Education Needs Expectations | Opinion

This past week, the Oregon Board of Education decided to extend its "pause" on requiring students to pass any standardized tests for graduation. Naturally, it cited COVID and racial equity as its reasons. Not only would the standardized tests punish any kids still somehow affected by the shutdowns, but they would especially harm black and Hispanic students who disproportionately perform worse on such tests.

Although it's tempting to dismiss this news as kooky progressives just being kooky progressives, the board's decision to essentially phase out standardized testing is deeply concerning for a couple of reasons. First, this is not an isolated incident, but part of a nationwide trend. And second, it's a huge disservice to the millions of students attending public schools, particularly those at the bottom of their class.

As many parents with college-bound children can attest, aptitude tests like the SAT and ACT are going the way of the dinosaurs. Many universities no longer require them (probably because students who would have been denied admission because of their test scores will likely pay the schools thousands of dollars for zero-credit remediation courses instead).

Fortunately, many students applying for college are still taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams, which help prepare them for college-level work. In many ways, these exams demand more from students and their teachers (of which I am one) than the typical college class, where the workload has become laughably light and rampant grade inflation almost guarantees a passing grade.

Unfortunately, for students outside the AP bubble, lifting standardized testing requirements poses a much bigger problem. It is now possible for students to pass each year without learning anything and be awarded a diploma that means nothing. Nobody is held accountable in any serious way, and the quality of instruction will inevitably deteriorate. This is already clear in many districts where students are well below grade-level standards in reading, math, and civics.

It should go without saying, then, that removing testing requirements leads to systemic inequity, not the other way around. Calls to eliminate education standards suggest that students of certain races are less capable of mastering general academic skills, effectively condemning those students to mediocre instruction so they will remain permanently behind.

Then again, in my experience, the argument about systemic inequity acts more as a pretext than a real reason for opposing standardized testing. Most educators and administrators are trying to deal with the severe learning difficulties of today's students, a widening achievement gap between different racial groups, and a chronic lack of resources and public support.

As the recent news of falling ACT scores shows, and as my own observations as a public school teacher would confirm, today's K-12 students, particularly those in regular or on-level classes, are struggling. Most of them are addicted to their screens, have poor mental health, and exhibit little to no motivation for anything. On a behavioral level, this has made them much easier to manage (instead of becoming rowdy and loud, they now plug into their devices and keep to themselves). However, on an academic level, that same listlessness and disengagement makes them very hard to teach.

This situation leaves schools with two options on how to proceed: they can confront their students, take away their phones, and challenge them; or they can let it all go and mouth some platitudes about social justice, 21st-century skills, and different learning styles. Not surprisingly, most campuses do the latter.

After all, doing the right thing would upset all the stakeholders. Kids would complain that their digital pacifier was being taken away, parents would complain that their kids are unhappy and hate school, teachers would complain about all the complaining from parents and students, and administrators would be overwhelmed with all the above. Perhaps this could be countered with seasoned educators, strong administrators, and committed parents, but for most schools, it's just a lot easier (and cheaper) to maintain the status quo.

It's also a lot less controversial. Whenever there's testing of any kind, school leaders have to deal with the uncomfortable reality of the substantial achievement gaps between racial groups. Again, they have two options on how to proceed: the school could target the behaviors and habits holding these students back, or it could try to pass everyone with a pulse and accuse standardized tests of being racist and unfair.

As Oregon's recent decision demonstrates, it's clear where many public schools are headed. Even so, some parents may try to maintain the illusion that learning will still happen, or even improve, without tests, but they should realize that the truth is the exact opposite. Put simply, if something isn't tested, it isn't taught. Without visible stakes involved, no one will have any serious incentive to do the work.

Until everyone involved comes clean about this fact, American education will continue dropping in quality, and those students already on the margins will suffer most of all.

Auguste Meyrat is a high school English teacher in North Texas. He is the founding editor of The Everyman, a senior contributor to The Federalist, and a regular contributor to The American Mind, Crisis Magazine, the American Conservative, and the Acton Institute.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.