Editor:

I found John Morley’s April 9 column, “Testing the Way to Scholastic Equality” interesting, but flawed.

Morley stated that standardized tests act as a “uniform yardstick by which to measure students.” I ask, what students?

Is a student who is poor and did not get the opportunities to have the best teachers or tutors part of this? How about those who, like Morley, may have had to work while in school to help pay the rent and could not always get the best grades? What about many racial minorities, for whom English is a second language?

Research shows that the groups I mentioned above do not perform as well on these types of tests. Would you say these tests were fair for this population?

It is time that people rethink the purpose and use of these tests.

The bottom line is that standardized tests are not, and never will be, a good measure of people’s capabilities or intelligence. They are used sometimes to keep doors closed for some and open for others.

Earlene Rivera

Alumna