Should standardized tests be cancelled?

【Abstract】Standardized testing is a common way of determining the intelligence of test?鄄takers and has been existed for centuries. Due to its unique characteristics， people feel stressful to take these tests. Therefore， whether the standardized testing should be cancelled has become a heated issue in recent years. This paper will first give a brief introduction about the definition of standardized tests and then analyzes their pros and cons， to discuss the necessity of its existence.

【Key words】standardized tests， test?鄄takers， ESL

【中圖分類號】G64【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2014）11-0124-02

Standardized tests， simply put， are tests that require all the students to answer the same questions regardless of their cultural background and individual differences， and measure their results by using the same measurement. Standardized tests originated in China， and they are used to select talents. Even today， they are still very important means of measuring the abilities of test?鄄takers. The invention of standardized tests， they have been controversial issues for a long time. Some advocates thought assessment is an efficient way to make comparison among the test?鄄takers， while critics thought it has distorted the nature of learning. However， its pros and cons vary in different settings.

The drawbacks of standardized tests are obvious. First， standardized tests are not totally reliable， and they didn’t test the real ability or achievement of test?鄄takers. As Chamberlain (1991， p.120) mentioned that the assessment has made an assumption that all the test?鄄takers are all from the same class and race. Apparently， such an assumption is not true under many occasions especially in the ESL (English as the second language) classroom. Cultural differences will result in value deviation or lack of essential background knowledge and which will lead to unfavorable scores.

Secondly， they are not objective. Multiple choice and true or 1 questions account for the majority part of the test， and those questions only have one correct answer and not require the specific reasons. Students counting on chance hoping they are lucky enough to choose the right one， directly cheat， play tricks and misbehaves during the test. In addition， overemphasizing the grade will result in only focusing on the content that will be on the test while ignoring topics that are not covered. Such exam?鄄oriented teaching has violated the nature of learning.

In spite of the drawbacks mentioned above， standardized tests still have their merits. They can process the test?鄄taker abilities into intuitive data， and they are easier and time?鄄effective way to get the results especially for a large group of people. Other forms of assessment， like field practicum and documentation of students work， can only show individual problems but cannot reflect the problem in a macroscopic perspective. Feedback is a very important sector in teaching， and it will help teachers to spot the weak link in order to perform well in future teaching.

In summary， the standardized tests have both advantages and disadvantages. To positively deny their advantages and exaggerate their disadvantages is not a wise judgment. If conditions are permitted， then a new kind of assessment could be produced， which would integrate both standardize test and field?鄄base assignment. Such an alternative will prevent the heavy reliance on standardized tests for decision?鄄making and increase their reliability. On the other hand， the field?鄄base assignment would provide more opportunities for students to state their opinion. At last， It is essential to quote Hill’s (1992， p. 49) words as a conclusion:“The primary strengths of standardized tests， if they are properly designed and properly used， are that they can eliminate biases in assessment of individual children and that they provide data that can be aggregated， permitting comparisons of groups to a standard.”

References：

[1]Chamberlain，P. Medinos?鄄Landurand，P.(1991). Practical considerations for the assessment of LEP students with special needs. In E.V. Hamayan and J.S. Damico， J.S.(Eds.)， Limiting bias in the assessment of bilingual students(p.111-156). Austin，Tx:ProEd.

[2]Hills， T. W. (1992). Reaching potentials through appropriate assessment.In S. Bredekamp T. Rosegrant (Eds.)， Reaching potentials:Appropriate curriculum and assessment for young children (Vol. 1， pp. 43-63). Washington， DC:National Association for the Education of Young Children.

作者簡介：

石青（1987-）女，重慶市人，助教，碩士學位，主要研究方向為：中英雙語教學法。