Submission by DeShawn Davidson
The University of Texas at Austin conducted more than 50 case studies that took ethics into consideration. Some of the case studies explored current and historic ethical dilemmas, but one in particular stuck out to me which was “High Stakes Testing” which explored the backlash that testing causes to students. The study followed students from elementary to high school aged in the U.S.
Parents, teachers and administrators have started taking stands against standardized tests because they believe “high stake testing” is harmful by determining a child’s level of proficiency based on a test or two and ruinous to the educational system. These tests are causing teachers to limit their teaching to only focus on mathematics and reading rather than focusing on other subjects like social studies, science and art.
Parents and have founded groups to rally and protest against standardized tests because they cause students anxiety and stress. They believe these tests are doing more damage than helping their children, some parents keep their children out of school on test days. Students who receive low test scores on these standardized tests are more likely to not receive a diploma. Beneficence is a huge part of this study, I agree that standardized tests shouldn’t determine a student’s intelligence or measure their achievement because some students simply aren’t good test takers and score low. I definitely feel parents should continue to acknowledge the immoral aspects of standardized testing.