Why Standardized Tests are a Horrible Idea

Rather than talking about writing, I want to take this opportunity to go on a short rant about standardized testing and why I, like so many teachers, hate it.

While I 100% agree that we as educators need a way to assess our students, I don't think that standardized tests are the way to go.

​Here are a few of the reasons I think standardized tests are horrible:

1. They sometimes require my students to sit quietly for over an hour starting at 8 in the morning. Invitation to sleep, anyone?
2. Nowadays, many standardized tests are taken on computers, which means when the school internet is laggy (as it often is), it can affect test scores.
3. Standardized tests are often only loosely related (or not related at all) to what is actually happening in the classroom, which means, despite what some legislators think, it is a horrible way to assess teachers ability to teach.
4. It makes teachers want to teach to the test, not to the standards or the students.
5. It values simple multiple-choice answers rather than contemplative, critical analysis or personal interpretation.
6. Days spent testing are days the students are not spending learning.
7. It often takes so long to get test results back that teachers can't actually adjust their teaching for the particular group of students being tested.
8. It causes some students unnecessary stress.
9. The language some tests use (including common sayings and idioms) are easier for some students to understand than others, and the teachers never know what language the students might encounter.
10. It's boring.

I could go on, or delve deeper into my points, but there are so many blog posts on this that saying more (or even saying as much as I already did) is really belaboring the point. But after my rant I feel just a little bit better about the test I am being forced to give my students this week, so that's something.