Student Voice and Standardized Assessment

• In Event: Autonomy, Inclusion, and Fostering Participation: Voice and Agency in Curriculum Policy

Abstract

My research explores student experiences and perceptions of standardized testing through a governmentality lens informed by critical pedagogy. With federal legislation that mandates standardized assessments and harsh consequences attached, the stakes are very high for children, teachers, administrators, and public education systems in the United States.

Beyond an understanding of student perspectives, this study explores the ways in which students are manipulated, regulated, and disciplined to view standardized testing as a natural part of what it means to be a public school student and how these mechanisms of control present themselves. Additionally, this work considers how student views regarding standardization change as they are promoted through the grades through semi-structured interviews of seven children in grades three, five, and eight.

Author

• Amy Kelly, Governors State University