False ISTEP

This week students across the state of Indiana begun the yearly Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus exams. About 700,000 students between grades three and 10 will take these standardized exams to test their abilities in math and language (some grades have science exams as well). Supposedly these exams prove how much students are learning and measure student and teacher accountability. \nIn my opinion, these exams prove nothing beyond the fact that some students can be taught to pass a multiple-choice test. The reliability of these tests should be further questioned because of their narrow method of quantifying success, intelligence and progress. The United States is the only economically advanced nation to rely so heavily on multiple-choice tests, thanks in part to the No Child Left Behind Act. We privilege students' ability to pick (or guess) a letter or "none of the above" over performance-based assessment tools that evaluate student essays, projects and activities. School curricula are so focused on teaching to the tests that valuable critical-thinking skills are "left behind," along with the students who are cheated out of a richer education beyond bubble-in answer sheets.\nThe racial and cultural bias of standardized tests has been well researched and documented. But this year, yet another obvious bias caught my attention. The Indiana Department of Education offers profound advice that students get plenty of sleep and consume healthy meals before the test. Specifically, it suggests that parents feed their children nutritious breakfasts rich in protein, which might help student performance on ISTEP. The department also recommends that children get plenty of exercise and stay healthy. An administrator from Fort Wayne emphasized that students must be kept "happy" and "stress-free" because if they are worried about issues at home, they will not be able to focus on these important tests. \nSo what do these recommendations mean for the 18.5 percent of children under the age of 18 who live in poverty in this state? I guess they should ignore the likely stress at home over paying bills and buying basic necessities. Instead, they must toughen up and be "happy" for the sake of the tests. And what about the 35.3 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches in Indiana (and 27.3 percent in Monroe County)? At least a portion of those students won't be able to load up on a balanced breakfast rich in protein before sitting down for several hours of testing. And the estimated 143,000 children in Indiana who live without health insurance? They'd better hope they stay extraordinarily healthy during the testing period.\nOur educational institutions and policymakers insist on forcing students through this high-stakes series of tests with seemingly little regard for the biases and inequalities that will undoubtedly affect student performance. They believe one's ability to bubble-in letters on tests measures educational excellence.\nAs long as standardized tests like ISTEP are the so-called "best" answers for measuring progress and accountability, the right answer always will be "none of the above"