Semiotics+of+Standardized+Testing+next 

Semiotics is the study of how things make meaning—the study of representation. While semiotic theory was originally developed in the realm of language (e.g., Peirce and Saussure), it has also been used as a means to analyze meaning making in music, the visual arts, iconic forms such as maps, and kinesthetic forms such as dance. Ferdinand de Saussure made important observations about language, which have been applied successfully across many meaning making systems.

Because of his excellent summary of the many issues present in the field of semiotics, across a number of important philosophers such as Saussure and Peirce, I take David Chandler’s book (online:[]) as a guide to the main issues in semiotics and will analyze the concept of standardized reading tests in relation to these concepts. As examples of test questions, I draw from the leading purveyor of standardized tests, the Educational Testing Service, via its online preparation guides.

While standardized testing has strong proponents and seems to be thoroughly ensconsed in our nation's attempt at educational accountability, when these instruments are defamiliarized and examined through the lens of how they make meaning, their flaws become extremely clear.