I’m actually a fan of frequent low-stakes tests, and I do think they build self-esteem if done right. Here, though, I’m talking a lot about spelling tests and things like Mad Math Minutes, where students try to get as many problems done correctly as they can in two or three minutes. It’s natural to try and beat your own record, kids do that all the time in video games and athletics, and it feels awesome to know you “won” even if you’re only competing against last-weeks score. I’ve seen those kinds of things work well in learning foreign languages, too, but to a lesser extent.

Of course, learning without test pressure is necessary for some things. Kids need to learn how to research, and how to think critically and express themselves clearly, especially when we’re talking about older children. Those things are ridiculously hard to test and hard to teach and tying those things to testing is not going to work. But for things like have an absolute right-or-wrong answer, which is a lot of the stuff learned in elementary school, frequent testing is pretty good.

I would say that your experience in college is a totally different animal to the experience of elementary school—kids that age are still thinking in a very right/wrong kind of a way because that’s developmentally appropriate, and learning a lot of things that are either right or wrong, but college (and some subjects of k-12, especially the upper grades) is much, much more about exploration, and you’re at a different, less black-and-white place developmentally.

Also, we have a completely irrational love of local control in the US. Has anyone ever made a persuasive argument for why local control is automatically a good thing? Look at all the batsh*t crazy school boards out there. Look at the terrible results we get from small and large districts alike. National standards might not be so bad. Seems like just about anything we try couldn’t be worse.

Comments Most children thrive on peer competition. They naturally share how well they have done on tests with each other. This causes a natural motivation to improve skills when a test score is not a student’s best work. So I believe that children need tests regularly. However, they can be in the format of spelling tests and Mad Math Minutes like another commenter suggested because kids just think they are a positive challenge for the most part. Some get nervous about quizzes and try to overcome their fears. Unit tests are also good as long as they are not altogether multiple choice. Written answers must be included.
However, I believe that standardized testing that is done once a year and only gives administrators a one-chance glimpse of a student’s progress or ability is very wrong. That child may not be their best that day or may not be a good test-taker. That is just not good practice for promotion standards or to see where a child needs help. Too much rides on one test in these cases and that should not be all that makes up assessment of a student’s mastery of a skill or subject.
I truly hope that we can rid our school systems of such one-shot chances for student success. It only leads to failure for our children and schools.