STANDARDIZED TEST

LAST UPDATED: 11.12.15
A standardized test is any form of test that (1) requires all test takers to answer the
same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the
same way, and that (2) is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, which makes
it possible to compare the relative performance of individual students or groups of
students. While different types of tests and assessments may be “standardized” in
this way, the term is primarily associated with large-scale tests administered to
large populations of students, such as a multiple-choice test given to all the eighth-
grade public-school students in a particular state, for example.
In addition to the familiar multiple-choice format, standardized tests can include true-
false questions, short-answer questions, essay questions, or a mix of question types.
While standardized tests were traditionally presented on paper and completed using
pencils, and many still are, they are increasingly being administered on computers
connected to online programs (for a related discussion, see computer-adaptive
test). While standardized tests may come in a variety of forms, multiple-choice and
true-false formats are widely used for large-scale testing situations because
computers can score them quickly, consistently, and inexpensively. In contrast,
open-ended essay questions need to be scored by humans using a common set
of guidelines or rubricsto promote consistent evaluations from essay to essay—a
less efficient and more time-intensive and costly option that is also considered to be
more subjective. (Computerized systems designed to replace human scoring are
currently being developed by a variety of companies; while these systems are still in
their infancy, they are nevertheless becoming the object of growing national debate.)
While standardized tests are a major source of debate in the United States, many
test experts and educators consider them to be a fair and objective method of
assessing the academic achievement of students, mainly because the standardized
format, coupled with computerized scoring, reduces the potential for favoritism, bias,
or subjective evaluations. On the other hand, subjective human judgment enters into
the testing process at various stages—e.g., in the selection and presentation of
questions, or in the subject matter and phrasing of both questions and answers.
Subjectivity also enters into the process when test developers set passing scores—a
decision that can affect how many students pass or fail, or how many achieve a level
of performance considered to be “proficient.” For more detailed discussions of these
issue, see measurement error, test accommodations, test bias and score
inflation.
Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For
example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten,
identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic
support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award
diplomas and other educational certificates. The following are a few representative
examples of the most common forms of standardized test:
 Achievement tests are designed to measure the knowledge and skills students learned
in school or to determine the academic progress they have made over a period of time.
The tests may also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a schools and teachers, or
identify the appropriate academic placement for a student—i.e., what courses or
programs may be deemed most suitable, or what forms of academic support they may
need. Achievement tests are “backward-looking” in that they measure how well students
have learned what they were expected to learn.
 Aptitude tests attempt to predict a student’s ability to succeed in an intellectual or
physical endeavor by, for example, evaluating mathematical ability, language
proficiency, abstract reasoning, motor coordination, or musical talent. Aptitude tests are
“forward-looking” in that they typically attempt to forecast or predict how well students
will do in a future educational or career setting. Aptitude tests are often a source of
debate, since many question their predictive accuracy and value.
 College-admissions tests are used in the process of deciding which students will be
admitted to a collegiate program. While there is a great deal of debate about the accuracy
and utility of college-admissions tests, and many institutions of higher education no
longer require applicants to take them, the tests are used as indicators of intellectual and
academic potential, and some may consider them predictive of how well an applicant
will do in postsecondary program.
 International-comparison tests are administered periodically to representative
samples of students in a number of countries, including the United States, for the
purposes of monitoring achievement trends in individual countries and comparing
educational performance across countries. A few widely used examples of international-
comparison tests include the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS),
and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
 Psychological tests, including IQ tests, are used to measure a person’s cognitive
abilities and mental, emotional, developmental, and social characteristics. Trained
professionals, such as school psychologists, typically administer the tests, which may
require students to perform a series of tasks or solve a set of problems. Psychological
tests are often used to identify students with learning disabilities or other special needs
that would qualify them for specialized services.

Reform
Following a wide variety of state and federal laws, policies, and regulations aimed at
improving school and teacher performance, standardized achievement tests have
become an increasingly prominent part of public schooling in the United States.
When focused on reforming schools and improving student achievement,
standardized tests are used in a few primary ways:
 To hold schools and educators accountable for educational results and student
performance. In this case, test scores are used as a measure of effectiveness, and low
scores may trigger a variety of consequences for schools and teachers. For a more
detailed discussion see high-stakes test.
 To evaluate whether students have learned what they are expected to learn, such
as whether they have met state learning standards. In this case, test scores are seen as a
representative indicator of student achievement.
 To identify gaps in student learning and academic progress. In this case, test
scores may be used, along with other information about students, to diagnose learning
needs so that educators can provide appropriate services, instruction, or academic
support.
 To identify achievement gaps among different student groups, including students
of color, students who are not proficient in English, students from low-income
households, and students with physical or learning disabilities. In this case, exposing and
highlighting achievement gaps may be seen as an essential first step in the effort to
educate all students well, which can lead to greater public awareness and changes in
educational policies and programs.
 To determine whether educational policies are working as intended. In this case,
elected officials and education policy makers may rely on standardized-test results to
determine whether their laws and policies are working or not, or to compare educational
performance from school to school or state to state. They may also use the results to
persuade the public and other elected officials that their policies are in the best interest of
children and society.

Debate
While debates about standardized testing are wide-ranging, nuanced, and
sometimes emotionally charged, many debates tend to be focused on the ways in
which the tests are used, and whether they present reliable or unreliable evaluations
of student learning, rather than on whether standardized testing is inherently good or
bad (although there is certainly debate on this topic as well). Most test developers
and testing experts, for example, caution against using standardized-test scores as
an exclusive measure of educational performance, although many would also
contend that test scores can be a valuable indicator of performance if used
appropriately and judiciously. Generally speaking, standardized testing is more likely
to become an object of debate and controversy when test scores are used to make
consequential decisions about educational policies, schools, teachers, and students.
The tests are less likely to be contentious when they are used to diagnose learning
needs and provide students with better services—although the line separating these
two purposes is notoriously fuzzy in practice (thus, the ongoing debates).
While an exhaustive discussion of standardized-testing debates is beyond the scope
of this resource, the following questions will illustrate a few of the major issues
commonly discussed and debated in the United States:
 Are numerical scores on a standardized test misleading indicators of student learning,
since standardized tests can only evaluate a narrow range of achievement using
inherently limited methods? Or do the scores provide accurate, objective, and useful
evidence of school, teacher, or student performance? (Standardized tests don’t measure
everything students are expected to learn in school. A test with 50 multiple-choice
questions, for example, can’t possibly measure all the knowledge and skills a student
was taught, or is expected to learn, in a particular subject area, which is one reason why
 some educators and experts caution against using standardized-test scores as the only
indicator of educational performance and success.)
 Are standardized tests fair to all students because every student takes the same test
and is evaluated in the same way? Do the tests have inherent biases that may
disadvantage certain groups, such as students of color, students who are unfamiliar with
American cultural conventions, students who are not proficient in English, or students
with disabilities that may affect their performance?
 Is the use of standardized tests providing valuable information that educators and
school leaders can use to improve instructional quality? Is the pervasive overuse of
testing actually taking up valuable instructional time that could be better spent teaching
students more content and skills?
 Do the benefits of standardized testing—consistent data on school and student
performance that can be used to inform efforts to improve schools and teaching—
outweigh the costs—the money spent on developing the tests and analyzing the results,
the instructional time teachers spend prepping students, or the time students spend taking
the test?
 Do math and reading test scores, for example, provide a full and accurate picture of
school, teacher, and student performance? Do standardized tests focus too narrowly on a
few academic subjects?
 Does the narrow range of academic content evaluated by standardized tests cause
teachers to focus too much on test preparation and a few academic subjects (a practice
known as “teaching to the test”) at the expense of other worthwhile educational pursuits,
such as art, music, health, physical education, or 21st century skills, for example?
 Do standardized tests, and the consequences attached to low scores, hold schools,
educators, and students to higher standards and improve the quality of public education?
Do the tests create conditions that undermine effective education, such as cheating,
unhealthy forms of competition, or unjustly negative perceptions of public schooling?
 Should some of the most important decisions in public education—such as whether to
reduce or increase school funding or fire teachers and principals—be made entirely or
primarily on the basis of test scores? Are standardized-test scores, which could
potentially be misleading or inaccurate, too limited a measure to use as a basis for such
consequential decisions?