Improving Postsecondary Entrance Exams

Labeling bias exists when a test claims to measure one thing but actually measures something else. Tests that claim to assess such traits as “aptitude” or “intelligence” imply that they are measuring something innate, given that many people assume that these traits are genetic. However, Jencks notes that “almost all psychologists now agree that while an individual’s score on an intelligence or aptitude test depends partly on his or her genetic makeup, it also reflects a multitude of environmental influences” (p. 56). Thus, such tests are racially biased estimates of the innate traits that most laypeople think these tests are purporting to evaluate. Fortunately, this bias can be eliminated by simply changing the names of what these tests claim to measure.

A standardized test refers to any examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major types of standardized test: aptitude test and achievement test (Popham 1999). The test that is most familiar to parents, educators and students is the standardized achievement test. Every year schools administer achievement test to students, the scores of these test are then used by the public and school board members to evaluate a schools effectiveness. Although previous generations of American student have had to sit through test, never have test been given so frequently or played such a prominent role in schooling as they do today (Kohn 2000). The large role standardized testing has taken in todays schooling has lead many to question whether or not it is effective in measuring educational quality. In fact many researcher have reason to believe it is in face ineffective due to a bias against minority students. In order to understand how a bias in standardized testing would impact minority students, we must educate ourselves on the amount of preparation the test requires, as well as how it is created. The issue of standardized testing being biased should matter to all people, not just those who are directly effected by it, because as a society it is our job to ensure that each child is given equal opportunity to succeed.

Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Likewise, if a poor test-taker is judged by their SAT score, they could be forced to attend an inadequate institute of higher education. For decades, the SAT has been “the test” that makes or breaks a student's chances of getting into their top college. Generally, the privileged populace do well, but minorities and women do not come out as strong and are therefore limited to college choice. The SAT has proven to be an unsuitable, biased method for predicting success of students in college.

Our state and federal legislatures, executive bodies, and our courts have been involved in many aspects of testing assessment. Courts have been grappling with the role of diversity in criteria for admission to colleges, universities, and professional schools (Cohen, 2013).

Grodsky, Warren, and Felts (2008) researched the complicated relationship between testing and social inequality. They found that some supporters of testing have promoted it at least partly as an solution to rigid class structures. For an example, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was designed in part to make top colleges into places for bright young men from all backgrounds, not just the children of the elite. Though, modern critics note that standardized assessments largely reflect socioeconomic status, mainly because students from privileged backgrounds with average scores can increase their results by taking expensive private test preparation courses (Gershon,

The structure that most significantly sustains the injustice of standardized testing is social inequality. Students from different socioeconomic backgrounds are evaluated by the same set of criteria and are held to the same standards. Unfortunately, the students who live in and attend a school in poor communities are already behind when they start school and are immediately set up for failure. Most of the students in these schools come from households that have lower

Quote 1: “On a global basis, the question has to be “do assessments disadvantage students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds?”

Over the past decade, several researchers have released evidence proving a bias in standardized testing towards minority students. In this paper I will argue in favor of those supporting the idea of a bias in standardized testing. A bias in standardized testing would not only effect the students it is biased against, but the public and other students as well. This is why it is important that we take the time to educate ourselves with the evidence provided. In order to make a decision as to whether or not standardized testing is indeed biased, we must educate ourselves on the amount of test preparation the test requires, as well as how it is created.

Ultimately, with specific reference to the ideology of civil rights sociologist W.E.B. DuBois, bias in standardized testing appears auspiciously addressed through a cultural reformulation of historically debasing race and gender stereotypes, the adoption of standardized testing alternatives, and the emendation of western-centric curriculums and culturally-loaded test

The test is also known for being bias towards those students who come from higher-class neighborhoods, simply because they have more educational resources. “The absence of standards virtually guarantees satisfied renouncement and access to knowledge, based upon income, ethnicity and the community one resides in” (French 2003). The resource available in the suburban culture has more of a variety than those who stay in rural population. The reason being is the gap between incomes, surroundings’ and family support. People that stay in the suburbs contribute

Among the students who continue to struggle are many minority students who show a deficit in math and science readiness. This deficit is apparent in nearly every state in the United States. Blank, Manise, Brathwaite & Langesen (1999), indicate that an examination of performance in all states reveals a point difference of 30 to 50 percentage points between white students and the minority students’ scores on the 8th grade NAEP exam.

After analyzing extensive research done by Jay Rosner, executive director of the Princeton Review, Young concludes, “They’re not racists. The test company uses a completely neutral, colorblind system for picking questions. However, that system predictably, consistently, and reliably yields questions that favor whites dramatically over other subgroups” (Young). Young’s thoughts contradict Lemann’s opinion that EST purposely chooses racial preference questions. Instead of blaming the people at EST for such a wide score gap, Young blames the process of choosing which questions to put on the test. He presents an alternate view to racial bias on the SAT than what Lemann presents in his book. He explains how the question-choosing process is based off of reliability, that “reliable questions will be the those on which those who score highest overall do consistently well, and on which with low scores do consistently poor” (Young). Ultimately, those reliable questions will remain on the SAT and statistically, Caucasians will almost always score higher than any subgroup, even though “some minority students may score higher on those questions” (Young). Both he and Lemann agree that because of this, the SAT scores will always underestimate a subgroup’s

The authors discuss that one way African Americans have been harmed through high-stakes testing and standardized assessments is through limited improvement in test scores and dropout rates. Although some African American students may be receiving a quality education because they are reading at or above grade level and have proficient math skills, there still remains a countless number of African Americans who are at the same level and receiving a quality education (Thompson & Allen, 2012). Dropout rates once proved that African American students were not receiving a fair quality education; however, today, the dropout rate indicates that Black and White achievement gap has narrowed over time and achievement scores have increased, too many African Americans are still receiving a substandard education (Thompson & Allen, 2012).

The tests require children to draw from knowledge they learn or experiences they’ve had outside of school, which is different for each student. According to W. James Popham, an expert on educational assessment, “If children come from advantaged families and stimulus-rich environments, then they are more apt to succeed on items in standardized achievement test items than will other children whose environments don't mesh as well with what the tests measure”. The biases in the development and administration of standardized tests often contribute to the achievement gap between whites and minorities. As a result students from low-income and minority families, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities are more likely to be held back a grade, be placed in unnecessary remedial education programs, and be denied a diploma (Reese, pg. 1). Another problem with standardized testing is the tests do not accurately measure teacher quality. Standardized tests are often used to evaluate teachers and schools staff based on their student’s scores. However, standardized tests are limited indicators of student knowledge and progress; therefore they do not reflect the wide range of knowledge and skills a teacher covers in the classroom. It is unfair to isolate the impact of one individual because teaching is a collaborative and developmental process (FairTest, pg. 1). People think that if standardized test scores are high they can label teachers as

There is also a potential issue with external validity. Since the exam was administered online, a subpopulation of people may not be represented in the study who do not have readily available internet access, and that could affect the impact of the “Obama Effect” on the two races’ performance on the test. People with internet tend to be of higher SES and so the causality between an increase in scores and the “Obama Effect” may not be accurate. The