It's that time of year again. While college students have been out of school for a month of more, high school kids are just starting their final exams. Make that Regents exams, if you happens to be in New York State.
Those of us who grew up in the Empire state remember them well I'm sure, though not fondly. Regents exams are a brand of standardized tests specific to New York. They're used to compare you to every other student in the state, and, unless you're fortunate enough to go to one of the few schools whose students are exempt, you must pass them to graduate.
Plenty of other states have similar systems of standardized tests, some of which have been implemented better than Regents exams, and some of which have been implemented worse. Even so, there are definitely more than a few problems inherent in Regents exams.
First is the lack of consistency. The tests in some subjects are harder to pass than those in others. And no, it doesn't just depend on whether one is a math/science or humanities person. For example, the two Social Studies regents exams are notoriously easy to pass. The English exam is a little harder, and the Science exams get harder based on the subject level. Though, all things considered, these are all pretty fair exams.
However, each year students struggle to pass even the most basic Math Regents exam. Interestingly enough, one has to pass this one to graduate. And since New York State began rolling out Common Core in 2014, these tests have only gotten harder.
What makes this situation even worse is that studies have shown that these new Math exams are more unfair to some students than others. According to David Rubel, pass rates among students from low-income households, those with disabilities, and English language learners, have dropped significantly, while the pass rates of privileged students remained the same.
Clearly there's a problem.
This issue is not new, however. Even tests as ubiquitous as the SAT have been accused of being biased against students of color and those from low-income households. The lack of fairness in standardized tests has become well known, but people are only beginning to call for a change.
That change is long overdue.
The point of high school is to prepare students to pursue and excel in either work or higher education. So a final assessment should measure their ability to do so.
Standardized tests don't measure ability.
Even if test makers were somehow able to create a completely unbiased competency test, students who are poor test-takers would still always be at a disadvantage. And just because someone is a poor test-taker does not mean they aren't competent. After all, tests go away after you get your degree.
No matter how you spin it, standardized tests aren't an effective way of measuring a person's competency, or even what they've learned. Not to mention the host of problems that come along with standardized test systems like Regents exams.
When a teacher must teach to a test, it takes the fun out of both teaching and learning. It becomes so necessary to cover the curriculum, that it leaves little time for going in depth on any subject, or even assuring that every student has grasped the material before moving on. It leaves no time for creativity on the part of teacher or student, making school dull. But these tests also make school stressful. Because every single year students have to prepare for multiple high-stakes tests.
Some schools, like members of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, have done away with Regents exams and instead rely on practical demonstrations of their students competency. These might include presentations, portfolios or extended projects. In many cases, projects have proved one of the most effective measures of a student's readiness for life beyond high school.
In my high school, project based learning was a huge part of my education. And it prepared me for my next step in life much better than any exam ever could. By completing a career-exploration based Capstone Project, I gained skills in researching, writing proposals, networking, and working independently. I've already used every single one of these skills either in college, work, or when seeking employment.
These are the skills we should be teaching kids, and their mastery of these skills is how we should be grading them. On this, the beginning of Regents week, it's necessary to point out that it's time we rethink standardized test systems.
U.S. students deserve better than unfair tests.
