Testing Only Hurts Low-Income Students of Color Looking to Graduate

Unfortunately, many young people across the country aren’t able to take part in the commencement ceremonies going on around them. And it won’t be because they weren’t bright enough to complete their courses. These students won’t be receiving their diplomas because of a controversial and biased approach to education: High stakes testing. Designed to hold schools accountable, high stakes testing only serves to hold students back and dilute the quality of education they receive. It’s an unfair practice that disproportionately affects low-income students of color. And it should be changed.

For years, in some form or another, school systems across the country have routinely used standardized tests. But, with the 2002 passage of No Child Left Behind, President Bush’s sweeping education reform bill, the tests went from being an assessment of student progress to, in many cases, being the deciding factor in whether or not they’ll graduate. For students in under-funded (i.e. poor) school districts, passing these tests is next to impossible. They are stuck in overcrowded classrooms with inadequate text books and possibly have teachers that are uncertified in the subjects they are teaching. Add to that any personal issues they may be dealing with -- poor test taking skills, trouble at home, etc. -- and the odds are stacked against them.

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