The Billion-Dollar Problem in Education | Tanishia Lavette Williams | TED

TL;DR

Standardized assessments in education have become embedded in the American education system, but they come at a high cost and fail to improve education quality or build critical thinking skills.

Transcript

We have a very expensive habit of creating and administering standardized assessments. Do you remember taking tests in school? Yeah, yeah you do. Chances are, you may have been one of those people who said, "I'm going to stay up all night, I'm going to study. I'm going to read all these things. And if I can just remember 25 more of these vocabulary... Read More

Key Insights

• 🏈 Standardized assessments have a long history in American education, starting before the country's establishment.
• 🖐️ The standardized testing industry is a billion-dollar industry, playing a significant role in education policy and resource allocation.
• 🤔 Standardized assessments do not improve teacher practice and fail to build critical thinking and creativity in students.
• 🧑‍🎓 Students often experience stress and physical symptoms due to the pressure of standardized testing.
• 😒 Assessments should prioritize standards over standardization, allowing teachers to use them as tools for pedagogical decisions.
• 🧑‍🏫 Principals should prioritize resourcing teachers to ensure effective instruction.
• 🤔 Teachers have the opportunity to cultivate critical thinking skills by posing unanswered questions and encouraging students to seek innovative solutions.

Questions & Answers

Q: How are standardized assessments used in the American education system?

Standardized assessments are utilized to measure achievement gaps, determine student promotion, allocate resources to schools, and even label schools as good or bad.

Q: Do standardized assessments improve education quality?

The speaker argues that standardized assessments do not improve teacher practice and fail to build critical thinking and creativity in students.

Q: What negative consequences can arise from standardized assessments?

Students often experience stress, anxiety, and even physical symptoms like hives due to the pressure of standardized assessments. Some students become disengaged or even resort to physical violence rather than participating in testing.

Q: What is the speaker's proposed solution?

The speaker suggests a disinvestment in standardized testing as a form of accountability and reallocating resources into classroom instruction. Sample tests are recommended for policymakers, prioritizing standards over standardization.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Standardized assessments have been a long-standing practice in American education, starting before the country's establishment and becoming a billion-dollar industry.

• These assessments are used to define achievement gaps, determine student promotion, allocate school resources, and even label schools as good or bad.

• The speaker, a former school and district leader, believes that students learn and perform better in non-testing environments, and standardized assessments do not improve teacher practice.