For a project for American studies on the Reconstruction period, my group learned that African Americans were forced to take literacy tests to be eligible for voting. African Americans were given the right to vote with the fifteenth amendment. However many people still couldn't vote, even with this new right. The literacy tests were extremely difficult, and were actually used as a mechanism to stop black people from voting. In class we were given a literacy test from the 1960s, and only one student out of 50 was able to pass. I found this interesting because it was advertised as a literacy test, and I would say everyone at Nw Trier is literate, but we could not answer these questions.
These literacy tests reminded me of the standardized tests that students take to get into college, like the ACT and SAT. Some people are not as good of test takers so they get lower scores, but that does not make them unintelligent. I took a prep class to practice for the ACT, and I was able to get a score that I wanted. However, many people do not have the means to take these classes or the general education that would prepare them for these tests. As a result, they may not be able to go to schools that are higher ranking. I do not think this is fair because a standardized test does not tell anything about the type of learner someone is or whether they would be successful at a certain school. On the other hand, someone who gets a very high score might not have the highest IQ. What do you think should be done about standardized tests? Should they be removed or should there be some type of replacement?
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