Standardized Testing

I took part in a 3 day seminar 2 years ago called Undoing Racism.  This was my first taste of the debate on cultural bias in standardized testing.  It made total sense to me that not everyone would have the same point of reference to take a right or wrong type of test. And then the issue came full circle last week when Kim and I sat with Madison's teacher reviewing her math scores from a recent standardized test.  The teacher pointed out the questions Madison answered incorrectly and this one has to do with the duration of time.  One of the questions looked like this:


How long does it take to brush my hair? A) 1 minute B) 1 hour C) 1 day


Madison answered B, but the correct answer, according to the key, was A. 


In Maddie's life experience, brushing, or rather combing, her hair takes close to an hour and sometimes more.  She has a lot of hair, all of it is curly, and she is black.  For the white students, 1 minute is enough time to brush your hair.  Not for the black students. 


I think I will pay much more attention to this debate and how to best guide my #1 student.  It really makes you think.