By JESSE SCACCIA
There was an interesting op-ed in The New York Times yesterday about how to fix standardized testing. The writer argues that the problem isn’t that the tests are given. The problem is the questions that are asked.
“The problem is that the reading passages used in these tests are random,” says the writer, E. D. Hirsch Jr. “Children are asked to read and then answer multiple-choice questions about such topics as taking a hike in the Appalachians even though they’ve never left the sidewalks of New York, nor studied the Appalachians in school.”
Hirsch goes on to explain that, according to a study, reading comprehension tests don’t so much evaluate reading comprehension skills. Rather, they are a measure of the student’s pre-existing knowledge of the subject matter.
“The key to comprehension is familiarity with the relevant subject. For a student with a basic ability to decode print, a reading-comprehension test is not chiefly a test of formal techniques but a test of background knowledge,” is how Hirsch puts it.
The suits in their offices who run the standardized tests will swear up and down that the reading comprehension texts are selected at random. As a veteran of public schools in New York, Connecticut, and California, I say, “Uhm, are you kidding me?”
Reading comprehension sections tend to be about things like history, faraway places, or, yes, the Appalachian Mountains. Are these things our inner-city students would naturally know about? Of course not.
Yes, things like history, geography, and the Appalachian Mountains are important. But that’s why we have sections that test this knowledge. The texts in reading comprehension should either be truly random across cultures, class, religions, and backgrounds, or they should be community specific.
In New York, for example, this would mean test texts that focus on things like reggeaton, Chris Brown, the Yankees, what’s the hottest show on BET, the cooking of popular Puerto Rican meals, what happens in Prospect Park at night, and the elements of MySpace. In other words, if what we’re trying to do is test reading comprehsion, we can’t also be confusing our students about subjects they might never have encountered before. Right off the bat, reading the long, strange name of some random mountain range tells our students, “No, you don’t know about this.” And, “Yes, this test was not made with you in mind.”
I say that these tests are racist because anyone who has administered a standardized test knows that the subject matter tends to be very educated-middle-class. And anything educated-middle-class focused is going to necessarily be biased toward whites. It’s simply how it is.
Just out of curiosity, I looked up this past January’s Regents ‘Comprehension Examination.’ The topic of the two readings? Advice from a dietitian, and the ecological viability of using straw bales as an alternative building material. (Find this and other past tests here.)
Now, if you don’t think a white kid from the suburbs is about one hundred times more likely to have talked about things like this in his home than the child of a Dominican immigrant in the city, you’re fooling yourself. These tests are racially biased, whether they mean to be or not.
15 Comments
March 24, 2009 at 12:14 pm
It would be better not to know so many things than to know so many things that are not so.
-Felix Okoye
March 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Aren’t we all striving to be rich kids in the suburbs? Do we have to dumb down testing so far that the only material referenced is pop culture? If these kids are up against racist tests how can we ever expect them “make it”?
Jesse, your article is the height of nanny state, liberal do-goodery. While you are extremely well-meaning, I do feel your general disdain for standardized testing. Also, the fact that you feel as though the children of Dominican immigrants can never do as well as the white kids, is very troubling. Cheers!
March 25, 2009 at 12:14 am
Hmm… but in some ways aren’t we always reading for comprehension? How could any kid, regardless of where they’re from, read a chapter about the ancient Egyptians from their Western Civ text book and expect to understand it if they are only going to understand material for which they have prior knowledge? I’m not a fan of standardized test for a variety of reasons, but
I’m not sure I’m on board with the hypothesis that having background knowledge necessarily gives a leg up.
March 26, 2009 at 11:39 am
Cara,
Well, the studies show that prior knowledge matters. Its not really a hypothesis, but a fact, I think… but I admit I didn’t check out the source study… I just trusted The Times.
I think it goes deeper than actual background knowledge. To take your example of the Egyptians, most suburban kids have at least heard this word in their homes. They might not know anything about the Egyptians, but just knowing the word gives them a huge leg up. At least the subject isn’t completely foreign and intimidating; if mom knows about it, it can’t be that hard, right?
Jesse
March 26, 2009 at 11:34 am
Jamie,
Your mix of ignorance and enthusiasm is a joy to behold. You’re like watching someone pat their head and rub their belly at warp speed.
1. No, we’re not all striving to be rich kids in the suburbs. If I ever end up with rich suburban children, I might eat them, like a bear momma does its cubs she deems unfit for the wild.
2. Dominican immigrants will never ever ever “do as well as” white middle class kids on tests testing white middle class culture. Can they do as well as them in academics, life, even love? Sure, and they do every day.
- Jesse
March 26, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Jesser,
I’m sorry to break it to you… This is a white middle class country, with white middle class values, white middle class history, and white middle class culture. At least until 2050 (when US will become majority hispanic). We do have diversity, in every area of life and business, and that is great. I would also venture to guess that these evil racist tests do have more diversity now than say 20 or 30 years ago. Ultimately, the “Dominicans” in the barrio will be somebody else’s rich kids in 30 to 40 years, and somebody else will complain about their culture being on the tests. That’s how it goes, up and down and round n round. The real question does remain, who will make accomodations to the “Dominicans” in the real world as you propose we do for them now in school?
God Bless
June 30, 2009 at 9:26 pm
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July 23, 2009 at 3:16 am
I cant believe people think these tests are racist. Unless youre asking a question specific to a singular race or using ethnic remarks in the questions i don’t think they are racist. I dont see any standardized test doing this. Its sad that there is a a race gap in these tests but its not cause the test is racist its that minorities are generally on a lower economic step than native whites. This leads to less opportunity in school and life. Tests should not be ‘dumbed’ down to pop icons. Reading comprehension is just that, reading comprehension. Its not being able to say “hey i heard about that I dont have to read this and I can still get the answer right” No the section you are trying to comprehend is something specific no matter who you are. If you are arguing that asking about a dieticians recommendations are racist then that kinda just reflects the fact that the average kid doesnt know what a vegetable is, not that the test is racist. It really pisses me off that people like you use the racist card. Im not going to lie, racism is alive but to say standardized testing is racist is just a scape goat. Show me the research that says this, not that just because the test uses names like Johnny or Jane and not Miguel or Jamal that that makes it racist. The 18 yr old white kid and the 18 yr old mexican or african american kid at the same school are exposed to the same definition and geography lesson of what and where the Appalachian Mtns are. These tests may not adequately test how smart you are but they sure as hell test how much you care about your future. I am a Hispanic and managed to score decently on my SAT 5 years ago, heck i beat some white kids. Is that reverse racism????? Stop using the race card.
July 23, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hi Matt,
The end result is that, in large part because of the close connection between race and economic status in this country, these tests do tend to be racist. The researcher says that “The key to comprehension is familiarity with the relevant subject.” Now, if most of these comprehension sections are about topics someone with an educated parent is more likely to discuss in the home, students with educated parents are at a great advantage, correct?
The point is, if what these tests what to test is truly comprehension, they should be tailored to the existing knowledge of the student.
I do appreciate your concerns, though. Essays like mine can read like a built-in excuse for some ethnic students.
November 16, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Hmm, well, I had a contract submitting reading comp passages for ets for a couple of years, and I can say that they do their best. There are certain topics that are off-limits for various reasons, and obviously passages that portray other cultures or religions negatively are unaccepted. We also had to select passages which were self-contained -that is, which required no outside knowledge- and passages that were too general, where you could reasonably be expected to answer the questions based not on the passage, but on general knowledge, were also excluded.
Passages are generally selected from textbooks, and I preferred science textbooks – geology, astrobiology, marine science, evolutionary plant biology, climatology, etc. Many of the topics I selected I had little familiarity with myself, and I am white and middle class and have a graduate degree.
November 18, 2009 at 10:04 pm
The fact that vocabulary tests are culturally biased was brought home to me when my (upper middle class, Caucasian) daughter missed the word “newspaper” on an IQ test she took when she was 4. We don’t subscribe to a daily paper since we get our news online and from a subscription to “The Economist” magazine. It was just one question so I don’t think it made a significant difference in her final score. But it did make me stop & think that yeah, there really IS something to the criticisms of bias…
November 30, 2009 at 4:21 am
Asking questions about the Yankees, BET, etc. would just reward those students who follow mainstream culture and punish those who follow alternative culture. It would be better to write questions on topics that none of the students can possibly be familiar with, like this:
“The wild iquiddlivum lives in the snoofoos of Jaxar. Although its quiddle is usually excromulated, in recent years the gharxos have rasked the ampoluvles.”
Which of the following statements does the author of the above passage most likely intend to convey:
A. Ampoluvles are not native to Jaxar.
B. Raskage of ampoluvles has reduced quiddle excromulation.
C. Gharxos are often excromulated.
D. The gharxo naturally thrives in the snoofoo.
January 4, 2010 at 4:52 am
I absolutely agree with Pavitra.
(on the condition that it is easier for those who have had exposure to the material beforehand)
The problem with the test is not that it penalizes lower class children, but that it benefits middle class children.
It’s essentially like a form of assisted cheating. In order for the test to be entirely fair, it should revolve around things that neither class has prior exposure to.
January 13, 2010 at 2:53 am
I disagree with the author. Familiarity with a topic really doesn’t help students answer the questions. At the very least it instills confidence which is something but doesn’t mean the test has a bias.
I recently took a final for my Italian class that was very difficult. Near the end was an article in Italian about alcoholism, which I am very familiar with and have researched in the past. However due to the specificity of the questions it really did become a rather difficult exercise in reading comprehension. If these tests are possible to complete without actually reading the article carefully than they are poorly designed. The topic is irrelevant. The wording of the questions is what matters most. Also I don’t think the tests should be tailor made for each school. Why should tests include the Yankees and not biology? What about the students in that inner city school who doesn’t follow sports? Will this create a bias against students who don’t follow pop culture?
March 18, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Digital is my passion. Great article, really interesting stuff. For everyone who is interested how mind works, first I recomend you take this IQ Test here http://cpa.ly/5VD … so you know at what level you are.