Standardized Testing Hurts All Involved
by Betty Jeanne Rueters-WardI've always been wary of standardized testing. I never minded the actual test; in fact, there's something about filling in bubbles and official-looking booklets that I find oddly enjoyable. But at fifteen, I was a nervous wreck about the SAT—within my community, the pressure was on to get into college. So when the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was introduced during my sophomore year of high school, I was more than a little aggravated. My classmates and I spent two weeks of that school year completing section after section of what I would call a grueling test. Moreover, we had no idea why we were taking it.
When I took the MCAS the first year it was administered, it wasn't a serious issue of concern for my family or me. But by the time I was a high school senior in the spring of 2000, it was an issue. My brother, Dan, was one of several dozen sophomores at Arlington High School who wanted to boycott the high-stakes test. Students had protested the MCAS before, but now they were threatened with a harsh punishment—a three-day suspension and a permanent mark on their school record. In light of the consequences, my parents pleaded with Dan to reconsider. He wound up taking the test, but twenty-five of his peers refused and were suspended.
The Arlington High School sophomores were among hundreds from across Massachusetts who took direct action against the MCAS. Students of all ages (as well as teachers, parents, and activists from groups including the ACLU) staged walk-outs, public speeches, and demonstrations at the Massachusetts State House and Boston's Public Garden. Many spoke at school board meetings, contacted public officials, coordinated discussions on the topic, and used the time they would have spent taking the test writing essays to explain their opposition. Others (including my brother) took the test, but either left sections of the test blank, refused to fill in answers, or used the essay portions of the exam to express their dissent. Sanctions for students varied—those who weren't suspended received lower grades in their courses, for example.
While the MCAS is now a graduation requirement for Massachusetts public schools, it continues to be controversial. Organizations such as CARE (Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education) claim mandatory standardized testing is detrimental to students and counterproductive to education reform. CARE cites many problems with the MCAS:
- Lower-scoring schools often don't receive the funding they need to improve (in fact, some schools that score poorly receive less funding).
- Tests should assess the state of schools, not of individuals. Making the test a graduation requirement is unfair and has already prevented thousands of students from receiving diplomas.
- The MCAS causes students, parents, teachers and administrators to feel anxiety, fear, and resentment—it "does more harm than good."
- The test is not an accurate measure of performance—it has exhibited bias, confused students, and is graded by people without teaching experience.
- Students should be assessed using a variety of factors, such as portfolios and projects, not a single test.
Mandatory standardized testing is an issue that reaches far beyond Massachusetts and affects communities across the continent. The "No Child Left Behind Act," for example, could have similar effects on schools across the United States of America. What does this mean to us as young Unitarian Universalists? As members of a justice-seeking denomination that promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person, we must advocate for the right of each and every student in the educational process.
And since so many Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUUers) are students themselves, we are particularly invested in the struggle for just, equitable and empowering education. There are steps each of us can take to engage ourselves and others, including researching and spreading the word about this issue, contacting school board and government representatives, forming student coalitions, or taking direct action.
As environmental superhero Captain Planet likes to say: "With our powers combined…."
Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward is the bestest person in the world...she’s too cool for a hometown, she is her own hometown!
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
