Standardized testing

A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.

Any test in which the same test is given in the same manner to all test takers, is a standardized test. Standardized tests do not need to be high-stakes tests, time-limited tests, or multiple-choice tests. The questions can be simple or complex. The subject matter among school-age students is frequently academic skills, but a standardized test can be given on nearly any topic, including driving tests, creativity, personality, professional ethics, or other attributes.

The opposite of standardized testing is non-standardized testing, in which either significantly different tests are given to different test takers, or the same test is assigned under significantly different conditions (e.g., one group is permitted far less time to complete the test than the next group) or evaluated differently (e.g., the same answer is counted right for one student, but wrong for another student).

Standardized tests are perceived as being fairer than non-standardized tests, because everyone gets the same test and the same grading system. This is fairer and more objective than a system in which some students get an easier test and others get a more difficult test. The consistency also permits more reliable comparison of outcomes across all test takers, because everyone is taking the same test. The prevalence of standardized testing in formal education has also been criticized for many reasons, however.

As Amy M. Olson and Darrell Sabers argue in the article Standardized Tests, the definition of standardization has changed over time. In 1960, standardized tests were defined as those in which the conditions and content were equal for all examinees therefore can be given at any times and places. According to Olson and Sabers, “Standardizing testing conditions and content is meant to increase the reliability of examinees' scores by reducing sources of error extraneous to the abilities or skills being measured." For example, if examinees were given different directions for completing the test (e.g., to guess versus to leave a question blank when the correct answer is unknown), some differences in scores could be the result of directions rather than ability.” The purpose of standardization is to reduce this possibility by keeping as many variables as possible as possible in testing.

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