The Frontier Centre for Public Policy released a study authored by Frontier’s education research fellow Michael Zwaagstra. The study, entitled Standardized testing is a good thing, examines the state of standardized testing in Canadian provinces, explains the merits of the tests, and systematically tackles the commonly-used arguments against standardized testing. The paper makes a case for the multiple benefits of conducting such tests for the children, the parents, educators and planners.
These tests form an essential component of public education because they provide teachers, parents, and the general public with important information about student academic performance. Without the data provided by standardized tests, policy makers are literally operating in the dark when trying to determine where improvement is needed, the author argues.
A growing desire to dismiss such a useful tool in some quarters needs to be questioned. Getting rid of standardized tests is unbalanced and unnecessarily creates an information gap. Zwaagstra argues that a balanced approach to gathering reliable information that decision-makers, parents and the public can use about the education of our children should include standardized testing: “Teacher-created assessment ensures that teachers can consider individual student needs. Standardized testing balances this with an objective measurement tool to determine if the students are meeting provincial curriculum standards.” Standardized testing does not preclude the use of other instruments.
