Standardized Test Architects are Racist Gatekeepers

Inadequate tests cannot assess black students’ abilities

Envision a room with many doors before you; each entrance offers a different path. These doorways are locked. However, teachers and parents say you can choose any door you want. Upon approach, it becomes apparent these paths are not equally available entry points. Systematic racism keeps some keys out of reach for Black students, locking them out of opportunities.

Long before the pandemic, Black students faced discrimination in a variety of ways. One of the most alarming is the use of standardized tests. Because of the importance of standardized tests, architects hold the keys to students’ educational opportunities. Their performance shapes their future and determines which doors open for them.

One day, the haze will clear. The question is whether Black students re-enter an educational system skewed against them based on what parents, teachers, and school administrators do now.

Fallacious IQ Tests

To understand the role of standardized tests in educational assessment, we must evaluate the IQ test because it was the first standardized test. In 1904, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created the world’s first intelligence test. These Frenchmen wanted to…