High Stakes Testing: The Rising Opt-Out Wave

Aziah Siid, Word in Black

Between the stress they cause and racial bias, growing numbers of parents say they’ve had enough of their kids bubbling in Scantron forms.

As the school year draws to a close and the echoes of the final bell are still fresh, there’s a collective sigh of relief amongst students who have just navigated yet another round of high-stakes standardized testing. 

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For many students, the stakes are indeed high. According to the Education Commission of the States, at least 10 states have enacted legislation where student promotion hinges primarily on standardized test scores. An additional six states have adopted a hybrid model, where promotion decisions are determined by a blend of test scores and other influencing factors.

But many parents have had enough. They’ve joined the national opt-out movement and are exempting their children from the drill and killing the stress of standardized testing. They’re also asking questions about the direction of our educational system: Is the integral role of comprehensive student evaluation being undermined by an overemphasis on test scores? And in our pursuit of standardized measurements of student progress, are we risking a more holistic, nuanced understanding of a student’s abilities and potential? 

Harry Feder, executive director of Fair Test, works to combat the overuse and misuse of standardized tests. He says although implementing tests was intended to serve students, it disproportionally impacted Black students instead. 

Standardized Testing and Black Students

“The idea was that if we test kids every year, every grade level, in various disciplines, that it would benefit Black kids,” Feder says. “Why? Because it would tell us — what we knew already — but it would provide the evidence, that Black kids are being underserved because they are not performing as well.” 

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“There are several problems with this model,” Feder says. “The first is it makes the schools, particularly in communities of color — particularly for Black kids — all about test prep, and what doesn’t get done is the kind of rich learning and deeper learning we want our kids to engage in.” 

Part of understanding the relationship between standardized testing and Black students is to also understand the roots in which they were created, both good and bad.

“The data is very clear that there are inherent biases in standardized tests. The concept of them are kind of born in racism and eugenics, but it is definitely a way of ranking and sorting that does not do justice to poor kids and kids of color,” Feder says. 

Learn more about why parents are opting their children out of standardized testing in the original article.

Explore this virtual exhibit to learn more about historical injustices Black students faced in America.

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