A few days ago I had the pleasure of connecting with a group of educators from across the country. I embrace every opportunity to engage in lively discussions about all things education, especially when talking about standardized assessments.
During the discussion, a call-in participant posed the question, “Are standardized assessments really necessary?”
The goal is to address certain areas when responding to questions and this is what I had to say.
School Accountability: In most case, standardized assessments are used to determine whether or not schools / districts make adequate yearly progress.
Teacher Effectiveness: Student performance on standardized assessments is a deciding factor for determining if a teacher is Highly Effective, Effective, Developing or Ineffective.
Parental Empowerment: Refusing to take standardized assessments can impact whether or not a student is allowed to attend public, magnet schools in the district of attendance.
Student Success: Students are disproportionately placed in more restrictive environments, such as special education due to low performance on standardized assessments. Furthermore, students are locked out of other settings because of poor performance on standardized assessments, such as college.
Summary: With that being said, currently, standardized assessments are necessary. Most colleges require the SAT and / or ACT for admittance. Additionally, most post graduate programs require some form of standardized assessment as well. So, in actuality, until these requirements are eliminated, standardized assessments are firmly entrenched in our educational system.
What I Know For Sure: It is unacceptable when standardized assessments significantly impact School Accountability, Teacher Effectiveness, Parental Empowerment and Student Success because many public school students are dealing with issue far-beyond the scope of education.
Dr. Shanelle R. Benson Reid, President and CEO of ACCESS Global, LLC. is a Consultant, Coach, Author and Professional Speaker. Her expertise is in Education, Cultural Competency, Social Awareness, Entrepreneurship and Community / Individual Empowerment.
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Originally published at medium.com