Is True Standardization a Myth?
We have all experienced standardized tests, whether it was an admissions test, such as the GRE or MCAT in order to get into a graduate program, or a personality test, such as the MMPI or the BDI to assess psychological wellbeing. Standardization of tests has become so common in our culture, and is the cornerstone of our educational system, but is this style of testing truly flawless? I believe that there are too many factors at play for true standardization to ever really be attainable.
First, it is important to explain exactly what makes a test standardized. Standardization requires a test to have uniform procedures from one examiner and setting to another. The test must be reliable and valid, and usually can interpret results from an individual with reference to norms obtained by testing a well-selected base sample of people. Because standardized tests have very strict methods and guidelines to be followed throughout the testing procedure, it is often the case that small, seemingly meaningless deviations can completely unstandardize the process. For example, if the examiner strays away from the exact instructions or test items themselves, or decides to score the test slightly differently, it is no longer comparable to the base sample, and thus defeats the whole purpose of standardization.
Another way standardized tests can be overthrown is by the current mind state and situation of the examiner or of the test-taker. Someone can show up to take or administer a test after experiencing an emotional loss, or having taken medication that can affect their alertness, for example, and situational factors like this can affect the validity of the assessment.
A personal experience that comes to mind is when I was required to take an international French exam called the TFI, in order to be allowed to apply to the French medical schools of Quebec. The first section comprised an oral section, where we would listen to a recording of a French conversation and have to answer a multiple-choice question about it. The location of the test was the YMCA, which often has many activities going on at once. About ten minutes in, noise erupted from outside the examination room. This caused me, and I’m sure many other examinees, to have trouble hearing the recording, and thus be unable to answer the questions. The examiners refused to play the recording again due to the strict rules they had to follow. As a result, my grade was affected by this unpredictable event.
So I think it is clear that standardized tests are often flawed and less “standardized” than we are led to believe. There are also several negative impacts on the educational system resulting from their growing importance, such as the promotion of more cheating from both the students and the teachers, when the stakes are high enough. There is no obvious solution, but hopefully someday we can find a way to perfect standardization, or alternatively, move away from this method towards a more effective way of administering psychological tests.
Student ID: 260584483
Sources:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Test_Problems_Seven/
