San Diego Schools Say Giving Tests Is Racist
According to San Diego schools' trustee, tests that measure student ability is rooted in racism, as the district decries standardized tests.
In the fashion of other failing public schools that have implemented WOKE politics into their curriculum, the San Diego Unified school district is decrying tests as racist. The school’s trustee claims that measuring student ability through tests is “rooted in racism.” While some agree that standardized testing is not always the best method to determine student progress, tests in and of themselves come in many forms.
When most people think of testing they imagine students sitting at desks filling in bubbles on multiple choice question sheets. In truth, this is just one form of testing that helps teachers to know whether students understand the material being taught. Essay writing is another form of testing which affords students the freedom to explore topics in their own words and support or oppose them using specific points to make an educated conclusion. San Diego school officials have yet to comment on this specific option, or others that offer flexible testing methods, like hands-on testing.
Hands-on testing is often used in science labs and music programs. In chemistry and other science classes, students must sometimes conduct experiments and produce requested results utilizing the steps given by their professor in order to ensure that not only have students learned how reactions are related to specific scientific actions, but also how to safely conduct their work in the lab. In addition, music and performance classes often have students individually play certain pieces of music, memorize poetry or lines of literature, or sing a solo in order to display their abilities and knowledge of sight reading, understanding patterns, and memorizing sequences/important speeches. These are alternative testing methods that the San Diego schools can and likely have easily utilized.
Giving presentations or engaging in a class debate are other forms of testing that show teachers which students are excelling and which need improvements. Various testing processes have been a standard in education for ages because in order to ensure that students are learning the information needed to succeed, teachers must be able to gauge their understanding of that information. Unfortunately, Richard Barrera, trustee of the San Diego schools, believes that testing students’ knowledge of the subjects they have learned is racist and “silly.”
Instead of promoting new innovative methods for measuring student progress, he believes that simple recommendations from parents and suggestions from teachers are enough to lead students forward in their educational journey. How these recommendations and suggestions will ensure that students have actually learned subjects that will aid them in their adult pursuits is unclear. What is known is that the San Diego schools’ student failure rate has increased and that their enrollment rates continue to drop faster than expected.
As the San Diego schools continue to struggle due to bad policies and a lack of proper focus on core subjects, students’ successes have suffered. This is being felt in various districts throughout the nation which has redirected focus to identity politics instead of academic study. Instead of teaching core subjects like English, math, science, and history from an objective position many teachers are being encouraged to insert gender theory and critical race theory practices into their lessons. This has done nothing to improve students’ progress rates but has driven plenty of families to seek alternative education options.
Instead of decrying traditional learning standards as “racist,” the San Diego schools would better serve students and their communities by working to provide classroom standards that promote learning and exploration regardless of classroom demographics. Parents and educators have questioned the validity of standardized testing for years. This is a subject that many people can agree on if proper alternative testing methods are put in place, but simply decrying testing as a racist practice does nothing to teach children or measure their understanding of the lessons they have been taught.
