
"If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that." Michelle Obama grew up in the Southside of Chicago and is now the first African-American First Lady. If she was born in this decade, then she would not have the same opportunities as she once had. Standardized testing is not an effective tool in measuring student performance. This is because of the biases found in standardized test. By looking at the standardized test biases in the United States, we can see that people of color, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty are getting left behind in schools; therefore, we must repeal the No Child Left Behind Law and opt out of testing so all of our children have a better future. 

Standardized testing is a modern nightmare. It is a topic that affects everyone in America. Its an important issue that educators, parents, and students must have an understanding of because they are the ones at risk. Not only is it an important issue but its also a very controversial issue because children are at stake. And Children are our future. We must educate them in the best possible manner so that they graduate and pursue careers that make our nation better than it is today. Student's are in school for at least 16 to 18 years of their lives, so its necessary for them to learn things that they will need for the rest of their lives. Julie Woestehoff, the founder of Parents United for Responsible Education, states that tests were used to test children who weren't developing "normally" and to signal when they needed more help in their intellectual development. It was used as a "general" tool to make "general decision", not precise measurement for precise decisions (Civil rights, discrimination, and standardized testing). In today's age, children are tested to a great extent. Many acts', specifically NCLB have been passed that has made testing a requirement. However, these tests are used for accountability which means to punish or reward students based on their test score. In K-12, they punish students by holding them back or denying them their high-school diploma. In college, they are used for professional programs and graduating with their bachelors and eventually leading to a career. You would think that something that everyone has to take to excel in life would benefit them; conversely, this is not the case for poor, minorities, and exceptional children. White, middle class children are the only ones exceling because they have the experiences and resources needed to do well on the test. 

To better understand standardized test and its effect, we must take a closer look at one of the Acts that changed American children. In No Child Left Behind (NCLB or Nicklebee), enacted in 2001 by George W. Bush, states "no child should be left behind. Every child should be educated to his or her fullest potential," (165). Bush wanted to reform education, so he could be known as the 'education president.' In his speech, he discusses how education affects everyone in our nation, from rich to poor, white to black, and ability to disability; therefore, its important to educate all of our children equally so many other successes will follow throughout our country. In his education reform, he increased accountability and high standards for student by "[developing] a system of sanctions and rewards to hold districts and schools accountable for improving academic achievement" (167). The sanctions include reducing federal funding "if a state fails to meet their performance objectives and demonstrate results in academic achievement" (167). The rewards include bonuses for meeting accountability requirement within two years. The government uses these tests to measure student, school, and teacher performance. His education reform increased the amount of tests a child must take. Students in urban areas are taking "112 tests-eight a year-between pre-K and high school graduation (Klein and Superville). In addition, the educational system is dependent on these tests to make huge life decisions, also known as high-stakes testing. FairTest, which is the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, states, "to be high stakes, a test has to be very important in the decision process or to be able to override other information." For example, students must pass tests to be able to graduate high school. They also have to take the SAT and ACT to be eligible to get into a college or university. Not only does it make them eligible. Therefore, if Michelle Obama didn't do well on the biased tests then she would have never been enrolled in Princeton University. 

The tagline of America is the 'American Dream'; however, children living in poverty are experiencing the "American failure," as I like to put it. According to The National Center for Children in Poverty, more than 16 million children are living in poverty in the United States. Due to environmental factors, such as stress and not having enough resources, children living in poverty are getting left behind. For starters, schools lack funds. NCLB was enacted so schools could be held accountable for the scores. As stated earlier, schools are rewarded for doing well and sanctioned for doing poorly. If the scores were low, then the government would cut federal funding in the school which then leads to the school getting shut down. Therefore, they're 'American dream' becomes a constant struggle of trying to pass these tests without having the resources needed. Denice Adkins, a professor at the University of Missouri, states "school libraries can make a positive difference in student achievement -- as long as the school libraries are adequately staffed and adequately resourced ... [and] are associated with higher student test scores" (2). Poor students rely on the library for resources, while Middle-to-upper class students already have the resources and opportunities provided at home. These include study space, literature and study materials, computer access, and Internet access (16). Middle-to-upper class students are also able to retake tests and have tutors to study for the test, while children living in poverty don't have that opportunity. 

In addition, children living in poverty experience more stress than middle-to-high income students. These children experience a lack of parent engagement and involvement. Families living in poverty have more than one job, which means they aren't spending sufficient time educating their child. They also have inadequate health care, which means children get sick more often, which in turn, makes them miss school. Also, the families are more likely to move. Making a child move frequently makes it harder for them to make and keep friends and it impairs attention and concentration. Still, it is not entirely the parents fault. The school is somewhat blamed for the stress put on children. Since schools are under strict control from the government, teachers need to teach to the test, rather than to individual needs. As stated earlier, high-stakes are used in the admission process at college and universities around the country. Admissions that rely on test scores more than high school grades generate a student body that is biased toward students from higher incomes and against those from lower incomes and racial minorities (Soares). Therefore, students are constantly put under stress to out perform middle-to-upper class students, so they too, could go to college. 

"While students home lives may be uncertain, school shouldn't be," (Megan William) that's why we need the government to make changes in schools to improve the learning environment for children living in poverty. The most important thing the government needs to do is to fund schools. They need funding for resources, qualified teachers, and support personal to try to help children get out of poverty. In addition, schools need to create a safe learning environment that tries to eliminate some of the stress students experience. 

People of color are getting harmed from biases found on standardized tests. According to FairTest, "young people of color, particularly those from low-income families, have suffered the most as the explosion of high-stakes standardized testing in U.S. public education has undermined equity and school quality" (Racial Justice and Standardized Educational Testing). Black students score 75% lower than white students on standardized test. If black children grow up in a white family or attends a school with their white counterparts, then they achieve slightly greater scores (The Black-White Test Score Gap). Thus, having the same experiences as white students will give students of color a better chance of succeeding. However, this is unfair for people of color because they don't usually experience the same experiences as white children. For example, on the New York Regents students were asked to name "two ways the British improved the lives of Africans" (Woestehoff). When African American children see this question, they relate white people as their savior. They start to believe that only white people can improve the lives of African American people and they start seeing white people as the superior race. Another example is when writers of the test discriminate against potential test questions. Questions are disregarded if more black people answer correctly than white students to keep questions "consistent" from year to year; thus maintaining black students behind their white counterparts (Woestehoff). 

Due to the achievement gap, children of color are experiencing many consequences. Students who fail these high-stakes exams get held back, denied graduation, and have a higher drop out rate. This leads to many social problems such as imprisonment and unemployment. In addition, children of color have a greater risk of getting misplaced in special education. 

After NCLB was enacted, students with disabilities were required to take these high-stakes standardized tests. In the past, students with disabilities were excluded from standardized, high stakes assessment because they weren't on the same cognitive level as the other students taking these tests, making the tests biased and unfair towards exceptional students. Therefore, NCLB allowed students with disabilities to have assessment accommodations. "Accommodations involve changes to the test presentation, setting, or response format ... [it] is meant to make it easier for students with disabilities to gain access to test content without changing the difficulty of the test while at the same time not changing what is being measured by the test" (Cawthon, Ho, Patel, Potvin, and Trundt). Some accommodations include: extended time, use of computer rather than paper format, read aloud, etc. But what if the child physically or mentally cannot take these tests even with accommodations? NCLB was enacted so ALL students are able to take the tests meaning ALL students must take the test. For instance, an eleven-year-old born with brain damage doesn't have the physically and mentally capability to take the test but under NCLB and other legislations he is required. Cindy Long states, "even though he was blind, had cerebal palsy, and had trouble saying basic words like "yes" and "no," he was forced to take a state-mandated test standardized test over a two-week period last year." Even the accommodations that were provided for the student was unfair and unappropriated. He was asked questions about food but he gets fed through a tube, never actually being able to taste. Although they read the question out loud to him, he is still not able to answer the question because he hasn't never eaten the food questioned. Not only is it inappropriate for his cognitive level, but it is also, physically exhausting for him. 

On the other hand, some Americans think standardized test do benefit students overall. They think these tests are fair and unbiased. They believe high-stakes testing is the best tool to measure student's intellectual abilities. Standardized tests are easier and more affordable in measuring student's abilities. According to Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement, "0.1 percent of total spending on K-12 education and amount to an average of less than $6 per student. A 50-item standardized test can be given in an hour or so and sample students' knowledge, understanding, and skills far more comprehensively than an essay test with only a few questions that can be answered in the same amount of time." However, a 50-item test does not really measure a student's abilities when the questions are geared towards White, Middle-to-upper class students. 

What can we do to change the path students are currently on? For starters, we must take the high-stakes aspects of standardized testing out. Instead,  using "high school grade point averages would give admissions counselors a better grasp of a student's abilities without the gender and racial biases that test scores carry," states Joseph Soares, a sociology professor at Wake Forest University. In addition, Superville and Klien think "students [should not] spend more than 2 percent of class time taking tests ... and that Congress scale back on testing." Although NCLB started off with good intention, that is, that everyone deserves a quality education, it hasn't kept up with its promise. Therefore, Congress and the Citizens on United States must abolish this Law before it does more damage. 

This issue is very important to me because everyone is involved. Either you're a student who has suffered the agony of taking standardized test, a teacher who needs to teach to these tests rather than to each student's individual needs, a parent with a child who takes these tests, or a student who is currently in school and facing the stress of taking these tests. I believe that standardized test are not efficient in measuring students ability's and its unfair for students who live in poverty, students with disabilities, and students of color. That's why we must stop high-stakes standardized test and testing in general as a tool to measure students capabilities. 

