User:Jacques Bermon Webster II/Standardized test
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Testing for students of color, those with disabilities, and those from low-income communities in the United States
[edit]Controversy
[edit]Standardized testing and the requirement of such tests for college admissions is a controversial topic. The reason for the controversy is that these tests can create unequal opportunities for students based on their economic status, race, or even ability status. It is common for students of color, those with disabilities, and those from low-income communities to have low student performance rates. This is most likely due to "generations of exclusionary housing, education, and economic policy"[1]. These achievement gaps aren't a new concept. In 1991, the gap between the average scores of white students and those of black students was .91 standard deviations, while in 2020, the gap had decreased to .79 standard deviations[1].
Cost of Taking The Tests
[edit]Standardized testing can be costly for students, in both prep courses/tutors and in actually taking test. The ACT and SAT can cost $55-$70 and $52-$68 respectively[2]. Many students who can afford to end up taking the tests multiple time to see the best score[3] they can get, and will submit "super-scores" or a score consisting of their best scores from each section. Students from low-income communities cannot always afford to take the test multiple times.
Cost of Test Prep
[edit]Students in low-income communities often times do not have the same resources for test prep that their peers from more affluent backgrounds do. This discrepancy in resources available causes there to be a significant difference in the scores of students from different racial backgrounds. In an analysis conducted by the Brookings Institution found that 59% of white students and 80% of Asian test takers are deemed "college ready"[4] by the SAT standards in comparison to the under 25% of Black students and under 33% of Hispanic/Latino students who are deemed "college ready" While the college board reports that socioeconomic factors do not directly impact a student's performance, it can indirectly impact it through the course of access to prep courses and better schooling, experiences that can heavily impact on test scores.
Students with Disabilities
[edit]When it comes to students with disabilities and special needs, these tests are not alway an appropriate method to measure knowledge or readiness. For students with disabilities, it is not always realistic to expect them to sit at a desk for hours at a time and silently take a test. To refute that, students with disabilities can get accommodations, such as extra time to work on the tests[5].
References
[edit]- ^ a b Smith, Ember. "SAT math scores mirror and maintain racial inequity". Brookings Institute.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Why we should do away with standardized testing". The Daily Cardinal. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ^ "Retaking the Test". www.manhattanreview.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
- ^ Geiser, Saul (October 2015). "The Growing Correlation Between Race and SAT Scores" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Standardized Tests and Leanring Disabilities - Test Limits, & Challenges". neurohealthah.com. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-10-04.