Standardized Testing Critique

In the past couple of years, standardized testing has become a hotly debated topic, and now, even writers of Young Adult Literature have stepped up to the podium to give their stance of the issue. Many books are written addressing the subject, but most prominent is The Testing, written by Joelle Charbonneau. The story is set up in a dystopian America where a person’s only hope in advancing in life is to be chosen for the Testing after their completion of high school. The story follows Cia, who has been chosen for the testing. The Testing criticizes modern standardized testing through its depiction of the price of failure, the stress placed on students, and the differing skill levels of the questions given to students. The first issue The Testing addresses is the weight of failure placed upon testers. In the story, those who are chosen for the testing have severe consequences for failure. Those who do not pass certain aspects of the tests are not permitted to advance to the University. Later on in the book, Cia discovers that those who failed the tests were killed by the testing officials. The slaying of the candidates is a metaphor for getting low scores on standardized testing. For example, if someone gets a 10 on the ACT, they are less likely to get into college than someone who scores a 20 on the ACT. Also, in the second …show more content…
While some may say that because The Testing is a Young Adult book, it cannot criticize modern standardized testing, this research proves otherwise. Contrary to popular belief, Young Adult writing is not watered down, it is some of the greatest critical literature there is, The Testing included. It shows, in many ways, the negatives of standardized testing. The Testing criticizes modern standardized testing through its portrayal of the weight of failure, the stress placed on students, and the content of the questions on the