Reliability of the Standardized Testing - Essay Example

Running Head: Reliability of Standardized Testing. How reliable is Standardized Testing? Standardized Testing is a testing methodology which not only evaluates the performance of a student, but also makes the teachers, administrators and others involved in the system accountable for the performance and also provides an evaluation of the institution itself. Standardized Testing has been around since early 1900, however time and again, the reliability of standardized testing has often been questioned. There are both proponents and opponents of this testing system. In order to find how reliable this system is, it is quite necessary to evaluate and assess both the positive and negative aspects of this system, before reaching a conclusion on its reliability. If we take into account the basic ideology of standardized testing, it deals with providing information about performance of individual students and also provides an evaluation of the program. In short, we can say that standardized testing makes not only teachers accountable for the poor performance of the students, but also holds the administration equally accountable for the result as well. This is quite pertinent, because the administration is responsible for providing the teachers the basic facilities in order to carry out their jobs, hence the teachers cannot be made scapegoats under this system. Hence this system does have reliability in the sense that every body involved in the education system is accountable to some extent. The reliability of standardized testing has been put under the scanner several times in the past, in fact, as early as in the summer of 1977, at the National Consortium on testing. In this consortium it was decided to “promote a wider understanding of standardized testing among educators, legislators and public at large” (p.2). At that point itself, there was a lot of criticism from a segment of educators and administrators who felt that there had to be changes made in the system. According to Monroe (1924), the standardized tests provided “scientific” and “standard units” (p.7) for measuring the achievements of a student. These arguments are totally valid and indicate the reliability of standardized testing. However, considering there have been enormous changes in the education system, since these comments were made. If we take the current scenario into question, we have to address a host of issues in order to answer this question. There have been a number of testing methodologies that have emerged since then, and in the current scenario, we have to take these into consideration while evaluating the reliability of standardized testing. One of the strongest proponents of standardized testing was Atkinson (2001), who had argued that for use of only standardized tests in admission process in U.S Universities, as he believed that they were quite reliable and provided were fair. He was right in the sense that standardized tests not only provide comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the student, but also strengthen the basic foundation and principles involved in teaching. There are may be varying opinions over standardized testing, but there is no doubt that standardized testing is quite effective efficient. The reliability has often been questioned partly due to the efficiency and effectiveness of this methodology. As mentioned before standardized testing not only evaluates the performance of student, but also tests the efficacy of the teachers, administration and the school itself. In this way everybody involved in the system is accountable and that raises doubts that people involved may get desperate and adopt illegal mechanisms, so that they are not held accountable and this is the reason why the reliability of standardized testing has been questioned. However, the opponents of standardized education system believe that the problem with accountability is that it could cause a cascading effect; in the sense that the teachers may be influenced to design the curriculum in a way so that the students obtain better scores. This in turn could affect the efficiency of the education system. According to Haugh (1975) the opponents of standardized testing, who often question the reliability of standardized testing, point out mainly at issues of “accountability, curriculum control and efficiency” (p.2). In my opinion, the most balanced opinion regarding standardized testing was provided by Hassett (1978), who stated that while standardized testing does provides “useful information for the class teacher” (p.1), at the same time the “test scores do not give an accurate picture of the pupil’s ability to achieve” (p.2). This is certainly quite true, standardized testing methodology does have its own set of strengths as well as weaknesses. But this is true with other methodologies as well, and in the current scenario, there are several tests such as SAT which employ standardized testing. It is a time proven methodology and although it has some drawbacks, on the whole, standardized testing is quite reliable. Although there are many alternatives to standardized testing, they have not proved to be as effective as standardized testing. However, these alternatives cannot be dismissed altogether. They have their own advantages, there have been many suggestion of either getting away with standardized testing or making modifications, but I strongly feel that standardized form in its current form is quite adequate and does not need further modifications. It has been tested for over a century and has produced quite effective and time tested results. The reliability of the system can be gauged from the fact that arguments provided by the opponents, such as pressure on educators and administrators, are in fact the strengths of Standardized Testing. They keep the educators and administrators as well as others on their feet and are also aware of their responsibilities and consequences. Conclusion I would conclude with the assertion that Standardized Testing is undoubtedly reliable. It provides a strong foundation for the educational system, where every one starting from the students, to the teachers, administrators and ultimately the institutions are aware of their responsibilities and are held accountable for their acts. This is quite essential considering that under present circumstances, there is a lot of competition and in order for the students to be ready to meet the challenges of the future, and they have to be ready. In order for them to be ready to meet the challenges of the future, Standardized Testing is the most reliable methodology. References Airasian, P.W. (1979). The National Consortium on Testing. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1, 3. Atkinson, R. (2001) Standardized Tests and Access to American Universities. American Council on Education. Washington, D.C. Hassett, J.J. (1978). Checking the Accuracy of Pupil scores in Standardized Tests. The English Journal, 67, 7. Haugh, O. (1975). The Standardized Test to Be or Not to Be. The English Journal, 64, 3. Monroe, S.W. (1924). Written Examinations versus Standardized Tests, School Review, 32, 4. Read More