John Oliver Puts Standardized Testing To The Test
If there’s flawed system going on in the corporate, political or entertainment world, the people running those systems must hate Sunday nights. When it comes to “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, it was the educational system in this country sweating it out this weekend. On his HBO series, John Oliver exposed the problems with America’s standardized testing for students that too many teachers, parents and kids are already well aware of.
The average student in America takes about 131 standardized tests by the time he or she graduates. According to John Oliver, these tests have failed in being a reliable indicator of performance for both the students and the teachers. However we continue to use this system, championed by both Republican and Democratic Presidents to try to put on a good educational face to the rest of the world where American students pale in comparison to kids in other countries.
Some of the problems include, basing a teacher’s evaluation on a child’s test performance hasn’t worked either because of flawed formulas and test questions that don’t reflect ability. Plus, “Last Week Tonight” exposed how the testing company, Pearson, cornered the market with confusing tests that often have technical problems with scoring. And Pearson’s contracts with school systems across the country include a confidentiality clause that says teachers and students and parents can’t reveal actual questions from their tests to point out mistakes.
If there’s any good side to the nightmare of standardized testing in American schools, it’s the great mascots that encourage kids to prepare to have their entire future put on the line with a bubble test.
