It’s interesting to see how the control that teaching to the test can influence the future of students. Initially, I had the argument that the content that is on the tests for the most part does not reflect what these students as individuals will experience in their lifetime. I still believe this is true but I also argued that if this was the case, then the tests themselves had no significant impact on the future of these students, therefore, teaching to the test is unfair to students. After further reflection, I can see how the latter part of my argument does not really make sense. In our capitalistic world, getting to the top is the goal of most individuals so if teachers don’t teach to the tests, students can’t pass the tests resulting in failing grades. Failing grades mean that a great college option is out of the question. Attending a great college means having access to resources enumerable which could most likely play a major role in an individual’s success. The content of what is taught is now based on what is going to be tested, no longer what the child needs to succeed in the real world.
According to the author, there are five different types of classroom control that occurs as a result of high-stakes testing. Content control, structure of curricular knowledge control, pedagogical control, bureaucratic control, and discursive control. Content control has to do with the subject matter of what children learn in the classrooms. Teachers are limited in how much of their personal knowledge they can impart on their students. Repercussions of this type of control is that “subjects considered to be nonessential to the high stakes, standardized tests are being reduced or cut altogether,” (Au). The structure of the curriculum has to do with the way the knowledge that is geared to the test is formatted so the students can remember. This, according to the author is done by creating a “collection of facts” and which are then drilled to the students through “rote memorization.” How teachers impart this knowledge is also affected. Overall, the author conveys a negative tone regarding standardized tests. The overwhelming backlash on students that results from high-stakes test is evidence that the education system currently in place is cheating our students of access to knowledge that is necessary for them to be successful in today’s world.