Josh Falcone – General Assignment Reporter
Depending on what major a college student chooses, standardized tests are a part of their lives if they plan to continue their studies, and according to a Reuters article, these tests might be stalking even more students’ lives soon.
For those who are planning on forwarding their academic career by applying to graduate, law, business, or medical school, they will be forced to take a standardized test.
Whether a student is taking them or not, many Southern students have a strong like or dislike for the standardized test.
Senior political science major Christian Spencer said he does not feel standardized tests are an accurate indicator if someone is qualified for a certain degree.
“I don’t think they are really any indication of whether someone will perform or not,” Spencer said.
Elementary education major Jessica Beauvais said she believes standardized testing has a place in college but that they also are a hindrance.
“They definitely have a purpose,” Beauvais said, “because I feel people need to possess certain knowledge, but I think we need to steer away from them because teachers teach to the test.”
Beauvais said, instead of going fully in depth on a topic, many professors just mention them and quickly move on to the next, so they can cover a wide range of topics that will be part of a standardized test.
The supporters of and detractors against standardized testing may soon be growing. According to a recent report by Reuters, seniors planning on graduating this academic year at roughly 200 universities and colleges around the country will have to take a standardized test before accepting their diploma.
The test is in place to inform prospective employers on how capable these graduates will be in certain areas, the Reuters report said.
The test is the Collegiate Learning Assessment or CLA+ and according to the Council for Aid to Education, a nonprofit organization that developed the test, it will measure the problem solving, critical thinking, writing, scientific and quantitative reasoning, and the ability of students to compose an argument or critique.
Robert Keeley, the director of Assessment Services at the Council for Aid to Education said in the Reuters report that the goal of his organization’s new test is for students to actually use their scores to better their chances with a prospective employer.
“It’s another set of information that employers can use to review the applicant,” Keeley said in the Reuters article. “We’re looking to equip students to share their scores more readily than they have in the past.”
The Council for Aid to Education states that the CLA+ test can also be used by academic institutions to further evaluate college applicants who apply to their school, and also use it for the grading, placement, and scholarship status for current students.
Michael Poliakoff, the vice president of policy for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a fellow nonprofit organization said in the Reuters report that the test could possibly address the grade inflation problem currently faced by schools.
Poliakoff also said in the Reuters article that he agrees with the thoughts of Keeley that the CLA+ test will elevate the qualifications of graduates who are applying for a job and it will further prove the job candidates true qualifications.
Beauvais said she does not think many who take any standardized tests, are going to truly absorb the information they are taught academically to pass these test.
“For my major I need to take the PRAXIS II and the Foundations of Reading test,” she said. “In two of my classes, we are just doing sample questions and learning how to pass these tests. Once these tests are taken, the information will most likely be forgotten.”
