By Lucy Gill As a high school student aspiring to perhaps one day work in a scientific field, I have always been very dedicated to my schooling and determined to achieve impressive academic marks. I study hard, ensure that I complete my assignments on time, and communicate with my teachers often to make sure I understand the material. All in all, I’d say that I’m a relatively good student. However, the one issue that has plagued me throughout my years of schooling is that my test marks do not always reflect the effort I put into my education, especially if the tests are multiple-choice. I’ve often wondered what it is about standardized tests that I find so difficult. I rarely underperform on essay questions, and my presentations are always well-prepared, so why is it that my grade drops one or two percent every time I’m handed that dreaded scantron sheet?
I found the answer to my question in the award-winning book “Stamped” by Ibram x. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, a book that explores the creation of different racially oppressive systems throughout history. One of many notable racist figures that the book discusses is sir Francis Galton. To understand the rest of this article, you must understand who Francis Galton is, but before I explain, I must firstly apologize for being the one to introduce you to him. Sir Francis Galton was a cousin of Charles Darwin. However, he is more often recognized as the man who invented eugenics and is much less frequently recognized as the man who designed our current academic assessment system. Yes, I always thought that standardized testing was evil, but before reading Stamped, I never would’ve guessed it fell hand in hand with Eugenics, as well as multiple forms of racism that have cursed societies worldwide since their creation.
The story of how the bubble test I completed just the other week in science class came to be, begins back in 1816, with the publication of a monumental book for racism, “the Hereditary Genius.” Francis was fascinated by his cousin Charles Darwin’s recently published book, “On the Origin of Species,” which discusses his iconic theory of evolution. The book inspired Galton to create some theories of his own, based on evolution. Francis used the information Charles had published as backing for the racist ideas he’d been developing. One of the most well-known ideas he had is the one he published in his book, the Hereditary Genius. As is evident by the self-explanatory title, Hereditary Genius explored the notion that genetics could affect intelligence. Furthermore, if humans are evolving, perhaps some races are more developed than others, leaving the offspring of “inferior” races less intelligent and less human. Scientists and supporters of slavery alike loved this theory. It allowed them to defend slavery by saying that inferior races were less human and thrived in submission. They turned fiction into fact for financial gain. The question is, how did these theories, previously used to defend slavery, later on mould the shape of the education system, leaving a legacy that still affects the education system today?
These ideas of racial hierarchy spread like wildfire through both the United States and Canada. As the field of eugenics grew, it fed on the fear of white society, using studies based on the works of Galton to defend segregation within the educational system. For the first half of the 20th century, schools were instructed to isolate minority students into their own classes to protect white students and because minority students would never achieve as highly in school as their white pupils due to their genetics. It soon became the common belief that intelligence was highly influenced by race, socioeconomic class, gender, and nationality. When asked for evidence of these statements, scientists intentionally generated biased tests to benefit students with a higher socioeconomic stance and full of hidden references to white culture. They made both the test’s wording and the layout challenging to comprehend for students who hadn’t grown up speaking English. The tests also adjudicated intelligence based on memory, meaning that students who had jobs outside of school or other responsibilities supporting their family were less likely to perform well on these tests. One notably biased test is the IQ test. Others include the scantron format and the SAT format. Yes, the most commonly used tests in schools and post-secondary institutes to judge intelligence are innately biased and racist. Our entire education system is based around phrases such as “multiple choice” and “academic achievement,” all of which were first coined by eugenicists. A vicious cycle has been created that fuels the racist function of education establishments on a global scale. First, teachers are denied the tools necessary to assess students without bias. The system forces students in lower socioeconomic and more vulnerable home situations, especially females and students of colour, to fall behind. When these students begin to fall behind, they are judged, leading to the common stress of being a negative stereotype, which causes them to fail more. These students are shamed rather than helped and cannot ever succeed in school, leaving them at a disadvantage as adults, and the cycle repeats.
I refuse to see my education or any other student’s education negatively impacted because we are assessed using antiquated techniques developed over a century ago. These techniques provide inaccurate intelligence measurements, and while they impact some students more than others, no student benefits from them. It is the school system’s responsibility to treat students as individuals and individualize instruction accordingly. No students should have to suffer a disadvantage in school because of factors they cannot control. When schooling is standardized, the rights of students who are female, of a lower socio-economic stance, or an ethnic minority are silenced. If we want to move towards a society of equity, equality, and justice for all, it must begin within our classrooms. And the first step is to erase the legacy of eugenics in education.