The book Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment by Maja Wilson really opened my eyes to the reasoning behind how our current standardized assessment began. The first couple chapters really helped my understanding of how the educational system really worked back during the industrial revolution. Since I have only known modern schooling personally, it is hard to remember back to a time in history when only rich and priviledged males attended school.
Pre-industrial revolution, assessment was used as a tool to help writers hone their craft. Now, masses of people poured into the cities, quickly raising the attendance at schools. Because of this new surge of students, teachers needed a way to measure mental "power" in an easier format for grading and ranking capabilities. It is interesting to think that a respected learning institution like Harvard would be at the forefront of creating standardized assessment over processes of learning and student discovery.
I was also shocked that "women's colleges had argued powerfully for standardized tests. If each student were judged by educational ability--not by wealth, not by gender, not by family connection--women's struggle for equality would make remarkable headway" (Wilson, 2006). This observation from the late 1900's almost seems like too much and screams of treacherous agendas! I find it interesting that when things start to run amuck, many times it is the females and minorities shouldering the brunt of the blame (when they were never in charge of making decisions about important topics anyway).
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I think it's funny that schools like Harvard are still the ones where ACT/SAT scores matter most for admission. It commands a certain level of respect, but partially because the standardized test requirements are so high. They are the leaders in education, but they value assessments that the book we read didn't.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right that the way history decides to remember these kinds of decisions is often biased and unsatisfactory. I think it's important to note that the tests we put so much emphasis on are only able to tell us how well someone performs based on what they test is constructed to measure. There are always going to be so many things outside of the test's field of vision that can never be adequately gauged. It's almost enough to make you depressed about our current high-stakes testing culture.
ReplyDeleteI personally hate standardized tests and I feel like they don't really show what I know. I too thought it was interesting how women's colleges fought so hard for standardized tests--it makes sense so there is no judgment based on gender, race, etc., but that doesn't make me like them any more, haha.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really like about your post, Erika, is your acknowledgment that understanding the history behind education is important. Personally, I think you have to know that history to understand where educational practices have come from and where they can go...
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