Sources on standardized testing

Source: https://bigthink.com/the-present/standardized-testing/

This source uses Finland as a reference to another country that has done standardized testing. I included this source because it shows that there is a way to include standardization in education as a tool and not suffer because of it. This country has ranked number 3 of the world in a 2021  High School Completion Rate World Economic Forum's Global Competitive study despite this sort of testing being scrutinized in the states under the No Child Left Behind Act. To be fair, the NCLB Act was certainly not perfect in any way. Still, I think if it had been done properly, the US wouldn't be so behind in education in comparison to some other countries. 

Source: https://sites.psu.edu/martinoci/2013/02/17/the-positives-of-standardized-testing/

This source makes the point of standardized testing is a good way to learn key content. They do mention teaching to a test, however that doesn't necessarily mean that the lesson will be bad or boring. It simply means the majority of the content being taught is 'need to know. Just like how in schools now we are taught a lesson and then tested on it. 

Furthermore, standardizing education ensures that all students would be on an equal plate. There's no risk of one student having a worse education than another because it would be the same across the board. This of course would be reliant on educators to come up with an effective teaching plan. If it's done poorly, everyone would have a bad education (which defeats the purpose!) 

Combined with the evidence of my last blog, I believe that standardizing education would be a good way for the US to reform the education system and combat misinformation, particularly in youth.  If we make an effort to teach about our past history in a more productive manner,  we can avoid social issues like racism in rural areas where they are being taught the Confederates were the good guys or hate crimes in places where we can't mention the existence of gay people.