# "Just the Numbers" Convening Spotlight 2024: Student Voice on Standardized Testing May 23, 2024 - [ Blog ](/news-categories/blog) *This spotlight is part of a series examining work presented at the*[ *2024 Strategic Data Project Convening*](/annual-convening)*. The theme of the convening was “Just Numbers”—celebrating the power of data and evidence in driving decisions and policies, while simultaneously challenging us to consider the deeper, ethical implications of data usage in education. Read the rest of the series* [*here*](/news/sdp-convening-2024)*.* (BOSTON, MA)—At an SDP Convening session, three students—high school seniors from one of the top schools in Rhode Island—sat at the front of a room full of education data strategists and leaders, ready to share their stories. As the students introduced themselves, they shared their various hobbies: one loved dance, another sailing, while the third enjoyed spending time in nature. They had different academic interests, ranging from the scientific to the artistic to the social. And their career goals differed, too, as they shared plans to set off for college the following fall to study architecture, biology, and early childhood education. So what did they have in common as students, other than a soon-to-be alma mater? As the subject of the panel came into focus, an answer emerged: An enormous body of experience taking standardized tests. The panel, *First-Hand Experiences of Being Assessed*, sought to give voice to the student perspective on America’s proliferating system of testing. One student told the audience, “I’ve taken over sixty standardized tests during my time in high school, which is a lot.” > ## **“I’ve taken over sixty standardized tests during my time in high school, which is a lot.”** A quick overview of these tests included an avalanche of acronyms: PSAT, SAT, NAEP, AP, STAR… The list went on. The panel description stated, “In education measurement and data, we aim to generate data that are useful to education while minimizing harm, but we’re often so far removed from the classroom, we have little sense of the cumulative usefulness and potential harm of assessment.” As the Strategic Data Project’s 2024 Convening challenged attendees to consider the meaning of “just numbers,” the students and their teacher, the panel’s moderator, challenged the audience to consider all the data that test scores obscure: whether you had a bad day or a good day; whether you tried your hardest or not at all; whether you’re a talented writer and first-generation American who struggles with the kinds of idioms often used in the testing, or simply “not good enough.” **A Disconnect: Students Struggle to Understand Testing Expectations** One student described how, in his first standardized test in elementary school, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He spent the time making up a song instead. On another exam, a partnered exam in 5th grade, he and his partner spent the time making up stories about how their sled and weights, presumably for some scientific experiment, represented Santa and his sleigh. “It made absolutely no sense to us,” he said. “What we were being tested on was not something we were taught… it was something we were expected to already know, or inherently know.” Students described frequently coming to school to be surprised with more standardized testing, often with little notice. “Often, you come into school, and the teacher will say, “Today we’re taking STAR,” one recollected. “I didn’t know what that was freshman year. I was like, ‘Oh, we’re taking STAR today.'” Even when notice was provided, another student described the shifting goalposts they faced as elementary schoolers—the teacher would reassure students the test wasn't hard or important, leading them not to care or try. As the test approached, the teacher no longer de-emphasized the test’s importance. She would tell students they had to try; as the test was distributed, the instructions would change again, to “If you don’t try, you will be punished.” “It was hard to understand as a 5th grader,” the student added. **Intrinsic Motivation and Learning** Students also discussed a disconnect between tests and their values, passions, and goals. They felt that the tests did not measure skills they would need to survive and to use in their future careers and passions. While one student would need to know skills like 3D modeling in his future career, he was instead being asked to memorize the U.S. presidents. Even so, background knowledge was empowering. “One of the passages on the SAT was about marine biology. I’m not interested in marine biology, but I live in Rhode Island,” he shared. “ I feel like I have an intrinsic knowledge. Being exposed to what I know…is reflected in my testing. I perform better on things I know and enjoy, and worse in things I don’t.” While another student acknowledged a value to general knowledge, she felt that differences in home lives and cultures meant that generalized knowledge should not be a metric for intelligence. Many standardized tests have other goals than measuring individual intelligence, or even academic capability—such as to track population-level student progress—yet the disconnect between testing’s goals and student perspectives on tests’ meaning is palpable, and problematic. “People growing up like us need the idea of purpose,” the student continued. “It gives you the opportunity to be curious about it and want to know more about it, if you have a purpose for doing it. More explanation for tests—who is it administered by? What is the data used for?—would help.” As these students' concerns reflect, the culture around the test is important— students need to understand the purpose of what they’re doing, and how tests are incorporated into the rest of their lives. ## **The culture around the test is important—students need to understand the purpose of what they’re doing, and how tests are incorporated into the rest of their lives.** All the students felt that the results of their standardized testing results were peculiarly unavailable. They rarely saw their scores, or if they did, knew only they scored in the “high green.” One added, “After elementary school, I never get my results. I don’t feel an implication in my learning. Nothing really changes with my answers.” “Knowing I will see my results after a test helps me while taking it,” another shared. “In English, if we’re analyzing a poem, and I know afterwards we’ll be able to discuss it— I know I’ll be able to revisit my thought process, so it feels important to think deeply about my thought process. If you never see your results, and can’t reflect on your thought process, it doesn’t feel as if the thought that goes in matters.” An audience member asked the students if they got any benefit from the tests. Perhaps, he posited, they were now more prepared for what life would bring them: MCATs to get into med school; teacher and architectural licensure processes; all the tests sure to come in their future? One student responded, halfway joking, that the test taught them how to sit still in one seat for three hours. Another thought perhaps the PSAT had been good preparation for the SAT. Perhaps tests were good for something, then—test prep. **“There’s an Air of… ‘Not Good Enough’”: Student Mental and Emotional Experience** While tests provide data points about one aspect of student achievement to inform administrators, teachers, researchers, and even homebuyers, they don’t show the whole picture, and provoke an entirely different set of emotions in students. One panelist described it thus: “Some kids walk in so confident… while I’ve packed a second T-shirt and a stick of deodorant in my backpack…I know I’m going to want to take a break and not sit in my own anxious sweat.” Despite knowing better than to compare himself to others, he shared, “There’s an air of… ‘not good enough.’ You know you’re going to compare yourself. Who finishes fastest? When the results come back, \[who gets the highest scores?\] There’s no way I can \[compete\]. I feel less than.” > ## **"There’s no way I can \[compete\]. I feel less than.”** Their teacher shared that testing can take an emotional toll on staff, too. She shared an excerpt of a student essay—a high-level, sophisticated piece of writing breaking down a literary passage. The student who had written it consistently performed well in class. She had a rigorous work ethic. Yet, according to the school’s regular standardized testing, she was in “intervention” status. “How do I convey that to someone who comes every Tuesday for extra help?” she wondered. “Both of us have seen the increase in her proficiency.” She hesitated to inform the student of her score, worried that it would undermine her academic confidence. Given the use of test results for school accountability, both the teacher and her students also described the pressures on teachers and administrators and the adverse incentives they created. Students could lose out on recess and field trips if they did not perform well or pay adequate attention during testing. Some even lost points on their classroom tests if their standardized test scores worsened. **Where do we go from here?** The moderator, herself a teacher, acknowledged that tests are important. With the test results, teachers could “ensure students are up there with the rest of the nation, moving forward as 21st century students doing 21st century learning. It gives us a snapshot to understand where we are.” But, she cautioned, it’s hard to understand how a number alone can inform us of the state of our classrooms. Students had several suggestions, too. They hoped that their schools could help students better understand the purpose of testing. They also suggested that teachers share students’ results with them, but in ways that allow them to learn, rather than feeling like judgments on their intelligence. Last, they wished schools would build a more positive, growth-oriented mindset– where adults help students feel capable, so that they can test well, rather than making them anxious through shifting expectations and punitive measures. Together, the data-minded community had gathered to grapple with important questions of practice, including how to maintain a humanistic approach in a world increasingly dominated by numbers. The voice of these eloquent students reminded us that data dashboards and reports do not exist in a vacuum. Behind each digit and statistic, there is a human face, and as we utilize data to provide insights, tell stories, and advance educational missions, it is important to consider how to foster informed, equitable, and compassionate educational practices as well. See also:- [ SDP Convening 2024 ](/news/sdp-convening-2024) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)