On Lofty Goals and Accountability We Agree--and Little More

The gurus of education have declared that standardization of our educational system is the best way to ensure that students gain the skills they need.

Statewide, indeed nationwide, teachers plow through curriculum guides full of “measurable objectives” used to assess student performance on standardized tests whose scores are then used to “hold schools accountable” for student achievement.

High standards and accountability are essential to a quality education. However, the method used to achieve these goals is equally important.

Unfortunately, the preferred method is to use the most mediocre tool available: multiple-choice testing. It’s relatively cheap and it’s something bureaucrats can understand--the time-honored art of pedagogy reduced to yes / no, right / wrong.

Ah, if only the world for which we prepare our young people were so simple. But it’s not.

The obsessive focus on helping kids get the right answers so test scores will go up places an emphasis on test-taking strategies--the little tricks used when journeying through the artificial world of standardized tests. Such instruction does improve scores but it does little to help students gain the skills they need to navigate an ever-changing world of possibilities.

Learning is more than getting the right answer. Why and how a student chooses an answer is just as important as the answer itself. On a multiple-choice test, no one cares why you choose a particular answer as long as it’s “right.” Your unique reasoning process, that which most distinguishes you from the rest of the animal kingdom, isn’t important.

When assessing higher-level thinking skills in the humanities, a multiple-choice test is a poor tool. Literature by its nature is subject to one’s own reasoning process. A multiple-choice test doesn’t assess that process. More importantly, it deters outside-the-box thinking, which is the cornerstone of American ingenuity.

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Americans pride themselves on independent thinking, for not being on the same page at the same time with everyone else. We applaud those who march to the beat of different drummer and who are not afraid to color outside the lines. We do not esteem conformity in word or deed.

In our zeal to control all the variables in our diverse educational system and to insist on “measurable results,” are we prepared to inculcate values and sensibilities that are un-American? Do we really think that if every 10th-grader in the nation marks the same answer on a standardized test, we will have improved education? And if so, whose standards and objectives will be used to assess student success? Just whom and what do you want to determine your child’s ability?

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Many questions on so-called objective tests are in fact subjective. For example, students are often asked to read a passage and then determine which would be the best title for the piece. Do we really believe that if every student chooses the same title, we will have improved his or her reading comprehension? Do we really want all students to infer the exact same thing when they read Shakespeare or Milton?

Standardized testing doesn’t encourage innovative thinking. Instead, it lauds those who conform to the norm.

The best way to ensure that children get a quality education is to get involved with your local school. Volunteer, get to know your child’s teachers and principal, attend school board meetings. Don’t rely on Big Brother Inc. to do the job for you; their standards may not necessarily be your own.