Kholiswa Mendes Pepani Nicole Cardoza Kholiswa Mendes Pepani Nicole Cardoza

End standardized testing.

Education is a fundamental human right. But when racial and socioeconomic fences sequester millions of Black and Brown students from the resources and privileges that are required to succeed, who protects their rights?

For decades, the racial stratification within the United States’ educational system has been a powerful tool to uphold intergenerational privilege and white supremacy. Standardized testing is used across the nation as a proxy for intellectual merit, even though results always correlated with race and socioeconomic background rather than academic achievement (Teachers College Press).

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! Over the past few weeks, teachers have been advocating for canceling standardized testing this spring after a tumultuous year. These conversations only emphasized the inequities of the process. Kholiswa joins us today to educate more on the history of standardized testing.

This newsletter is a free resource made possible by our paying subscribers. We'd love you to consider making a monthly recurring donation on our website. You can also give one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Thank you for all your support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

  • Donate to FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open testing to help support efforts to eliminate the racial, class, gender, and cultural barriers to equal opportunity posed by standardized tests, and prevent their damage to the quality of education.

  • Contact your local state legislators and representatives and urge them to act on banning standardized testing. Demand an equal distribution of resources in schools.

  • Follow the latest news about Spring 2021 standardized testing at #CancelTheTests.

GET EDUCATED

By Kholiswa Mendes Pepani (she/her)

Education is a fundamental human right. But when racial and socioeconomic fences sequester millions of Black and Brown students from the resources and privileges that are required to succeed, who protects their rights?  

 

For decades, the racial stratification within the United States’ educational system has been a powerful tool to uphold intergenerational privilege and white supremacy. Standardized testing is used across the nation as a proxy for intellectual merit, even though results always correlated with race and socioeconomic background rather than academic achievement (Teachers College Press).

 

“Since the beginning of standardized testing, students of color, particularly those from low-income families, have suffered the most from high-stakes testing in U.S. public schools,” writes senior editor and writer John Rosales in his article, “The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing (National Education Association).”

Race and wealth play significant factors in standardized testing for a number of critical reasons. Schools are funded by property taxes which, in turn, determines the economic and racial makeup of a neighborhood—two factors that have been further stratified by segregation and white flight. Students from affluent, white neighborhoods get access to better funded schools that put them on the path to success. In contrast, Black and Brown students from lower income schools are forced to struggle within a system that does not provide them with the resources needed to compete (Other Words). This system of separate and unequal education is a direct product of enduring racism and discrimination toward people of color. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the damaging social theory, known as eugenics, made its way to the U.S. This dogmatic pseudoscience, which was regarded as scientific inquiry, became a popular prescription for ranking and ordering human worth (Pencils Down). During that time, psychologist Carl Brigham, a supporter of these racist notions wrote that African-Americans were on the low end of the racial, ethnic, and/or cultural spectrum. These deeply oppressive views made their way into the educational system as Brigham contributed to developing aptitude tests for the United States Army during World War I, as well as helping create the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (National Education Association). Decades of research found that assessments like the SAT and IQ tests are not an accurate measurement of a student's success in college or life. Instead, they present a clear bias toward Black and Brown students from early childhood. 

“According to FairTest research, On average, students of color score lower on college admissions tests, thus many capable youth are denied entrance or access to so-called “merit” scholarships, contributing to the huge racial gap in college enrollments and completion,” Rosales writes (National Education Association).

Students of color who come from low income backgrounds are disproportionately placed or misplaced in special education that are frequently based on test results. They recieve a “dumbed down” curriculum that ensures that they will fall further behind from their peers. In contrast, white students from middle and upper class backgrounds are generally placed in gifted, talented, and advanced programs that challenge them to read, explore, investigate, think and progress rapidly. In effect, the use of high-stakes testing perpetuates racial inequality through deliberate marginalization (FairTest). The dangerously flawed standardized tests are not only discriminatory but they are easily corruptible. Affluent students already benefiting are able to cheat and pay their way out of the oppressive system and into the nation's best institutions thus, securing a path toward an immensely privileged life (NBC News).      

 

In recent years, a push to finally bring an end to this legacy of racism in education began. On May 26, 2020, the University of California’s Board of Regents voted to discontinue using SAT and ACT scores (Teachers College Press). UC Berkeley’s Chancellor, Carol T. Christ, and UC Provost Michael Brown stated at a conference in November 2019, that research had convinced them that performance on the SAT and ACT was so strongly influenced by family income, parents’ education, and race and using them for high-stakes admissions decisions was simply wrong (Teachers College Press).

 

Earlier this month, democratic U.S. representative from New York’s sixteenth district, Jamaal Bowmen called out standardized testing as being “a pillar of systemic racism.” This comes as President Biden’s administration refused to grant waivers for standardized testing in the wake of the global pandemic ( target="_blank"New York Post). On March 9, Rep. Ilhan Omar joined Rep. Bowmen in an effort to provide students with waivers for the test this academic year, writing to newly appointed Secretary of Education Cardona, and urging for suspension of testing. Rep Ilhan Omar wrote that they should be prioritizing the students’ academic and emotional well-being, not arbitrary standardized testing goals (Twitter). The Biden administration has yet to respond.

 

Years of racial stratification in higher education comes at a serious cost to Black and Brown students. Without the fountain of resources that are needed to succeed, students of color and low-income families face tremendous challenges in gaining entry to top colleges. These separate higher education pathways are critical because having access to quality resources—those typically available at top universities—are vital to securing path-dependent occupational destinations. More often than not, those occupational destinations determine how easy or difficult it will be to escape cycles of generational racism and poverty (Separate & Unequal).

  

While the school system cannot single handedly dismantle generations of inequality and white supremacy, it plays a key role in creating an equal and equitable environment that guarantees all students an opportunity to thrive. We must ask ourselves, if standardized testing does not accurately measure intelligence or determine college success then, what are they really for and why do we keep them around? Standardized testing at its core is a pillar of white supremacy and it’s time for it to fall. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Standardized testing represents a legacy of racial inequality toward Black and Brown students and perpetuates intergenerational privilege and white supremacy.

  • In recent years, the call to dismantle standardized testing has gained more traction and is currently being pushed for suspension by Democrat representatives due to the global pandemic and its deep-rooted racism.

  • Schools must adopt better curriculum and assessment practices that more accurately demonstrate a student’s academic abilities.

RELATED ISSUES

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

Read More