Why We Need More Testing, Not Less
Testing has become a bad word in our society, largely because our educational system places a strong emphasis on high-stakes assessments and standardized evaluations. For many students — perhaps even for most students — getting high test scores is their primary goal in school. And who could blame them? Getting good grades, attaining high SAT/ACT scores, and receiving college acceptance letters depends on how well one can perform on tests. It’s no wonder it’s a source of enormous stress for students, teachers, and parents alike. Heck, I’m getting stressed out just writing about testing!
What, if anything, should be done about this? Given my opening remarks, it may surprise you that my proposed solution is more testing, not less, with the major qualification being that we start viewing — and using — tests more as learning tools than assessment tools. Allow me to explain…
Over the last century, research in cognitive psychology has ushered in the following undeniable empirical reality: Testing enhances learning. Attempting to retrieve information from memory leads to a host of direct and indirect benefits with respect to the retention, understanding, and application of knowledge and skills. Learning scientists call this the testing effect (or the retrieval practice effect), and it’s one of the most robust and reliable findings in the scientific literature on…
