Should Standardized Tests Be Required for All Public, Private, and Home Schools?

Standardized Tests are standard practice for children in public school. However, that varies for children in private schools or in home schools. Some are required to take a state-mandated test, while others are not. Here we will look at the question of whether students should be required take a standardized or mandated test, such as the TAKS (Texas) or the CSAP (Colorado).

The first issue with the standardized test is of its relevance. There are a large variety of curricula available for both home school and public school and they are not all the same. While they all are generally centered around the basic requirements, there is other material covered that will not be covered in the state-mandated test. Some home school families, and also traditional schools, choose to write or design their own curriculum, following state guidelines, but many times inserting a great deal of extra assignments. Again, this will not be covered in the state test.

It is true that the teacher (or home school parent) can issue their own test for these lessons and often do, but why should a child have to take extra tests to prove his or her abilities? If it was all included in one test, it would be much more indicative of abilities (or lack thereof). Students definitely need to be tested on their skills. However, I'm not sure a large generalized test is the appropriate way to do so.

Instead, I feel that unit tests should be given in every subject at the end of each study increment. Then, an end-of-the-year test that focuses around what the child learned can be given. For instance, if a child is learning about animal reproduction in Science, once that instruction is complete, the child should be tested on that. Children should be tested upon all they learn to ensure they retain the knowledge. The end-of-the-year test should focus on what was actually learned. A standard test is not sufficient to provide that kind of detailed testing, in my opinion. It only gives a small idea of the child's performance, given the fact that it has to try to match an entire state full of various curricula and study materials.