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The Debate on Standardized Testing

Elaine Cao



ACT, SAT, STAR, and NAEP.


Students in the United States will likely recognize one or more of these tests—standardized tests, to be exact.


Standardized testing involves “all test takers . . . answer[ing] the same questions, or a selection of questions from [a] common bank of questions,” in which a “‘standard’ or consistent” scoring method is used to “compare the relative performance” of students (“Standardized Test”). Although the traditional format is paper-based, computer-adaptive tests have increasingly gained prominence for scoring “quickly, consistently, and inexpensively” (“Standardized Test”). Computer-adaptive tests “adjust their level difficulty” based on the answer to each test question; a wrong answer leads to a subsequent easier question and a correct answer to a more difficult next question (“Computer-Adaptive Test”).


U.S. standardized testing has been implemented since the nation’s early history. In 1838, American educators conceptualized the notion of “a formal assessment of student achievement”; this led to “formal written tests” during 1840-1875 when education shifted from solely the elite to “the masses” (“History”). As different exams were proposed, by 1916, College Board “develop[ed] comprehensive examinations in six subjects,” and in 1926, SAT, or “Scholastic Aptitude Tests, [were] adopted nationally” (“History”).





Standardized testing thus has been a core part of national education—but not without opposition. In 1922, American philosopher John Dewey had qualms about how, increasingly, “‘[o]ur mechanical, industrialized civilization is concerned with averages . . . subordinat[ing] education and social arrangements based on averaged gross inferiorities and superiorities” (“History”). Indeed, Dewey’s claims were proven true through a 1925 U.S. Bureau of Education Survey noted that “intelligence and achievement tests [were] increasingly used to classify students” (“History”).


Antiracist activist Ibram X. Kendi, renowned for his novel How To Be An Antiracist, shares a similar sentiment with Dewey. According to Kendi, in the process of creating standardized testing, eugenists of the 1920s “believed the SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test] would reveal the natural ability of White people,” as “[a]aptitude means natural ability” (Kendi 102). Standardized testing, according to Kendi, has been thus used to further instill disparity between racial groups.


Whether or not standardized testing is truly “standardized” is subjective. However, there is no denying that this form of testing has affected students nationwide, especially due to the infamous recent pandemic. According to U.S. News & World Report, roughly “1,750 four-year colleges have announced plans to go test-optional or test-blind for fall 2023,” a trend “accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic when many students were unable to access testing sites” (Wood). In fact, according to certified educational planner Dana Rolander, colleges themselves note the “‘correlations between income and test scores’” (Wood).


If such a large volume of schools are willing to get rid of standardized testing for the admission process, then how important are they exactly? And if colleges themselves recognize the disparity—there is a reason SAT and ACT boot camps exist—why even continue implementing this seemingly outdated test form?


The “test-optional” policy allows “first-year students to decide whether to submit their SAT or ACT scores to a college” in recognition of students who may not perform well under the specific test structure (Wood). After all, college admission is not based solely on academic performance.


Moreover, administrators recognize the high level of stress standardized test cause. Take the SAT, for example. While College Board offers eligible students fee waivers, other expenditures such as transportation exist. For some students, a four-hour drive to a testing center may be plausible any weekend; for others, perhaps even one trip is a trip too many.


In fact, on October 28, 2022, students who took the SATs at El Paso High School were dealt with their “test papers strewn across busy Mesa Street” (Fahy). Even after the test papers were recollected, due to security protocols, the students had to “take the often-harrowing test again” (Fahy). An interviewed senior at the time, Ezra Ponzio, noted how his early application to “his first-choice school, Texas A&M University” was jeopardized because “his test scores [couldn’t] be submitted in time” and going “test-optional” may “affect his chances of getting in” (Fahy).


In a situation like that of El Paso High School, the students are being accountable for the fault of other people’s mistakes. For students like Ponzio, in particular, the incident has greatly affected their college application process. Having to retake the test is unfair because while the test itself is “standardized” (by definition, consistent test question styles appear on each test), other factors may change, such as a student’s mental well-being.


Standardized testing thus remains a topic of mass debate, especially in terms of college admission. Standardized testing, however, is not innately negative. In 2001, the No Child Left Behind act expanded “state-mandated standardized testing” to “assess school performance” by grade level (“History”).





Understanding the areas in which students struggle allow educators to curate their curriculum to best meet the needs of their students, which theoretically takes into account the disparities in education. In addition, some students do thrive on standardized tests and are satisfied with their implementation.


Ultimately, standardized testing has been a long, upheld tradition in the United States, and its impact still looms large today.


ACT, SAT, STAR, and NAEP.


Perhaps future students in the United States will not recognize any of these tests.


Written by Angelina Li

March 28, 2023






Works Cited


“Computer-Adaptive Test Definition.” The Glossary of Education Reform, 29 Aug. 2013,

www.edglossary.org/computer-adaptive-test/.


Fahy, Claire. “Texas High Schoolers Must Retake Sats After Tests Fly Off UPS Truck.” The

New York Times, 8 Nov. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/us/el-paso-sat-tests.html?searchResultPosition=3.


“History of Standardized Testing in the United States.” NEA, www.nea.org/professional

excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/history-standardized-testing-united-states.


Kendi, Ibram X. How To Be An Antiracist. Random House, 2019.


“Standardized Test Definition.” The Glossary of Education Reform, 12 Nov. 2015,

www.edglossary.org/standardized-test/.


Wood, Sarah. “How Important Are SAT, ACT Scores in College Admissions?” U.S. News &

World Report. www.usnews.com/education/articles/how-important-are-sat-act-scores-in-college-admissions.







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