San Diego Schools Say Giving Tests Is Racist (msn.com)

By Jessica Marie Baumgartner / Image Go2Tutors / August 5, 2022

In the fashion of other failing public schools that have implemented WOKE politics into their curriculum, the San Diego Unified school district is decrying tests as racist. The school's trustee claims that measuring student ability through tests is "rooted in racism." While some agree that standardized testing is not always the best method to determine student progress, tests in and of themselves come in many forms.

Hands-on testing is often used in science labs and music programs. In chemistry and other science classes, students must sometimes conduct experiments and produce requested results utilizing the steps given by their professor in order to ensure that not only have students learned how reactions are related to specific scientific actions, but also how to safely conduct their work in the lab. In addition, music and performance classes often have students individually play certain pieces of music, memorize poetry or lines of literature, or sing a solo in order to display their abilities and knowledge of sight reading, understanding patterns, and memorizing sequences/important speeches. These are alternative testing methods that the San Diego schools can and likely have easily utilized.

Giving presentations or engaging in a class debate are other forms of testing that show teachers which students are excelling and which need improvements. Various testing processes have been a standard in education for ages because in order to ensure that students are learning the information needed to succeed, teachers must be able to gauge their understanding of that information. Unfortunately, Richard Barrera, trustee of the San Diego schools, believes that testing students' knowledge of the subjects they have learned is racist and "silly."

Instead of promoting new innovative methods for measuring student progress, he believes that simple recommendations from parents and suggestions from teachers are enough to lead students forward in their educational journey. How these recommendations and suggestions will ensure that students have actually learned subjects that will aid them in their adult pursuits is unclear. What is known is that the San Diego schools' student failure rate has increased and that their enrollment rates continue to drop faster than expected.

To read more of Jessica Marie Baumgartner's article, please click here.