Standardized Testing & Dyslexia

If you have ever thrown gasoline on an open flame to see the effect, then you understand how the two elements don't mix unless controlled. (Please Do Not try that, this is my disclaimer)  So if Standardized testing is (Gasoline) and the (Open Flame) is Dyslexia then you understand my odd analogy.

The reason a Dyslexic person like myself doesn't typically score well on a standardized test is they are designed and formulated for the normal student ( one without learning differences).  I went to school in North Carolina, United States (for my Global readers) so testing here is 100% standardized.  The State formulated test are the worst, moving on to middle school or Jr. High more test. These test are better known as "end of the year" test. So for 13 years the student has standardized testing, so if you are Dyslexic or have other learning differences it is going to be a long road ahead.

I say that because there is no way to circumvent the test. I always did poorly on my test. It didn't help that no one knew I was Dyslexic. I'm going to go on a small tangent. When I was in school, teachers and staff had little to no training on how to spot Dyslexia . I would say roughly 90% of the teachers and staff couldn't tell you what Dyslexia was because they didn't know. They would say things like,  "You flip letters and are a poor reader". A.D.H.D. was the number one mislabeled learning difference out there. That isn't just including the school systems but even some of the medical professionals are throwing the parents of the children pills for a learning difference they might not even have. A scary percentage of the children after advanced testing were in fact NOT  A.D.H.D. at all. I was also one of those children mislabeled.

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. Back to the standardized testing. The final note I want to address about is the PSAT's and SAT's. These test are claimed to not be standardized test, but they are just as bad as the state formulated test I took in grade school.  I remember having the scan-tron sheets, an having to color in the bubble. As soon as I was shown the sheet I was already having a lot of anxiety. For me it was hard enough not to color in the wrong circle or block than it was to get the answer right.

So in closing I wished the education system would address the issues with standardized testing and Dyslexia. Until its fixed Dyslexic people like myself fall victims to the system.