Standarized TestingJanay S. MosleyAAS 4000Standardized TestingEven without thinking from an afro-centric point of view. I have always seen a problem with standardized testing. Growing up with a parent who was not only just an educator, but one who was aware of the biases that these test included made me less affected by them. One challenge that I face when I do think of this subject from an Afro-centric perspective is that I cannot be only concerned with that fact that I was not affected, but I have to be concerned with those children who are not as fortunate as I am. The group that presented on standardized testing did a good job of explaining the cons to such tests. The groups presentation focused on Fulton county and its students. Since Fulton County is the fourth largest school district in Georgia, a large number of students are affected by these tests.
In this presentation standardized testing was defined as a test that was designed in such a way that questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedure and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined standard manner. The problem I see with this definition is that who is to say what the standard knowledge a child at a particular grade should have. These tests make assumptions that all children in different areas are the same and that their circumstances are surroundings have no effect in the knowledge that someone had determined that they are suppose to have. This creates a huge problem.
This group also talked about the history of these tests. Since these tests were created and brought to the United States by Horace Mann, they have always been another method of separation. These score were used in a school setting, to label children and the things that they were capable of doing and achieving. It is a fact that minorities porportinatley do worse on these test than Europeans. Realistically these tests are made for and by them so it is no secret that they would perform better on them.
Ukweli, the first of the Afro-Centric research cannon challenges us to use the community as an authority in determining what is true. In reference to Fulton County, I believe that it is safe to assume that most children in Fulton County are equipped with the knowledge to pass these tests. Since these tests in most cases determine if a child is able to be passed to the next grade, this is a detrimental situation for the more than 12,000 students in Fulton County. For these test to be valid from an Afro-centric point of view, the most take into count all of the challenges facing these students. A large majority of these students are poor and have circumstances that prevent them from focusing on learning. Most standardized tests do not take these situations into question when these tests are being created and without these considerations
Katherine T. Jackson, the editor-in-chief of the University of Maryland and professor of sociology and education at the University of Maryland, has made this clear in her article “I believe that Afro-centric research tests have a serious negative impact on students in the United States”. She makes this point in what was a short email:
[T]he research being conducted in this paper focuses on ‘students’ as they age, they may have a certain degree of autonomy, yet there is such a lack of knowledge about these issues that many students will simply be ignorant. As we continue to do this, I’m concerned about how they are taught and their perception of these issues. We’ve seen over the past several months that a large percentage of African-American students who are learning at the most advanced level receive a mixed score. For one to a large degree, African-American students receive the same answers and the only point of comparison is their achievement gap, when that gap is in the minority group! This is a critical factor in having success of all the students we’re helping to improve in life to be able to succeed in the classroom because it allows for a more nuanced understanding of what is and isn’t true about African-American life.
Jackson concludes by calling upon us to continue to examine the potential impacts of standardized tests on black students. The key findings of a study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Colored People (AAPCM) in 2010 highlighted the impacts of the new standardized tests. “The racial disparities in math and reading in this country are a massive and serious concern. There’s no way to change it at the current pace of development without addressing all the important issues,” said Michael M. Harris, president of AAPCM.
In this instance, I’m not talking about the issues that are addressed by these standardized tests. It’s the education that we have that concerns people.
I strongly encourage you to keep doing this research. And continue to do the research in an unbiased way to understand the challenges we face as a nation as a whole of people working together as scientists to solve racial and cultural problems.
So, with that in mind, here is a list of more common test problems that I believe are being addressed. We should not do it alone. If we are able to move forward and look at alternatives, we need to take these issues into consideration and work with other organizations, which may come up with a solution, if necessary.
[T]he problem of failing Black students is a persistent problem. When it comes to black learning, it must be dealt with respectfully. (John Bercovici, The Baltimore Sun News, March 18, 2012)
[T]he major source for this problem is standardized testing on a standardized basis. Even though there is an increased level of testing throughout the world, in many instances there is simply not enough evidence to justify the results of more rigorous test measures. (Shawn G. Hultzen, The Atlantic Wire, July 23, 2012)
[T]he majority of black children in certain racial minorities in these minority neighbourhoods live in poverty, are poor, and have to be pushed out to the far ends of poverty, all while there is significant difficulty in making financial progress in their families. These young black