By: Hallie Peacock
Could required standardized tests soon come to an end? A new bill called the More Teaching, Less Testing Act proposed by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) would allow states more freedom in the design and administering of the tests.
This bill was introduced March 23, 2023 and would allow states more options for administering standardized tests. It would bring reading and math tests down from seven to three tests, and keep science at just three. It would also allow schools to use the funding they would have gotten for the standardized tests, and put it toward other projects. “Our already underfunded schools should not be forced to spend valuable time and resources teaching to the test,” Bowman said in a press release in support of the bill.
Many teachers believe that standardized testing only wastes time that could instead be used for more instruction time. After COVID, test scores unsurprisingly dropped which provided no new information to teachers. Although it highlights where a student may be struggling, there are certain flaws to trusting the data. For example, some students may not take the test seriously, they may choose random answers just to get the test over with..
Students such as Meredith Banks, a junior, say their abilities are not always reflected by test scores. “The only good thing about standardized tests is when they’re over, and the stress is off your shoulders,” Banks said. Like many other students, she feels that there is too much pressure around tests like the SAT and ACT. “I felt rushed and like I had to choose some answer because I was running out of time,” said Banks.
Another student, Mayna Rivera, a senior, also said testing environments are not accommodating to everyone. She took both the SAT and ACT last year: “It’s not fair to people who have test anxiety or ADHD,” said Rivera. She finds the testing environment stress-inducing, making it difficult to concentrate.
Marcus Waters, a geometry teacher, sees both sides of the debate. “There’s both good and bad, it allows you to compare your answers to your peers, but there’s a lot of students who don’t take it seriously so then what do we do with that data?” he said, emphasizing what most teachers and students already know, that scores may not project a student's actual abilities.
Debra Chandler, La Cueva’s College and Career counselor, said that ever since COVID many colleges have changed their rules for mandating standardized test scores for admissions. As many students were in lockdown there was no way for students to take tests, which forced many colleges to not mandate tests such as the SAT and ACT. “It's against the law for colleges in California to check your past test scores. There was a whole lawsuit during the pandemic,” she said.
However, Chandler did note that it is better to take the SAT and ACT as those scores help students to earn scholarships and make it easier to be placed in classes. Although many colleges are going back to pre-pandemic ways, there are many who have their own rules, which many people may see as a reason not to take standardized tests.
This all begs the question on whether Bowman’s bill might change the outcome of students test scores and overall achievement in school and outside of the testing rooms. With mixed emotions and positive aspects to go along with every negative, there is no right answer. However, this bill may be the hope of someday reducing the high stakes tests and increasing the teaching of valuable lessons.