The following presents the topic of educational testing. Specifically problems and issues in testing of Puerto Rican students are presented. This is followed by conclusions.
Educational Testing of the Puerto Rican Student
Standardized tests present problems for students of all ages and all levels of education (Perrone, 1991). Today's school includes a diverse group of students with resulting concerns. For example, achievement gaps and standardized tests scores are lower for minority students, which leads to limited opportunities in higher education, employment, and earnings (Lee, 2002). Factors affecting this gap are many and include poverty, single household, alcohol and drug use, crime victimization, and high school dropout (Lee, 2002). Minority students are at a disadvantage and this results in problems related to academic testing and achievement (Camara & Schmidt, 1999; Lee, 2002).
Pervasive test score differences are found in minority students compared to white students; these differences include multiple measures of educational achievement. For example, standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, NAEP, and NELS all demonstrate lower scores for minority students (Camara & Schmidt, 1999). Hispanic (representing Mexican American/Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Other Hispanic or Latin American students) demonstrated the second largest gap between whites and a minority group (African-American test-takers demonstrate the largest gap) (Camara & Schmidt, 1999).
Findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that in a sample of students from grades 4, 8, and 12, African-American and Hispanic students were less likely to score at the Proficient or Advanced level than white and Asian-American students (Camara & Schmidt, 1999). Large-scale standardized tests are criticized because of these differences in scores and reasons for the differences have been
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