First, standardized tests are a critical thinker's dream. Multiple-choice questions often ask students to evaluate evidence and make inferences. Consider a sample multiple-choice question for the New York State English Language Arts test, which is administered in the public schools. It asks students to identify the tone of a paragraph excerpted from Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth" (1889).
I think much of the criticism of standardized tests on this forum, especially of the multiple choice variety, is overdone.
I don't see the validity of this point. MC tests ask students to pick from four predetermined choices. They don't require him to figure out the answer for himself by putting ideas together (my definition of critical thinking). Rarely in life are we presented with four answer choices, one of which is correct.
Asking a student to pick from a few choices about the tone of a paragraph is a far cry from asking him to write a meaningful essay about it.
