Status Quo Part 2: This is Only a Test

Last time, I mentioned having an issue with standardized testing as it pertains to a school environment. I chose to refrain from really exploring testing because while it does tie into my larger point about the status quo it pertains to more than just the education system and is significant enough to warrant it's own post.

Before we go to far down this little rabbit hole, I don't have a problem with making sure people are competent, I don't have an issue with gauging people's knowledge or skill sets, there are just some significant problems with the way we tend to go about that. First, testing in general is somewhat of a troublesome idea in that most tests can only really measure one's ability to take a test if for no better reason than a testing environment is unnaturally stressful. It is essentially impossible to ensure that someone is properly prepared for a test without placing focus, and thus stress, on the test itself. People respond fucking weirdly when under stress, and test stress comes from all angles; parents, teachers, society, self, or authority figures. Anything and everything can stack stress onto a performance situation. Some people respond to stress by exceeding their normal capabilities in regard to the relevant material, thus potentially invalidating the test through abnormal over-performance. Other people panic massively and blank out any skills they do have, invalidating the test through unreasonable incompetence. Tests necessarily diverge from the normal course of affairs, so using tests to determine a person's abilities under normal circumstances is a bit unreasonable; not everything can be a test.

The second major concern I have with standardized tests is essentially the standardization. In an effort towards fairness and consistency we establish baselines and core criteria for success in tested fields. That's great, except for the nature of reality. In any given situation, unforeseen variables will arise that are both more integral to performance and more persistent than were anticipated. Which makes any standardized test necessarily incomplete. Standardized testing is culturally biased, unreliable, and deeply misunderstood. Honestly my biggest problem in this vein isn't even limited to testing, its the persistent idea that a uniform practice cannot be discriminatory despite it's noted illegality.

Standardized testing occurs on more levels of society than many of us are willing to admit, and has more adverse effects than I think most of us know. Fairness and consistency are relatively noble goals, but when they justify the problems that arise from this sort of system it brings to mind tropes about unfortunate roads and the good intentions that pave them.