Advanced Essay #2: The Detriment of Standardized Testing
Introduction:
This essay is about the role that standardized tests have played in my life and in the education system. I am proud of my use of analysis and description in the essay. However, I would have liked to use more outside sources effectively.
Advanced Essay:
I sat on a hardwood chair in front of a table in the dining room. On the table in front of me sat a large, colorful, number-filled paper. As I looked at the paper, I felt the stress rise up in me like the mercury in a thermometer submerged in a boiling pot. My eyes grew to two times their normal size, and my hands pressed against my face. The paper on that table was my PSAT score from my sophomore year. Though I will not disclose my exact score, I will tell you that the distance between the score on that page and the score I wanted was larger than what my parents saw as closable. I knew that the largest reason for my disappointing scores was my reading disability. My family had gone through the process of getting me the accommodations I needed, but I had yet to use them, and we had no idea how much of a difference they would make. My mother looked at me with concern on her face, and said, “Colin, I’m not sure if you can get your scores up to where you want them.” The stress hit me like a jolt from a resuscitator. I got up paced for a few feet and then turned back and looked at her.
“Mom, just tell me that you think it’s possible,” I practically pleaded.
“It’s possible for you to get your scores up, but I would not get my hopes up,” she responded. My mind raced like a balloon whose air had just been released. I thought about the future and my upcoming attempts at the SAT. The only emotion that I felt at that moment was uncertainty.
Tests of literacy have always been used to determine the intellectual abilities of youth. One of the most prominent examples of this is the Scholastic Aptitude Test. This multiple choice standardized test is supposed to be able to predict the likelihood of teenagers succeeding in college and adult life. However, this test only focuses on one very specific attribute of literacy: the ability to choose the correct answer out of four options to a question about the meaning of a random passage that you just read under intense time pressure. Throughout life, there will be very few times when the average person will end up in similar circumstances, yet this test is arguably the most important aspect of a college application. British inventor James Dyson once criticized standardized tests arguing, “The one size fits all approach of standardized testing is convenient but lazy.” There are many different types of situations in which literacy will be necessary for navigating life that are not represented in this test.
Albert Einstein once commented on the American education system by stating that “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” He was pointing out that while individuals have many unique strengths, standardized tests and other aspects of American education only measure certain specific forms of intelligence and literacy. Individuals that do not excel in the forms of literacy and intelligence necessary for school are often told that they are less intelligent. This most definitely applied to my early life. My parents initially addressed my reading disability as though I was simply not as literate as I should be. To be fair, it was not exactly their fault that they viewed it this way. In our education system, one of the most valued parts of literacy is the ability to process words at high speeds, which was something I could not do. This was merely one aspect of literacy that was highly overvalued. I have always been able to analyze written materials, and I have come to realize that I can comprehend works of literature reasonably well when I read at my own speed. However, my below average processing speed had consistently proven to be problematic in my academic life, particularly on standardized tests. Because of this, my parents constantly attempted to strengthen my reading ability by any means necessary.
One of their most ridiculous attempts to speed up my processing speed was in fourth grade when my mother had me do a karaoke program that had apparently had been proven to strengthen people’s reading abilities. My mom called my name, summoning me to the dining room. I glanced down at the table and saw my mom’s laptop and a box with a pair of headphones with a microphone attached. I peeled the tape off the box, lifted the top, and pulled out the headphones encased in plastic. I pulled them out and slowly examined them. I set them down and turned my head to look at my mother. “This is a singing program that has been proven to improve your reading ability to read.” I looked at her, puzzled.
“So, it’s like karaoke?” I asked.
“Yeah, basically,” she replied. “We’re gonna try this program out for a few months and see if it improves your reading ability.”
“How is singing karaoke supposed to improve my reading ability?” I questioned.
“Well they’ve done studies, and found that kids who did this program improved their reading speeds,” she answered. I begrudgingly sat down, plugged the headphones into the computer, and pulled up the program. After going through a few diagnostic tests, I took a look at the list of songs they had available. I was thoroughly unimpressed with their selection. The only songs that were available were either public domain songs or songs that the program was able to acquire cheaply. I realized then that I would spend the next several months singing embarrassing folk songs that would apparently improve my reading ability. As silly and embarrassing as that experience was, the truly sad part was that my parents were trying to improve the speed at which I processed words rather than attempting to get accommodations for my reading disability. It seemed like they thought that the speed at which I processed words was because of my own shortcomings, rather than a task that I was unable to do because of a pre-existing learning disability. Though my parents’ attempts to improve my reading ability may have made some difference, those changes paled in comparison to the impact of the accommodations that I received later in life. I found that reading along with audiobooks drastically improved the experience of free reading and receiving extra times raised my SAT scores by a significant margin. I was a luckier than most people in this situation. Many students at public schools in cities like Philadelphia have learning disabilities that go undiagnosed and do not receive the accommodations that they need to succeed in their academic life.
Work Cited:
“Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid.” Quote Investigator, quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/06/fish-climb/.
Waines, Taylor. “Knowledge based on memory: Testing in education.” The Chronicle, 25 Apr. 2016, chronicle.durhamcollege.ca/2016/02/knowledge-based-memory-testing-education/.
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