Standardized Tests In Higher Education

National standardized tests reproduce and reinforce America’s class structure, placing poor students of color at a significant disadvantage when it comes to graduating from high school and pursuing higher education. Standardized tests also enforce a classroom teaching method which devalues students’ lived experiences and encourages the reproduction of knowledge in a way that positions European contributions to society as the most valuable contributions. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I have repeatedly asked myself the same question: with so much emphasis being placed on standardized test scores, how can a high school biology teacher break away from the banking style of teaching to create a collaborative classroom that embraces a multicultural, anti-racist curriculum? Standardized tests are marketed to the American public as a meritocratic method of determining …show more content…
The high-ratio minority schools described in Rich’s article are lacking in all three stages. While the students described are technically given access to schooling, this access is revoked through suspension and expulsion at higher rates than it is for their white peers (Rich, 2014). Their access to learning is also substandard, due to underqualified teachers and little access to higher-level math and science courses (Rich, 2014). A great amount of school funding comes from property taxes, and these schools are likely in low-income areas. Additional school funding comes from standardized test scores, and most students whose parents’ socioeconomic status is low do not have the financial resources available to compete with their high-socioeconomic status peers on an even playing field. It follows that schools in lower-income areas are not receiving the same government funding as schools in higher income areas. Overall, their access to monetary resources is