What Standardized Tests Really Measure

    Standardized testing can be a useful tool in education.  Unfortunately, too much emphasis is put on testing and they are over used.  A standardized test can show a piece of the puzzle when it comes to a child’s education and learning, but rarely the whole picture.  Due to their misuse I view them as a necessary evil of teaching.  When I’m preparing my students I tell them that these tests are for gathering information.  Standardized tests help parents, teachers and schools see where kids have strengths or weaknesses.  They can also show me patterns where I can improve as a teacher.  Tests help the school plan.  Tests are tools for gathering information, that’s how I explain it to my third graders.
    However, if I were to be frank, standardized testing is the biggest, time consuming, pain in the butt.  Testing is supposed to gather information about reading, writing and math, but it is just as likely to gather completely different information.   Sometimes testing provides information about fine motor skills; how well can an eight or nine year old fill in a small bubble with a pencil?  Other times attention span, following directions, or just remembering not to skip pages is tested.  Occasionally standardized testing informs me that a student freezes when being timed.  Standardized testing is just plain stressful for teachers and students.
    The stress begins with filling out the front cover.  At our school third grade is their first experience with standardized tests.  The chaos begins with the box labeled “Sex.”  Let the giggling begin.  Next, comes a very long discussion about race.  I explain that each of the categories has to do with where the majority of their ancestors came from.  I also tell them that they should go home and discuss with their parents which bubble they should fill in.  Then, almost every hand in the class goes up as every child shares their ancestry.  Many want to know which bubble to fill in if they’re French, German and Irish or some other European combination.  Some ask what to do if their grandpa came from Australia or Canada?  When it gets this complicated and it shouldn’t be, I tell them once again, “Go ask your parents.”
    The real fun commences when the actual testing begins.  Part of what makes a test standardized is that they are given the same way, with the same directions.  Every time we start a new test I must read a scripted set of directions.  These directions only change for one of the tests.  There are eight different tests.  Written into the directions, twice, is: “Are there any questions?”  Meaning does the test taker understand how to take the test.  Remember I teach third graders.  Third graders who have never taken standardized tests before.  It seems to me that when they hear, “Are there any questions?” my students think they have to ask a question.  It is these questions, each time I give the same directions, that make me want to laugh and cry this week.  Let me share a few examples.
    The test our school administers is called ERB.  The name of the test has been a huge concern to my class.  A few times when I have asked if there are any questions their queries have been:
    “My mom said she used to take the SAT’s, why do we take the ERB’s?”
    “My cousin takes a test called The Stanford, why is it different than our test?”
It is of course normal for third graders to be curious about these things, but frustrating that they are asking these questions during the directions for the test.  Also, I explained last week that ERB was the brand of test.  Just like there are different brands of ice cream: Dreyers, Breyers, Ben and Jerry’s, there are different companies who create tests.  Our school chooses to use the ERB’s.
    During the second, “Are there any questions now?” pause in the directions a hand waved wildly in the front.  “Mrs. Johnson, if we are supposed to be taking the ERB’s, why does it say ERB on the bottom of the page and CTP 4 on the top of the page?”
    It’s only the first day and luckily I still have patience.  I calmly explain that ERB is the brand, like Ben and Jerry’s, CTP 4 is the flavor, like vanilla.  This seems to satisfy all curiosity and concern.
    Some other questions that were asked when I gave directions throughout the testing process were:
   
    “Are you sure I’m white?”
    “What makes a #2 pencil different?”
    “Do I HAVE TO read the page with the examples?”
    “Why does it list Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander together?”
    “The note said to get plenty of sleep this week.  If I got seven hours of sleep last night do you think I    got enough sleep?”
    “Do you think this pencil is sharp enough?”
    “What should I do if I accidentally drop my pencil and it rolls away?”
    “Why are there two test booklets?”
    “Why are there two math sections?”
    “Who decides how much time we get for each test?”
    “Has anyone ever gotten every question right on this test?”
    “Will there be any history sections?”
    “If we all fail a test will you lose your job?”
    “Is this a fill in the bubble test again?”
   
    The first page of each test tells the student how much time is allowed and how many questions.  However, on seven out of the eight test one student asked, “How many pages will there be on this test?” 
    So, what exactly do standardized tests measure?  From my experience they mostly measure a teacher’s patience.