Standardized testing, such as Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT), needs to be removed from entry-level requirements as it excludes the perception and perspective of people of color and hinders the development of the educational system.
Annotated Bibliography
Cabrera’s Article
Cabrera, Sandra Leonor. “The Oppressive Nature of Admission Tests to Public Higher Education.” INNOVA Research Journal, vol. 2, no. 6, 2017, pp. 94-99.
Cabrera’s Article Summary
In her sociological study, Cabrera discusses the dividing and inhibiting functions of current standardizing testing in the United States. According to her, admission tests “has its origins in oppressive practices that inhibit the unification of the elements of democratic education proposed by John Dewey” (Cabrera 99). Research findings show that standardized testing contradicts the principles of democratic education because of its racist roots in eugenics.
The Benefits of Cabrera’s Article
This study is full of historical facts and sociological findings that I will use in a future presentation. Her inferences based on the analysis of standardized testing through the lens of democratic education theory are the arguments in favor of abandoning such a college recruiting process (Cabrera 98). Moreover, the description of the historical origins of the standardized admission tests complements the information from the academic article that will be described next.
Cunningham’s Article
Cunningham, Jahneille. “Missing the mark: Standardized testing as epistemological erasure in US schooling.” Power and Education, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 111-120.
Cunningham’s Article Summary
This article challenges the established public and expert opinion that standardized testing effectively selects students for higher education entities and assesses their potential neutrally. Cunningham argues that its true nature is to “serve a more malicious function in schooling by systematically erasing epistemologies that differ from the dominant society” (111). The researcher concludes that standardized testing, especially SAT and ACT, is detrimental to epistemic diversity and contributes to segregation by class and race in the current American educational system.
The Benefits of Cunningham’s Article
This study presented an interesting intersectional perspective on the institutional impact of standardized testing. Cunningham also provides an overview of the standardized approach to testing throughout the American educational system, combined with her reasoning (112). I will include this data in the introductory part of the upcoming work. The facts about the segregation nature of the American entrance examination showed by the researcher support the thesis that colleges need to stop using standardized tests to select future students.
Federick’s Article
Federick, Ashok. “Finland Education System.” International Journal of Science and Society, vol. 2, no. 2, 2020, pp. 21-32.
Federick’s Article Summary
Federick’s scholarly work is a description of the Finnish educational system that has attracted the attention of many sociologists, cultural scientists, and educators in recent years. The author explains the educational approach of the Finnish government and gives general knowledge related to the society, culture, and geography of Finland (Federick 21). The researcher concludes that the long-term success of the Finnish education system is due to its decentralized nature, government funding, highly qualified teaching staff, and non-reliance on standardized testing.
The Benefits of Federick’s Article
Federick’s work was chosen for a future presentation to show the contrast between an educational system that relies on standardized testing and one that does not. In addition, the author scrupulously describes the educational process at the compulsory and secondary stages from the perspective of both pupils and teachers (Federick 26). I will use this information in the comparison analysis section of the coming presentation. His paper also exemplifies how to structure and tie together facts from different academic backgrounds to develop epistemic knowledge.
Knoester and Au’s Article
Knoester, Matthew, and Wayne Au. “Standardized testing and school segregation: like tinder for fire?” Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 20, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-14.
Knoester and Au’s Article Summary
Researchers explore the same topic in their paper as Cabrera and Cunningham, namely the relationship of standardized testing to racial and class discrimination in the American educational system. Knoester and Au analyze the history of segregation, desegregation, and current re-segregation in US education and apply critical racial theory to identify its various effects on students, teachers, and society (2). The authors find that standardized testing and high-stakes exams, such as the current college entry-level ones in the US, promote institutional racial discrimination and deepen existing socioeconomic inequalities.
The Benefits of Knoester and Au’s Article
As with the works of Cabrera and Cunningham, this research serves as a source of evidence to support the thesis presented in the beginning. Knoester and Au provide an exciting insight by associating the development and implementation of standardized testing in schools and colleges with the concept of meritocracy (7). The intersectional relations they have shown gave me a theoretical basis for thinking about future processes in American education if standardized testing remains an entry-level requirement.
Wai et al. Article
Wai, Jonathan, et al. “Using Standardized Test Scores to Include General Cognitive Ability in Education Research and Policy.” Journal of Intelligence, vol. 6, no. 3, 2018, pp. 1-16.
Wai et al. Article Summary
This work is about how standardized tests, specifically SAT and ACT can serve as a theoretical framework for assessing students’ personal qualities related to the educational process. One of the authors’ theses is that standardized tests are a reasonable method of evaluating their cognitive abilities and an efficient predictor of their future academic performance (Wai et al. 9). Researchers conclude that standardized tests need further development to assess students’ skills and potential more objectively.
The Benefits of Wai et al. Article
As one can see, the nature of this scholarly study differs from others reviewed here. The academics of this article only examine aspects of the discipline of education (Wai et al. 1). I included this scholarly paper due to the need to provide not just the opposite but a different view of American standardized testing. Their findings gave me relevant counterpoints to the original thesis, which I will refute later in the presentation.