Standardized testing is a good thing

I appreciate my opponent's viewpoint, however, they seem to be viewing the situation through rose colored glasses.Issues not adequately addressed by my opponent:1. Classism - The disparity between acceess to resources, support and funding between schools is tremendous and very relevant to this debate."America's education system is unequal and unfair. Students who live in wealthy communities have huge advantages that rig the system in their favor. They have more experienced teachers and a much lower student-teacher ratio. They have more modern facilities, more up-to-date computer and science equipment, and more up-to-date textbooks. They have more elective courses, more music and art offerings, and more extracurricular programs. They have better libraries, more guidance counselors and superior athletic facilities...Not surprisingly, affluent students in well-off school districts have higher rates of high school graduation, college attendance and entry to the more selective colleges. This has little to do with intelligence or ability. For example, 82 percent of affluent students who had SAT scores over 1200 graduate from college. In contrast, only 44 percent of low-income students with the same high SAT scores graduate from college. This wide gap can't be explained by differences in motivation or smarts. It can, however, be explained by differences in money." [1]2. Racism - There are clear historical and current issues regarding racism that affect schools and education on all levels."My research shows that black parents homeschool their children due to white racism. This may come as a surprise since, for many, we live in an age of alleged color blindness and post-racialism, characterized by the declining significance of race and racism. My research found strong evidence to suggest that racism is far from being a thing of the past. I found covert institutional racism and individual racism still persist and are largely responsible for the persistence of profound racial disparities and inequalities in many social realms." [2]"Public school students of color get more punishment and less access to veteran teachers than their white peers...Such discrimination lowers academic performance for minority students and puts them at greater risk of dropping out of school..."[3]3. Poverty - Teaching children that are poverty-stricken requires more innovative approaches and techniques than those offered by traditional educational methods. One thing that is striking about Finland's educational sysem is that they do not allow obvious differences in quality of schools or education to exist. This illustrates what is lacking in schools in the U.S.. Namely, a genuine concern for all students involved in the process, an earnest desire to provide equal access and a willingness to offer the necessary support needed to implement a quality educational program at all levels of the educational process."Poverty is on the rise in America and is creating a phenomenon known as the "poverty trap."..This is important for schools because poverty greatly decreases student learning ability, and public schools and teachers must become more creative at finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of poverty in the classroom. During an era of increasing public education "reform," it's important to keep poverty in mind as a factor of student achievement...The US is currently one of only three countries in the in the OECDOECD community..that spend as little on welfare for families in poverty, that do as little for helping children in poverty, and that do not equalize educational opportunity for children in poor communities..."[4]4. Student input - The input, opinion, or concerns of students is rarely asked for by those who design and maintain the educational system. This is, at least, bad business practice. From a business standpoint alone, it is crucial to understand and meet the needs of your target audience."School districts must specifically seek student input in developing their Local Control and Accountability Plans under the revised regulations being considered for adoption by the State Board of Education Friday...“If students didn’t get a formal process, if we had no opportunity to give our voice – our voice was considered dead,”"[5]Counterrebuttal for student removal: NCLB is considered to be a failure."No Child Left Behind is really, really unpopular. Roughly three in 10 Americans think the George W. Bush-era federal education law has actually worsened the quality of education...children from low-income families...continue to struggle with vastly inadequate educational opportunities,” wrote Julian Zelizer, a Princeton history professor...Despite its bipartisan roots, No Child Left Behind, Zelizer argued, has done little to reverse those trends."[6]Counterrebuttal for item selection: Cultural bias is not always purposeful, however, in this case it appeared to be. As the citation states, "This was apparently done to assure that test results (showing African-Americans scoring lower than whites) would be “consistent” from year to year." Meaning instead of assuring unbiased results, the designers were apparently basing their desired outcomes on the lopsided results measured in the past.Counterrebuttal for Racism: To many, it is racist to suggest that imperialism improved the lives of Africans. It is also racist to suggest that the Africans were not conducting their own affairs with justice and humanity.Counterrebuttal for Socio-economic bias: The citation mentioned regarded the question as socio-economic bias masquerading as cultural diversity. How many underpriveleged 3rd graders can relate to questions about tennis “doubles” and country clubs? It is important to note that both Venus and Serena Williams were trained by their father due to the racism and bias in the sport of tennis."...In 1991 Richard Williams, who managed and coached both Serena and Venus...decided that they should enter no more tournaments on the national junior circuit...he hoped to avoid subjecting his daughters to competitive pressures, including an undertone of racial hostility."[7]Counterrebuttal for cultures: My opponent states, "...if you would just look at the SAT questions for people in her native country, that will more likely fit her culture." A statement like this illustrates cultural bias. You cannot assume that because she was a Latina that she was not born in America. The U.S. is a hodgepodge of different cultures. The test should be designed from a world view and not through a eurocentric lens.Counterrebuttal for knowledge accuracy: As stated, these tests are more about memorization and regurgitation of information rather than grasping and implementing concepts.Counterrebuttal for teacher support: My opponent's source states, "After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading..."Despite using them for several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on achievement and to improve education."[8]"The movement to boycott standardized tests and reform test-based accountability systems current being implemented across the country is growing. Though exact numbers are impossible to know, students, teachers, principals, parents, superintendents and others are speaking out for the first time calling on policy-makers to roll back test-based school reform — and in many places students are simply refusing to take new Common Core and similar standardized tests... Another important development has been the rapid increase in state and local teacher unions openly battling the overuse and misuse of tests and backing the right of parents to opt out..."[9]Counterrebuttal for stakes: My opponent stated: "The number of students is irrelivent." However, it has been proven that, "Class size is a proven and effective reform."[10] "The use of suspensions contributes to our achievement gap. Three quarters of suspensions of students 7 and younger are imposed on minority students, according to state data. Exclusionary discipline – suspensions, expulsions and student arrests – is more heavily used in our poorest school districts. "[11]Counterrebuttal for ability: I am only saying test can't be standardized until school's are.Counterrebuttal for Finland: None of the reasons cited for Finland's success are unachievable for the U.S..Counterrebuttal for racism: Cultural bias does not require slang or vulgarity. This is why standardized testing is not as important as true connections between teachers and students.Counterrebuttal for quality education: For anyone to suggest that every student in the U.S receives the same quality of education is a miscarriage of justice, to say the least.Again, I thank my opponent for participation in this discourse.http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [1]http://www.washingtonpost.com... [2]http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [3]http://www.truth-out.org... [4]http://edsource.org... [5]http://www.theatlantic.com... [6]http://www.encyclopedia.com... [7]http://standardizedtests.procon.org... [8]http://www.washingtonpost.com... [9]http://parentsacrossamerica.org... [10]http://ctmirror.org... [11]