Every teacher out there can safely say, “I hate testing!” Yes, it is a part of checking for student growth. Yes, it gives us a baseline and can inform instruction. Yes, in some cases it may be necessary.
In every case, there is always more behind the score.
Testing is a complicated, sore subject. Educators work hard to create the best possible setting for students to excel on these tests. So, what does this mean in the midst of a pandemic, when the testing environment is no longer our classroom?
Testing environment is one that teachers work so hard to get just right. The right lighting, music, no music, chairs, no chairs, water breaks, snacks, seating charts. It even comes down to what is on the walls. If testing environment plays such a huge factor in student success, how does testing at home correlate?
We could attempt to set up a testing center in every home of every student, but I am not sure how well that would blow over. We could suggest testing environment ideas, but again, that space may just not exist.
First, let me say that my education was built on the foundation of assumptions, so we are going to first debunk the assumption that if students test at home, they will cheat. My theory: if you can cheat it is not the right form of assessment.
If you are asking students to relay facts, well of course, they can look them up. Realistically these are the possible outcomes.
- The student that truly remembers the facts and maybe took good notes (are notes cheating?).
- The student that does not remember and tries his/her best.
- The student that knows that there are outside resources that can help (the internet) and uses them.
- Or the student that may know them, and may not, but does not complete the assessment.
None of these matter without factoring in testing environment. Where students take a test can make a difference in their ability to perform.
The one thing about teaching student virtually is the window into student’s day to day. The student that can’t unmute, well she can but the sound of four younger siblings playing whack-a mole (she is the mole) blares through the laptop. The student sitting next to his sister as she is in choir class. The student that has the entire home to herself. The student that has parents arguing in the next room. The student with parents arguing in the same room. The student that has mom helping every step of the way.
Testing environment in this new virtual world is no longer in our control. This means that the story behind the score will always be much more. Call it pessimistic or realistic, I call it unjust, unequitable, unfair.
So where do we go from here? Rethinking how we test students isn’t enough. Isn’t the goal for students to be able to gain knowledge in ways that best fits their learning styles? Isn’t education built on the assumption that students will one day become essential contributors in society? There goes an assumption again. Testing is a barrier that has for decades been proven to build gaps, not bridge them. The average test is already filled with racial bias and social inequities. Testing is a system not meant to bread successors, but to oppress the already fraught.
So, what is behind the score? A student! A human that is now taking a test in an environment that might be so much better than testing at school; but it might be so much worse.
Teachers, educational leaders, policy makers, remind yourself of this. Before building bridges, erecting walls, or shifting the educational path of any student based on “the score,” be mindful of what we assume that test data means. Be mindful of what the score does not show. Be mindful of the harm you may unintentionally cause.
And, if you are in a position to dismantle the test-obsession that plagues public education, have courage. “Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.” -Mandy Hale
COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy
That is so true. I was the Building Online Testing Specialist at my building for a few years and we put in a lot of effort into creating the right testing environment. Unfortunately, online learning means that some of our Kindergartners scored at a fourth grade level in late September. It really showed teachers that they could not completely trust our testing programs.
I love the focus on the human behind the score and the inequitable nature of tests during even the best of times.
This section is especially powerful: “Testing is a barrier that has for decades been proven to build gaps, not bridge them. The average test is already filled with racial bias and social inequities. Testing is a system not meant to bread successors, but to oppress the already fraught.:
I too, want to get away from all standardized tests and a grading system that focuses on feedback rather than points. Maybe this is another one of those instances where the pandemic can teach us what we don’t need to hang on to? Seeing as the SBA is still scheduled for my 10th graders as of this writing, I am a little pessimistic that will be the case.
For all those lawmakers out there with pull, as Denisha says, “have courage.”
I kind of want to get away from any kind of testing/grading, as it forces a punitive (and as you point out, unethically unequal) approach to the purpose of learning. There is so much research out there about how meaningful formative feedback is far more effective than grades/scores at promoting enduring learning and growth.
I’m curious also, what correlate there is in the “real world” for sitting to take a standardized test. I did of course have to jump through those hoops for my teaching degree/cert, but since then, nothing about my job or real adult life has ever looked or felt like the kind of “tests” our systems ask kids to endure. My job evaluation involves me being observed, providing examples of my work, having analytical conversations with my evaluator… and I can’t think of any job where the regular performance review is in standardized test form… evaluation is based on performance. Tests are simply convenient for gatekeepers, they aren’t what reality involves.