In many ways, standardized testing has begun to dominate the American educational system. In an April 2014 column in the Hechinger Report, for example, teachers at a public New York City secondary school reported that the number of standardized tests they administer more than doubled over the last year and that students would spend 18 days taking these tests over the next six weeks. In a report published by the American Federation of Teachers, students in grades six through 11 in one school district spent over 100 hours preparing for exams annually — approximately one month of the school year — and spent more than 55 hours taking the exams. Each state requires standardized testing, and schools dedicate a large portion of class time and curricula to prepare students to take the exams. This emphasis, however, seems to do more harm than good — and, crucially, does not prepare students for skills they will need in the workforce.
I attended what many consider to be a “good” high school, largely because of its standardized testing results. In 2013, Newsweek ranked it among the top 300 high schools in the country, and in 2014 it was ranked among the top 30 high schools in the state by New Jersey Monthly. Yet, these numbers hide the schools’ cutthroat atmosphere — the kind that celebrates high scores and acceptance into elite colleges at the expense of everything else. With an increased focus on standardized testing, many high schools will likely shift toward the model that mine follows — a high-pressure environment where status is defined by how well students memorize the facts tested in these exams. Though doing well on these exams may help students impress potential colleges, it does not help students with some of the most important skills necessary in the real world — soft skills such as communication, teamwork and networking.
Reliance on can numbers also breed a culture that encourages cheating. In 2012, more than 60 students in Stuyvesant High School in New York City, one of the most prestigious high schools in the country, were caught cheating on the Regents exam. Smaller-scale, less obvious cheating occurs regularly as well. A New York Times article following the cheating ring’s exposures claimed that many students have “internalized a moral and academic math” by the time they graduate wherein some forms of cheating are acceptable and some are not. Many students see a difference between cheating on an Advanced Placement exam, for example, and cheating in a class. Moreover, this has led to an ethos wherein “anything less than a grade of 85 is ‘failing’” and “anything more than a grade-point average of 95” sets you on track to go to an elite university. This emphasis on attaining such a narrow margin of grades and test scores pits students against each other and inadvertently encourages manipulation and dishonesty. Yet the workplace often celebrates different values, such as cooperation and communication. To do well professionally, one must do more than get the best numbers — one has to learn how to talk to and work with others.
Schools need to reevaluate the direction in which they are heading by focusing more on student cooperation and less on proctoring state tests to evaluate and separate students. Educators should prioritize teaching students skills that can translate to successful personal and professional lives rather than simply how to do well on exams.
In his book “Outliers: The Story of Success,” Malcolm Gladwell mentions an intelligence threshold — above a certain point, intelligence and grades no longer distinguish people. There likely is not much difference in intelligence between someone who scored a 2350 on the SAT and someone who scored a 2400. Above the intelligence threshold, grades and numbers matter less than being able to communicate and work well with others.
Schools are focusing so intently on numbers — and thus telling students to focus on numbers as well — that they forget to teach students the value of other, less quantifiable skills. Rather than praising schools that produce students who look good on paper but lack the integrity and social skills to do well in their jobs, the education system should emphasize producing students who are smart, yes, but also able to work with others.
