This week I read the New York Times article, “Race and the Standardized Testing Wars.”  The article highlights some of the internal conflicts ongoing with minority groups who believed the parents allowing their children to opt out of standardized testing was a form of white privilege.  Recently however, minority groups and more parents in general have started opposing all the standardized testing for various reasons including resulting cut backs to enriching programs like art/music, and the damaging effects students’ test scores can have on self-esteem.

I took a personal interest in this article because I have always hated standardized testing.  I normally take longer than other students to complete any prompts/questions because I like to take more time to develop all my thoughts and go back and check my answers.  Therefore, I have never scored well on timed standardized tests.  More than once I have felt like a total failure for not receiving marks in the “proficient” or “advanced” category because I did not even get to finish my test.  I think this article brings up a lot of important points because it is amazing still to me how much my Mississippi public school system emphasized state testing.  It created such a terrible environment because I felt like my teachers were trying to program me to get a certain number of questions correct on a test as opposed to trying to teach me any real knowledge or make sure that I understood key concepts.  I understand that the standardized tests can have benefits, but I think school districts and the people calling for more and more tests should listen to the students’ thoughts as well.  I enjoyed reading this article because it is nice to know this topic is starting to get more attention.