Not many students relish the day their SAT scores come in the mail or are available by phone, especially when a few points can mean the difference between a scholarship and working two jobs to pay tuition. For 4,600 students who took the October SAT, the scores may have carried an even bigger shock, since their tests were scored incorrectly.
Mishaps like the SAT scoring error have shed light on the various problems of standardized testing. Companies like the College Board and Educational Testing Service manufacture standardized tests privately, without oversight by a government agency. Testing companies lack any means of accountability, even when there are scoring errors on teachers' certification exams and misprinted math problems appearing multiple times on tests.
With the U.S. education system relying more on standardized tests for college admissions and even funding for schools under the No Child Left Behind Act, testing companies must be monitored for accuracy, quality and reliability. Many companies have complained that the excessive demands for tests overtaxed their personnel and technological resources, causing more errors.
To help companies deal with schools' demands, a government agency should be set up to deal with these scoring errors and control the quality of the standardized tests. Companies struggling to keep up can benefit from having an outside agency to help accomplish their goals. With so many students relying on standardized tests, quality should not be sacrificed for quick scoring.
Be the first to comment on this article!