Calls to Action: Noam Chomsky On Standardized Testing

January 15, 2015

8:35 PM

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Legendary scholar and philosopher Noam Chomsky turns his biting wit toward education ranking systems and the increasing pressure on teachers to "teach to the test," reducing schools and students to empty numbers, in this interview. “The assessment itself is completely artificial," he says. "It’s not ranking teachers in accordance with their ability to help develop children who will reach their potential. You’re giving some kind of a rank, but it’s a rank that’s mostly meaningless, and the very ranking itself is harmful. It’s turning us into individuals who devote our lives to achieving a rank."

Watch the video here, and check out our December 2014/January 2015 double issue on the threats to public schools and the activists fighting to save them.

Comments (6)

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As a teacher, I agree with

As a teacher, I agree with Professor Chomsky that stardardized testing tends to supress creativity on the parts of students and teachers. We mistake a score on a test for a measure of how well our nation fares at an International level. Our nation's strength lies in its creativity. Please allow me to repeat that: our success as a nation stems from the enormous creativity of its citizens, which often runs counter to the wisdom of the times. Who would believe that an upstart group of 13 colonies could defeat the most powerful nation on the globe. The major documents of our nation: The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution came about through an act of individual and group creativity to solve problems. The inventions and breakthroughs in science, art, literature, and many other fields stemmed from looking at commonly accepted notions in new ways. Many innovators even dropped out of school or were looked at peculiarly in.school or society at large, people like Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and in recent times, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Look even in Colonial times at the lives of political innovators like Benjamin Franklin (a drop-out newspaper apprentice), and Thomas Paine. Is our educational process doing this remarkable nation a tremendous disservice by comparing our students based upon some International arbitrary basis that lacks our strongest suit, creativity? Without a doubt! Heaven help us!

Richard Hoffman more than 9 years ago

Dear Mr Hoffman, as you state

Dear Mr Hoffman, as you state to be a teacher, I must feel for your students. As a teacher you should know better than rant such display if historical inaccuracies on a national forum. The 13 colonies are no different than Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, India, and all other colonies that gained independence from their far away masters. No unique "creativity" feat there. The Declaration of Independence is a major rehash of contemporary thought in Europe. No unique "creativity" feat there either. The Constitution had to be amended to include a Bill of Rights. Nothing "unique" about having the "creativity" to stall the parliamentary procedure there. Albert Einstein earned his PhD in Germany. Nothing "American" there. Thomas Edison did finish college. Steve Jobs finished college. Bill Gates finished high school. The Colonial Times lacked adequate schools and universities for Benjamin Franklin to "drop out" from; but he did finish his printer apprenticeship to become a renowned printer.

Leonardo Ramos more than 8 years ago

Noam does not have expert

Noam does not have expert knowledge about education. Standardized tests have been used for years, as has student ranking (e.g. GPA). The tests are designed to rank students based on their knowledge, not to assess teachers (though "reformers" are trying to). I am not sure what a "meaningful" educational process is, but Noam is not really stating one, he is building a straw man that he can attack. Not assessing student learning is not going to result in intellectually developed students.

robotczar more than 9 years ago

Murdoch and company, are also

Murdoch and company, are also using the guise of textbook/testing//educational software design to entrench their agenda in to the education system.

Sandy Bartels more than 9 years ago

I have great respect for Noam

I have great respect for Noam Chomsky, but he is mistaken in one thing he says in this video. He says of those who are devising testing programs, "They are not evil people." In fact, those who are "reforming" education are doing it in order to serve the Money People, who constantly try to devise new ways to suck public money into their private pockets. I think that's evil and it's deliberate action to enrich themselves at our expense.

Elizabeth Shirah more than 9 years ago

thank you prof. chomsky, also

thank you prof. chomsky, also i would add that i question the validity and usefulness of the subject matter within standardized tests. it is not clear to me whether or not current school curricula prepares young people for much of anything. i question the legitimacy of forcing young people to believe they are competing with workforces in developing nations and therefore must accept low wages, all the while doing everything that can be done to make sure students are broke, ill-informed, and unemployable.

donald schreiber more than 9 years ago

Calls to Action: Noam Chomsky On Standardized Testing

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