Students today are inundated with standardized tests. In the United States, standardized testing begins as early as first grade with achievement tests which measure both how each student is doing relative to expectations based on their grade level and how well the school is doing based on the overall performance of the students.

High school students (and now even middle school students) take the PSATs (preliminary scholastic aptitude test) to prepare for the more important SATs (scholastic aptitude test) and to compete for National Merit Scholarships. The SATs, of course, are required for admission to most U.S. colleges, although some colleges and universities also accept ACT (American college test) scores. Students wishing to receive additional consideration for college admissions, scholarships, awards, advanced placement in their first year of college or college credit can take SAT II subject tests, AP (advanced placement) exams and/or CLEP (college level examination program) tests.

International students and non-native English speakers have the additional burden of taking the TOEFL (test of English as a foreign language), TOEIC (test of English for international communication) or TSE (test of spoken English) exams.



After graduation there are even more tests: GREs (graduate record examination) for students who wish to attend graduate school, MCATs (medical college admissions test) for medical school, LSATs (law school admissions test) for law school and GMATs (graduate management admissions test) for business school.

Even professionals are not exempt. They must take standardized tests to become licensed in their fields. Physicians take the USMLE (U.S. medical licensing exam), lawyers take the bar exam, accountants take the CPA (certified public accountant) exam and engineers take the FE (fundamentals of engineering) and PE (professional engineer) exams just to name a few.

It`s enough to make anyone`s head spin.

All examinations, including standardized tests, can serve up to three purposes. They provide external motivation for students to learn. They provide a way to measure what the students have learned (in terms of skills or knowledge) or their potential to learn. And they provide obstacles for the students to overcome in order to progress to the next level of learning.

But all standardized tests are not created equal. Some tests are given without warning, while others are scheduled well ahead of time. Some tests can be "taught" (i.e. students benefit greatly from extensive preparation) while others cannot. And finally, the process of preparing for the test can either lead to a lifelong benefit or no benefit at all beyond an improved score on the exam.

Tests that are given without warning can provide insight into the current knowledge and abilities of the students without being unduly influenced by outside preparation. This, in turn, can reduce the gap in scores between students from privileged and disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, it can greatly reduce the amount of test-taking anxiety that many students face. Without advanced notice, students and their parents have no time to work themselves into a frenzy. These tests provide no immediate benefit to the student. They only provide information to the recipient of the test scores. But they also do no harm.

Subject-based standardized tests, like the SAT IIs and all professional licensing exams, are teachable but the subject matter is advantageous to the students. The preparation for the test may require significant study, but that study is not wasted. Instead, it reinforces the knowledge, skills and understanding that the students need in their professional careers. These exams benefit both the student and the score recipients.

The trouble with many standardized tests (especially entrance exams) is that they are scheduled and teachable, but preparation for them ultimately leads to little or no benefit to the students. The only skills that the students develop from studying are the skills to successfully take these tests.

The test scores cannot differentiate between talented students and students who spent a great deal of time, money and energy to prepare for them. They also cannot account for nerves, unidentified learning disabilities or a host of other issues. So they only measure what students are willing (and able!) to spend to pass the test. This, in turn, allows admissions officers to estimate how hard a given student will work in school. But this valuable information comes at the (sometimes extreme) expense of the students and their parents.

For the students, these tests are nothing more than a hurdle that stands between them and a better life. They distract students from other learning experiences and opportunities. And the cost of that distraction is ultimately passed onto society and the economy as a whole.

We, as a society, need to rethink the way that standardized testing is done so it benefits the most important stakeholders in the educational system: the students.





Mary Kathryn Thompson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. She can be reached at mkthompson@an.kaist.ac.kr. - Ed.