The Debate (no.48);Standardized testing impact: socioeconomic status, intelligence measures, anxiety.

Source

Do you think everyone has the same chance to do well on standardized tests? Why or why not?

No not everyone has the same chance to do well on standardized tests, some of the factors that may affect the performance of persons under these tests are quality of education received, economic status, cultural practices, test taking factors and modalities, learning styles and aptitudes. And few people can have societal hurdles that influence their performance on the tests and this results in test differentials.

How do you think a student's background or environment affects their test scores?

First is cultural context which can be a major influence on a student’s performance on test, Socio-economic status, parents’ education level, resources available, quality of school, home environment and support from community affect a student academic performance.

Also students from higher SES classes may enrol in tutoring, procure better learning materials, use technological aid, engage in co-curricular activities that enable them get better grades and besides, those students, who have highly educated parents, may also get an favorable impact from the parents’ attitudes toward education and students’ achievements.

Source

Then on the other hand, students coming from low SES are likely to experience some potential barriers which includes poor access to resources, poor school facilities, high stress levels, and lack of home support for learning which are all indicators of poor performance on a test.

Are there other ways to measure intelligence besides standardized tests? What are they?

Yes I can quickly say that there are other ways of measuring intelligence different from what is provided by the test and these are gives as practical intelligence tests, creativity tests, emotional intelligence tests, and problem solving tests. Practical intelligence assess the extent of an individual’s ability to apply acquired knowledge in practical setting, whereas creativity tests look at how innovative the person is.

Emotional intelligence involves understanding of people’s ability to deal with their emotions and those of others around them; while problem solving skills has to do with a person’s ability to analyze situations methodically.

Do you believe that test anxiety can impact a student's performance? How so?

Of course, test anxiety can dramatically affect a student’s performance due to physiological accompaniments such as sweating, accelerated heartbeat, tranquility, self-doubt or inability to focus.

Source

These symptoms can definitely affect student’s ability to concentrate, remember important details and solve problems, which are all essential when preparing and sitting for examinations. It can also lead to poor time management where often the answers are rushed and or half baked. In addition, test anxiety adds to the student’s performance the component of fear of failure, which in its turn can increase stress levels and generate a cycle of negative emotions that prevent the student from revealing the best of their potential during the tests.

Can intelligence be defined in different ways, and how does that relate to standardized testing?

Of course intelligence be defined in different ways, creative, practical, emotional intelligence and many more, in this particular case intelligence would be measured through usual tests that indicate problem-solving skills, also in particular it can reduce the examination of other kinds of intelligence, thus providing an incomplete picture of a person’s mental capacity.

It follows therefore that, learners possessing non-standard forms of intelligence will be disadvantaged when it comes to tests, thereby being underestimated in terms of the ability they actually possess. Hence it is necessary to have a broader definition of intelligence, in order to derive a more inclusive test of paradigms of the an individual’s consideration.

Thanks for reading my post I'm inviting @dove11, @josepha and @chant to participate in this contest.