Why State Testing Doesn’t Tell the Full Story
Every spring, students across the country sit down for state standardized tests. For many families and teachers, these scores are treated like a final judgment: Are they on grade level? Are they behind? Are they “proficient”? But here’s the truth: standardized testing gives us a very narrow picture of a student’s abilities. These tests are designed to measure broad academic skills – reading comprehension, math problem-solving, maybe some writing. They’re useful for identifying large-scale trends or school-wide performance. But when it comes to understanding an individual child’s strengths, struggles, and learning profile, standardized tests fall short. Here’s why: They measure what’s been taught, not how a student learns. A student might score “below grade level” on a reading test – but is it because they can’t decode or because they have attention difficulties? Do they struggle with comprehension, or did they simply mismanage their time? They don’t reflect processing, worki...