School curriculums use tests and projects to assess a student’s knowledge. Some students prefer testing while others prefer projects. Standardized testing is shown to be a better option.
Many teachers find that standardized testing is better than projects because projects can differ from one another in terms of subjective grading and the approach a student takes to the assignment in terms of sources and supplies used and information included. Standardized testing asks similar questions and contains the same material between most counties and states. With projects, expectations and grading may differ from teacher to teacher while tests are graded objectively based on the right or wrong answers and require the same materials needed for all students.
“Testing can be standardized, meaning no matter who your teacher is or what county you go to school in or what school you go to, you get the same type of material across the board depending on the subject that you’re taking the test in,” science teacher Andrew Riggleman said. “Testing does not require materials that some students might not be able to acquire. At times, project-based learning might require students to purchase materials, potentially making it an equity issue.”
Because students have access to Google and the internet for projects, they are more reliant on external sources rather than their own knowledge on the subject. When preparing for a test, students may study harder and retain more information rather than simply copying and pasting information from their sources for projects.
“Just developing some study skills could be something that’s extremely useful,” student counselor Darrell Peoples said. “When it comes to a project, there’s still skills left for a student to develop.”
Another reason many students prefer taking standardized tests over projects is the stress factor. With standardized testing, there’s a set time period you have in which to complete the assessment. With a project, it could take multiple days or even weeks which can end up being much more time consuming. This can lead to students falling behind in other classes because of the overwhelming amount of work.
“I believe that tests are better [than projects] because you don’t have to worry about deadlines when you’re taking a test,” junior Elias Desalegn said. “With projects, you have to worry about deadlines and cramming work in.”
Students also may find standardized testing more convenient than projects because of the time to importance ratio. Tests and projects are generally worth the same amount to a student’s grade. However, tests take less time to complete.
“With testing, you can kind of just study at home and it’s not as long and tedious as projects,” sophomore Brendan Schneider said. “I feel like they have a better impact on my grade because it’s less work for the same amount of points.”
Overall, testing creates better habits outside of the classroom. It also helps students retain more information over a long period of time. Standardized tests assess a student’s knowledge on the subject while projects are mostly reflective of a student’s ability to pull information from different sources and websites.
“A benefit of doing that standardized test is that a majority of our students who are taking the standardized test, they’ll put in that time to study,” Peoples said. “Those long-term study skills can be a nice benefit.”
