STAR Tests Not An Effective Measure of Skill

We have all experienced countless monotonous hours spent sitting in our desks with a Scantron in front of us waiting for the bell to ring. This boredom can only be associated with one kind of test: STAR tests. We, as students, have been told countless times about the importance of these tests. How they show our schools dedication to learning and teacher’s commitment to teaching. This is true, but how much can government officials really tell about a school from penciled-in bubbles?

A school’s aptitude for producing successful students should not be measured by how they do on a multiple-choice test. First, I think we can all agree that these tests are written rather poorly. For starters, their questions range from borderline imbecile to problems our teachers can’t even solve. Some of the questions on the tests do not even seem relevant, and although this range of questions is supposed to show how much a student has learned from their teacher on a subject, the problems are pretty intuitive. Now, given the fact that these tests are meant to show how well our teachers teach, it is not fair that they are being judged on what is really a person’s common sense.

Secondly, many kids just don’t even try on these tests. When students are given a multiple choice test that doesn’t count as part of their grade, and finishing early basically means a free period, they generally will not be very motivated to do their best or even try at all. So, judging a school’s success from a fill-in-the-bubble test that nobody tries to do well on is completely illogical. Also, these tests are not even really testing what a student has learned, but more their ability to take standardized tests.

Another issue with these tests is the touchy subject of racism. In past years, these tests have included questions with a bias that favors caucasians. Questions such as “beef is to pork as cow is to (blank)?” have been labeled as discriminatory towards those who don’t eat pork such as a Muslim or Jew. These accusations of racism in STAR tests have only made the test’s creators include more diverse names to their word problems. Instead of Jill counting marbles it is now Mehjabeen. This is not an acceptable way to fix things people! With this test already ranking so low in priority for students, the addition of perceived racist questions (intentional or not) definitely does not help the test’s attendance record.

Lastly, there is the issue of funding. Berkeley High School is in severe need of more money, and since STAR testing is one of the state’s ways of deciding how to allocate funds for education, you can imagine why our pleas for monetary assistance have not been answered. The state says that 95 percent of a school’s students must participate in the STAR tests for the school to receive funding. It is completely and utterly ridiculous to base the recipients of one’s financial assistance off the STAR test’s participation percentages! To begin with, the number of students that show up to take the tests shows no evidence of a school’s merit or dedication to education. Furthermore, this system of who gets the money doesn’t even make sense. A school needs supplies and money to hire teachers and teach students; without the teachers and supplies, students can’t learn; without the learning, they can’t score well on tests; and if they don’t score well on tests, the school doesn’t get money?! Where is the logic in that? BHS is well known to be among the best public high schools in the state, shouldn’t it be the schools that are falling behind that require intervention?

Clearly, these tests are not an effective way to monitor the success of a school and its students. Whether it’s a matter of improving schools or training your dog, progress takes time and personal effort on a close level. For the state to really tell what is going on in its schools, it will need to do so on a much more personal level and communicate with the students directly. One thing is for sure, mindlessly filling in bubbles with a number two pencil does not show what we’re capable of as students!