HOW STANDARDIZED TESTING AND CURRICULUM LIMITS CREATIVITY

Standardized testing involves administering standardized test. This are tests that are designed in a
manner that the questions and interpretations are consistent. This means that the questions must be
interpreted in the same way by all the students.

Creativity provides for many skills such as brain storming. This is the act of coming up with coming up
numerous ideas. Standardized tests require one specific interpretation of the questions. This therefore
undermines the skill of brain storming provided by creativity. This is because a student can not think of
numerous interpretations to a question that requires one specific interpretation. It will not be of use.

Standardized testing requires the students to have a specific line of thought that leads to a specific
answer. Therefore for a student to excel in the test he / she must think in the same way the examiner
thought. Creativity provides for the skill of open mindedness. A student doesn't not have the luxury of
being open minded in such tests because the outcome or the answer can only be attained by a specific
way of thinking. This therefore undermines the skill of open mindedness and limit creativity

A curriculum is like an educating guide. Curriculums are used repetitively every year. This therefore
brings about the outcome of a generation thinking in the same manner. This because of being training in
the same way. All the students of the same curriculum end up with the same point of view of success
and how to attain it. Creativity provides for individual point of view therefore curriculums limits
creativity.

Research provides that classroom tests of participating teachers mainly focus on assessing basic
knowledge and skills, not critical thinking and creativity. It is also said in studies that there is a
discrepancy between teachers' claims of valuing creativity and the realities of their classrooms. This
means that they say that they value creativity and do not teach it.

This afe all ways in which standardized testing and curriculums limit creativity.

Citations

JM Carroll - 2013 - scholarworks.uno.edu

H Cho, CL Pemberton, B Ray - Current Issues in Education, 201