Testing what you know, and knowing how to test

This week in class we discussed the short comings of public school testing, and its unfortunate usage as a judging standard for students. I am of the opinion that while testing in itself will always have limitations, such as the inevitable influence of nerves on students, public testing could be modified from what it currently is so to provide a better, albeit not perfect, reflection of the students' abilities. Tests such as the SAT examine skills in math, science, english, and other optional areas. Such testing obviously gives an advantage to students of wealthier backgrounds whose parents can afford tutoring, and live in wealthier neighborhoods with more resourceful education systems.

Public testing ought not to test knowledge, acquired through years of schooling, but thought process. If testing could be modified to test the student's mental and cognitive abilities rather than his abilities in pose and poetry analysis, or algebra, the playing field could be leveled to a greater degree between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Tests could focus on areas such as spacial awareness, reasoning, and problem solving, in order to gain insight into the student's potential rather than his current level. Tests such as these would perhaps resemble IQ tests somewhat, and be near impossible to prepare for, with tutoring or not. Colleges might then be able to do a better job at selecting and drawing upon the maximum talent of their applicants.