We, the Indiana Department of Education, would like to present our reasoning behind the decision to implement standardized testing in schools across Indiana. Though there has been some debate over the logic behind this idea, we truly feel that this is the right decision.

     We feel that our mission statement regarding this decision can be summed up by the acronym STUPID.

S: The S stands for Spending. The state of Indiana spends upwards of 1 billion dollars on standardized testing every year. Rather than decreasing the amount of standardized tests that the state administers, and spending the money in a more useful and productive way, the Department of Education believes that this is a necessary program. Frivolous spending provides an incentive to practice carefully managing the little money there is left.

T: The T stands for Time. While many argue that standardized tests are a waste of time, we argue that the time spent on testing works in favor of students. First, students learn valuable time management skills while taking the test. Second, according to Ronak Shah, an Indiana teacher, his students spend, “nearly 40 instructional hours a year taking standardized tests.” By decreasing the amount of time available for actual learning, the state ensures that students have to work a lot harder to learn what they need to know, thus increasing their work ethic. This also gets students ready for the “real world” by ensuring that they don’t get to study the things they are actually passionate about. They are instead prepared for a menial job by not being bogged down by learning anything of value, like critical thinking.

U: The U stands for Understanding Technology. Some tests are administered via technology. This is confusing for many of our teachers. The tests provide a good way for them to become more comfortable with technology. For example, it allows for them to come up with creative solutions to the all too frequent glitches that occur while testing.

P: The P stands for Pressure. The Indiana Department of Education would argue that pressure is good for students. It’s not normal for a student to go through school without being crushed by the weight of unrealistic expectations and feeling pressured to be perfect at everything. We strive to ensure that all students have access to this necessary educational experience. Learning to manage stress helps students prepare for the future, especially for college, where their stress levels are sure to increase exponentially.

I: The I stands for Intelligence Measuring. School isn’t school without grading systems measuring a student’s intelligence every step of the way. Students will undoubtedly discuss their scores with other students, and in comparing themselves to their smarter and better peers, they will feel stupid, and thus try harder to get a better score next time.

D: The D stands for Determining the Future. This point connects to point “I”, in that by measuring a student’s intelligence, it shows them where they will end up in the future. If a student does poorly on a couple of tests they take when they are kids, it automatically shows them that they are destined to be unsuccessful in life. Conversely, those who succeed will know that they are geared up for a successful life of being CEOs and CFOs and mini Mark Zuckerbergs.

     The Indiana Department of Education hopes that the people of Indiana know how dedicated we are to the best education possible for Indiana students. We firmly believe that standardized testing is the best possible method of educating.

     It is beneficial for teachers, who must now learn how to grapple with technology glitches, and the huge chunk of time missing from their instructional schedules due to testing.

     It is a learning opportunity for parents who must learn how to handle a child so bogged down with tests and tests and tests that they find it hard to be motivated to even do their homework.

     It is beneficial for students who must learn to deal with the stress of taking these tests, who will continually compare their scores to the scores of others, and come out of that finding themselves inadequate, and who will have to live their entire lives based off of a couple of pointless tests that they take as children.

     It is good for kids to struggle through tests filled with information that they will never need to know again, simply for the purpose of giving the government statistics to analyze.

     Thank you,

     Indiana Department of Education