Topic Analysis - LD September/October Standardized Tests
By Alexandra Mork
The new Lincoln Douglas September/October topic is… Resolved: In the United States, colleges and universities ought not consider standardized tests in undergraduate admissions decisions.
AFF Ideas:
The most popular affirmatives on this topic will probably focus on the discriminatory impacts of standardized testing. Some debaters will focus on how standardized testing perpetuates the “racial achievement gap” by asking biased questions. The impact of this is that African American and Latino students score worse on average on standardized tests than their white counterparts and thus are less likely to be able to attend college. Another significant issue with standardized tests is that it discriminates against poor students who may have less educational resources because of the quality of schools in the communities they live in and/or because they may not have access to tutors. Critics of standardized tests also argue that tests discriminate against students with disabilities, who do not always receive the necessary testing accommodations, as well as non-Native English speakers who often struggle with reading and writing sections because of language barriers.
Another possible affirmative is one that argues that standardized tests are a product of a neoliberal education system that views students as stocks for profit extraction rather than unique learners with the ability to think outside of tests. The culture of standardized testing incentives an individualistic culture where students view one another as competitors and teachers see education as a means to fulfill an end.
Another argument in opposition to standardized testing is that it hurts educational quality because it encourages teachers to “teach to the test,” diminishes students creativity since they only study material that will appear on the test, and encourages students to learn “tricks” rather than how to solve problems completely and correctly. This argument is probably less persuasive for this topic (standardized tests for college admission) as opposed to standardized tests writ large since most students study outside of school for tests like the SAT/ACT, rather than inside of the classroom.
NEG Ideas:
On the negative, one argument that people may make is that standardized tests encourage students to learn more since they will likely study in their free time to learn material that may not have been covered inside of the classroom.
Another argument people make is that standardized tests are useful in college admissions by providing another indicator of applicants abilities. This is especially important because it is difficult to compare grades between different schools with different curriculums.
In terms of criticisms, many debaters will probably argue that getting rid of standardized tests is merely a palliative that does little to change the exclusionary and flawed structure of education already in place.
A lot of the best neg ground will be reactive to the particular off plan and subject area. So, when prepping, debaters should anticipate common affirmatives and craft case negs based off those.