Education has always been significant to society and warranted high respect from those who were not as educated to those who were. Minorities have not always had equal access to quality education which led to the assumption that people of color are less intelligent, Black people in particular. In the United States the process of evaluating intellectual abilities are the most formalized by utilizing multiple standardized tests. The use of IQ tests has had a social impact on students especially those who aren't as compatible with these tests. People's perception of themselves often depends on their intellectual abilities. Standardized tests are unfair to minority students and are not beneficial to others, so they should be replaced by an updated assessment.
The origin of the standardized test comes from Alfred Binet's IQ test which was meant to detect any developmental hindrances in children. Psychologists Henry H. Goddard, Lewis Terman, and Robert Yerkes altered the test to promote the idea that intelligence is innate. Their test was used on World War II soldiers where Yerkes concluded that dark-skinned Europeans and African Americans were less intelligent. These tests then made their way to educational settings. In the mid-1990's, Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray claimed that African Americans were the least intelligent of the races following Latinos, whites, and Asians being the most intelligent which popularized the idea that intelligence is based on race and genetics. These tests are clearly biased as noted, "The original sample of 1,000 children intentionally excluded African Americans...was almost exclusively white and middle class, setting the stage for later concerns regarding the accuracy of such tests in measuring intelligence in minority students," (Laundra and Sutton). Because of this and the fact that there is more than one dimension of what defines intelligence, the validity of standardized test scores is questionable.
Among the African American students who are most invested in their education they are most affected by the stereotypes of being intellectually inferior, therefore impairing performance. The history of these harmful stereotypes has led dedicated and smart Black students to being unable to demonstrate their capabilities effectively. Furthermore, the intimidation of minority students by white psychologists may lead to lower test scores. Their scores "are said to reflect this intimidation and difficulty in the communication process, not lower ability levels," (Reynolds par. 4). There is a difference of opinion between test takers and test givers on whether IQ tests measure innate intelligence or just what the students have learned in the classroom which explains the argument of relying on these tests so much. The cultural test bias hypothesis is the assertion that racial and ethnic differences in test scores are because the tests are inherently flawed. Standardized tests do not take into account the differences of personality and comprehension of minority and majority groups, so they cannot be correctly assessed with the same methods. Psychologists can't expect to effectively measure intelligence if they are using a basis that is racist and excludes factors that play into somebody's intellectual abilities such as cultural differences and socioeconomic status. Due to racial oppression, "...standardized tests reflect the majority culture, [so] minority student performance on them may not yield a fair representation of what these students really know and can do, given their economic and educational disadvantages" (Lomax pg. 172). This injustice disallows racial minorities with low socioeconomic statuses to succeed compared to their white counterparts who have better, and an increased number of opportunities presented to them during their educational careers. The discrepancy makes minority students focus on test preparation rather than learning critical thinking skills in the classroom and ultimately causes a large number of them to drop out of school.
Moreover, there is an issue in the teachers' credentials in classrooms of high-minority and of low-minority students. Teachers of a large number of Black students tend to not have as much education as teachers of large numbers of white students creating incredibly faulty situations as all students should have an equal chance at learning many concepts correctly. Many schools set aside a whole month or more to have teachers focus on test preparation affecting the teaching styles of those who have a large percentage of students of color compared to those who teach predominantly white students. By requiring this, teachers don't get to interact with their students in the way they are most comfortable and takes away from the children's education because, "...student success on high-stakes tests is highly correlated with teacher experience" (Webb par. 5). While students are being taught testing skills and not high-level thinking skills, they're losing opportunities to prosper and gain knowledge which applies to both students of color and white students (Goslin pg. 118). Teachers of low-minority classes don't do as much training for standardized tests with their students and are more likely to stick to their curriculum. Teachers of high-minority classes felt like they were only teaching to prepare for tests and that they were contradicting "their own ideals of good educational practice." They agreed that teachers' competence is determined by their students' test scores and that school districts pressure them to improve low scores. Not only are standardized tests affecting students but their instructors as well. To combat this, teachers should engage in creative maladjustment in three ways. English teachers should have their students write about the issues of standardized testing, write essays about relevant topics, and include multicultural literature as a part of the curriculum. This would encourage creativity and high order thinking while avoiding unjust educational practices (Au pg. 18).
Furthermore, schools in the United States have three ways to track different methods of instruction based on perceived ability including gifted, general, and special needs. Tests are relied upon the most for the gifted and special needs tracks so Black and Latino students are likely to wrongly test into special needs classes based on a controversial method of measuring intelligence. It is less probable for students of color to be enrolled in advanced classes if their school even offers those classes and this is all likely due to an over-reliance on intelligence tests. The problem with this over-reliance is that the tests are biased against low-income minority students who may or may not be raised in a foreign language speaking home. Many of these children use different vocabulary that what white, middle class children are exposed to and they don't have much experience with how different tests are designed. "The fact that academic achievement improves when poor black children are exposed to teaching methods designed to create positive attitudes toward scholastic achievement is compelling evidence that environmental variables play a role in test scores," such as the amount of funding a school has to provide better opportunities for students (Laundra pg. 368). When students are given experienced tutors, test taking courses, better technology, and updated textbooks, they are able to thrive but unfortunately, people of color often live in low-income neighborhoods where their children aren't at the best schools. By testing disadvantaged children in the same way as more privileged children, school boards are limiting the option for them to succeed. Environmental factors contribute to the accumulation of intelligence as much as inborn factors do.
Continuing to use inherently racist standardized tests are not beneficial to students of color and should be completely revised to better suit all cultures and take into consideration the varying socioeconomic statuses of every student. Teachers are also affected by these tests, especially those with a large percentage of minority students in the classroom because they spend more time preparing for unfair tests than actually teaching how and what they prefer to. Black students are also disproportionately placed under stereotypes of inferior mental capacity because they typically have less access to the more educated instructors. They more often have lower quality education because of lack of school funding which results in lower test scores. The variations of the first intelligence tests are invalid due to the fact that they don't consider differences in culture and language. A better assessment would include factors such as environmental ones because of the heavy influence they have on a student's expression of their intellectual abilities. Teachers can also partake in bettering their students' education by promoting creative maladjustment so that students acquire critical thinking skill and not just test taking strategies. Students of color aren't the only ones to suffer from the impacts of standardized tests because disadvantaged white students also struggle overcoming an assessment that is so one dimensional, therefore making these tests in need of modification.
Works Cited
Au, Wayne, and Karen Gourd. “Asinine Assessment: Why High-Stakes Testing Is Bad for Everyone, Including English Teachers.” The English Journal, vol. 103, no. 1, 2013, pp. 14–19. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24484054.
Goslin, David A., and David C. Glass. “The Social Effects of Standardized Testing in American Elementary and Secondary Schools.” Sociology of Education, vol. 40, no. 2, 1967, pp. 115–131. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2112040.
Laundra, Kenneth, and Tracy Sutton. “You Think You Know Ghetto? Contemporizing the Dove ‘Black IQ Test.’” Teaching Sociology, vol. 36, no. 4, 2008, pp. 366–377. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20491266.
Lomax, Richard G., et al. “The Impact of Mandated Standardized Testing on Minority Students.” The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 64, no. 2, 1995, pp. 171–185. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2967240.
Reynolds, Cecil R. "Cultural Bias In Testing." Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals, edited by Cecil R. Reynolds, et al., Wiley, 4th edition, 2013. Credo Reference, http://libproxy.estrellamountain.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wileyse/cultural_bias_in_testing/0?institutionId=5536. Accessed 26 Jul. 2018.
Webb, Bruce. "Standardized Tests." Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, edited by Patrick L. Mason, Gale, 2nd edition, 2013. Credo Reference, http://libproxy.estrellamountain.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galerace/standardized_tests/0?institutionId=5536. Accessed 26 Jul. 2018.