During the Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) virtual webinar on Wednesday, two key issues around standardized testing emerged: time limits and access to tutoring sessions create barriers for students.
During the second day of the series, “A Different Kind of Thinking,” higher education scholars continued the conversation around developing new approaches to assessment design.
“Standardized testing for college entry was initially promoted as a fairer, more reliable assessment of students’ capabilities than grades because it puts everyone through the same evaluative process,” said Dr. Myra Burnett, vice president of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Spelman College. “Although the process in some ways may be the same, the experience differs widely.”
There’s a perception that standardized testing scores correlates to one’s “worth, value and intelligence,” according to Posse Foundation President and Founder Dr. Deborah Bial.
“That this one score is somehow going to send a message to someone,” she said. “Even though I’m 55 years old, I’m still worried about telling you what my score is. I think we need to look at that. Why is that happening?”
But, how can testing be changed?
Panelists suggested implementing assessments in shorter blocks over a span of time. Under this model, assessments would be focused on growth abilities rather than just learned knowledge.
