many times as they need. This means that a college heavily valuing high test scores will admit wealthy, white students who paid their way to a good score.

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted safety and accessibility for these entrance exams, many schools chose to go test-optional for the application cycles during the pandemic. The University of California and California State University systems even chose to go test-blind, not allowing students to submit scores at all.

Schools that went test-optional fell into two categories: test-optional with no. preference and test-optional but still suggested to take. Students felt pressure to still attempt these tests despite the numerous risks and difficulties. Wealthy, privileged students were again put in a position where they were able to take the tests while other students had to hope for the best.

Weeding Out the Good & Bad Tests

After evaluating both sides of the argument, I concluded that standardized testing should not necessarily be banned, but rather largely scaled back and utilized for different purposes. There is a good type of standardized testing however that can truly analyze a student’s ability to understand a subject without creating an unfair environment for scoring. In our current school system (flawed but uneasily changed), students do need to be evaluated to see where they are at. The balance of good to bad tests needs to change and good tests need to be used only when appropriately helping students.

These tests also create an unnecessary amount of stress for both students and teachers as they have to prepare extensively for the tests and are expected to perform excellently. Many students also have test anxiety, are neurodivergent, or simply struggle under timed tests, which make constant standardized tests detrimental to their mental health and academic performance.

Improving the System

Standardized tests are a hallmark of modern public education in America. Originally becoming popular to improve students’ performance in school and evaluate teachers, these tests have become ways to weed out the white, wealthy students from the low-income, minority students and punish schools who perform poorly. This is a backward way to approach evaluating education and academic performance.

Standardized tests should be used scarcely and only in a way that truly helps teachers and schools understand where their students need improvement. By using test questions that are application and real-world-based as well as not convolutedly worded, tests will be set up for students to succeed rather than fail. Instead of giving consequences to low-performing schools, more support and funding should be given to them so their students can have the resources they need to succeed. The tests do not need to be completely banned, but they should not be used in ways that negatively affect students’ and teachers’ futures.

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