The Debate Over Standardized Testing

There is a major movement in the United States to rely increasingly on standardized testing at the local school district, state, and national levels. Indeed, such standardized testing is mandated in many states and is used as a basis for student promotion and as an indicator of teacher effectiveness. Standardized testing has proponents who see it as an important way to reform American education. However, it also has opponents who see it as a reactionary rather than reformist movement. As a classroom teacher, you will be involved in this debate, which is far-reaching and rapidly changing. You can use the Internet to follow the debate and to help you make up your own mind on this important issue.

Begin your research by visiting the Web site of the U.S. Department of Education-http://www.ed.gov/-to determine the status and recent initiatives for standardized testing at the state and national levels.

Then, you can consult two opposing philosophical perspectives on standardized testing by visiting the Web site of the John Dewey Project on Progressive Education at the University of Vermont (http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/) and the Web site of the Council for Basic Education (http://www.c-b-e.org/).

Based on your research, begin to develop your own philosophical position on the issue of standardized testing. Consider such questions as: What are the arguments for and against standardized testing? What philosophies and theories of education would tend to support it, and which would tend to oppose it? What is your position based on your personal philosophy of education?



Other sites you may wish to visit as you develop your position on standardized testing include:

ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation
This part of ERIC, the Educational Resources Information Center, is one of the most complete sources of information on assessment of all kinds.

FairTest
FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, describes itself as "an advocacy organization working to end the abuses, misuses and flaws of standardized testing and ensure that evaluation of students and workers is fair, open, and educationally sound."

Quality Counts
The web site for Education Week contains its annual rating of state testing programs.

Why Testing Experts Hate Testing
This article by Richard P. Phelps offers rebuttals to several common criticisms of standardized tests.