We Must Eliminate Standardized Testing

American classrooms have teachers who are required to implement best practices so that all learners are accommodated. Differentiating instruction, utilizing team building approaches, and permitting students to learn through their interest as multiple intelligences are recognized and characteristics of a healthy learning environment. Absence of tension, pressure, and anxiety are the result of student-centered learning as in project-based- learning. When students work independently or collaborate to construct their own knowledge they retain the information. This kind of learning is certainly not standardized or uniform. When a principal evaluates a teacher, she is not looking for teachers teaching in a standardized approach for all students, as the students would not achieve their best potential under those circumstances. I believe that teaching in a uniform manner is outdated as is testing in a uniform or standardized manner.
Another school year is fast approaching and students will be expected to test in ways that are standardized. Urban, suburban, and rural students will take part in standardized testing. Standardized testing obviously does not measure a student’s knowledge or the educational quality. Unfortunately, schools are judged as credible if they have high standardized scores and are discredited for low test scores despite the composition of the student body. Norm-referenced tests for comparing the data results to other students across the state and country seems like a good approach as standardized tests are convenient tools for accomplishing that agenda. However, many studies have proven that standardized testing is not a reliable tool for measuring student knowledge. Unfortunately, the test only measure linguistics, math and science despite evidence as proposed by Howard Gardner that there are eight intelligences. Students who have other intelligences and who have expanded their knowledge but are not strong in math, science, or linguistics are led to believe that they are not smart. If the tests are for predicting then one is predicting the future educational success of students, as I believe that these tests do more harm than good.
All intelligence are necessary for creating a beautiful existence for all; naturalist, interpersonal, musical, kinesthetic/bodily, spatial/visual, logical/mathematic, intrapersonal, and linguistic/verbal. As students learn in non-uniform ways, I believe they should also be tested in non-standardized ways. Young people evolve and the idea of testing, and labeling creates life-long dilemmas as students who are creative or who possess a non-testing intelligence struggle to realize their potential. My approach is rather to stimulate, motivate, and facilitate learning and to allow the intelligences in an individual to surface without constraints, pressures, and tension as evidenced in a standardized classroom. Does non-standardized testing eliminate expectation? To the contrary, as the responsibility of the teacher to create a healthy learning environment, to direct, and instruct students for developing the needed skills for this global economy remain a high expectation. If the approaches for standardized testing will be eliminated, I believe efficacy will return to schools and fewer drop-outs would occur as those who lose hope will enjoy renewed opportunities for constructing their own knowledge in an environment where teachers accept them and believe in them. The rules must change as stifling the development of American students through testing must end. Therefore, my desire is to see restructuring in education to represent student-centered learning and student-centered testing.