Gatekept: How America Has Failed At-Risk, Diverse, Low-Scoring Students through the Use of Standardized Testing
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| Title: | Gatekept: How America Has Failed At-Risk, Diverse, Low-Scoring Students through the Use of Standardized Testing |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Victoria Gray Palmer |
| Source: | New England College Journal of Applied Educational Research. 2025 5(2):233-256. |
| Availability: | New England College. 98 Bridge Street, Henniker, NH 03242. Tel: 603-428-2000; e-mail: jaer@nec.edu; Web site: https://www.nec.edu/research/nec-jaer |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 24 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education High Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Standardized Tests, At Risk Students, High Stakes Tests, Test Bias, Test Coaching, College Admission, Admission Criteria, Test Anxiety, Multiple Intelligences, Minority Group Students, College Entrance Examinations, High School Students |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | SAT (College Admission Test) |
| ISSN: | 2836-8339 |
| Abstract: | For at-risk diverse students who score lower points on district/state/federal testing as well as on other standardized tests such as the SAT, (formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test), these students are gatekept out of higher-level courses in high school due to "teaching to the test" policies, gatekept out of entrance to expensive "test-prep" tutoring options, are examined unfairly by college admission offices under "test-optional" policies, and may ultimately be denied to better colleges. Consequently, given the current district/state/federal mandated testing systems in the United States and the stubbornness of high school administrators, state and federal lawmakers, school boards, college admission boards, etc., cling to antiquated practices of "college readiness" testing such as the SAT and favoring a classification system that reduces students to an invalid and static numeric answer instead of a fluid holistic representation is not only a travesty, but it is an unfair and biased system that needs to be reevaluated and reconstructed. Importantly, in the 21st century, there are better, more accurate, more comprehensive ways of showcasing student learning by way of the theory of multiple intelligence (Gardner, 1983), augmented theory of successful intelligence (Sternberg, 2012; 2015), and non-cognitive and critical thinking skills (Martin-Raugh et al., 2022). |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1490349 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | For at-risk diverse students who score lower points on district/state/federal testing as well as on other standardized tests such as the SAT, (formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test), these students are gatekept out of higher-level courses in high school due to "teaching to the test" policies, gatekept out of entrance to expensive "test-prep" tutoring options, are examined unfairly by college admission offices under "test-optional" policies, and may ultimately be denied to better colleges. Consequently, given the current district/state/federal mandated testing systems in the United States and the stubbornness of high school administrators, state and federal lawmakers, school boards, college admission boards, etc., cling to antiquated practices of "college readiness" testing such as the SAT and favoring a classification system that reduces students to an invalid and static numeric answer instead of a fluid holistic representation is not only a travesty, but it is an unfair and biased system that needs to be reevaluated and reconstructed. Importantly, in the 21st century, there are better, more accurate, more comprehensive ways of showcasing student learning by way of the theory of multiple intelligence (Gardner, 1983), augmented theory of successful intelligence (Sternberg, 2012; 2015), and non-cognitive and critical thinking skills (Martin-Raugh et al., 2022). |
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| ISSN: | 2836-8339 |
