Moving away from Standardization

For those of you haven’t yet seen Peter Schmidt’s letter to the editor in the Opinion Pages of the New York Times on October 8th, it’s worth reading. Schmidt’s pithy “Invitation to a Dialogue: Don’t Teach to the Test” sums up in remarkably few words what the vast majority of educators believe about the suffocating hegemony of standardized testing in education. His allegations against current testing mandates and practices include the stifling of intellectual and moral development, not to mention the promotion of untoward anxiety for parents and students: (One might also include here mention of teachers as well.)

He advocates three steps toward dismantling the system and restoring to center-focus creativity, imagination, and equity. Step 1 requires the admissions offices of colleges and universities to wean themselves of their dependency on SAT scores which perpetuates inequality by giving the advantage to students who can afford pricey test preparation services. Step 2 is for schools to pull back on AP courses that are not only ineffective in preparing students for college but also deaden intellectual curiosity. Thirdly, he calls for schools at all levels to refocus on creativity and imagination as the cornerstones of education.

While there is no mention of how such fundamental shifts are to be implemented, there’s no doubt that the general direction of the recommendations is as accurate as the underlying reasoning is solid. The baneful effects of standardized testing are in no way commensurate with any perceivable benefit gained through the supposed “accountability” thereby procured.

We can’t imagine that any but a few readers would disagree with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Schmidt. What is of greater interest to us now than what should change and for what reasons, about which there seems to be widespread agreement in education circles, is the question of “how?” What incremental steps can be taken to shift the momentum away from the standardization of education given that top-down change through legislative mandate seems unlikely? One important development Schmidt mentions as a launching point at the beginning of his letter could speak to a practical, if modest, approach to broader reform. He remarks on the heartening development that a group of private schools in New York City will likely abandon their E.R.B. exam requirement for kindergarten and first grade. If private schools continued to develop and lead a trend away from standardized practices and toward a student-centered approach to education by rejecting standardization in all its forms, their prestige, as well as the success of their outcomes, could provide the impetus for wider changes in education. Until policy-makers come into line with what teachers and education reformers have been saying for years, we here at LearningDiversity.org would encourage all school systems with the autonomy to do so to demonstrably reject standardized measures and to make this rejection a main feature in their selling points.

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