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Effects of standardized testing on students
Effects of standardized testing on students
Effects of standardized testing on students
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“Promote creative learning by doing away with 'fill-in-the-bubble' standardized tests, and instead evaluate students based their understanding of the curriculum and their ability to use it creatively” (“Bernie Sanders Quotes about Education”). In today’s education system, the number one priority among faculty and students are passing these standardized tests. In multiple schools around the country, students are required to take a standardized ,and sometimes, computerized test. Standardized testing are generally unfavorable around the United States because standardized testing can cause stress and anxiety for teachers and students, the teachers have to surround their time and curriculum around these standardized tests, and other alternatives …show more content…
“In new researches over 89% of students have a much more heightened reaction to testing” (Walker).“Sometimes, these kids get so worked up with having to pass these tests to pass third grade, that this time of year we have some children…that have such severe anxiety that we can’t get them to school at this time of year”(Thompson). The schools and teachers put a massive amount of pressure on students. Many schools in The United States start testing as young as the third grade. Some students have become so focused on these tests that they forget to enjoy the experience in school. Under some state rules if someone fails their standardized test, they fail the entire grade. Many may argue that it’s just a test and there’s no reason why anyone should be nervous; however, these tests aren’t just simple test, they are tests that ask questions that are meant to trick the student. When I was a freshmen in highschool, I had an ‘A’ in my math class the entire year, but when the standardized test came along and I freaked out and it ended up taking over five hours to finish my test. Even though I took five hours and had an ‘A’ in my math class, I ended up failing the test. On test day, I got so nervous and so anxious that I ended up failing the test even though I knew the
Students and teachers both can have anxiety about testing. Teachers can be worried about the students’ performance on a test – a test that does not measure a student’s intelligence unless the student is good at taking tests. A student might be a gifted musician, artist, or athlete, but if they do not pass a standardized test, they are considered unfit for most colleges. Moreover, since the test is so important and they do not want to fail, students might be nervous while taking this test and because of this, they might not perform as well as they could. Also, a student’s self-esteem and self-worth can be lowered if they do not do well on a standardized test. This can be for two different reasons. One, a student might have thought they had done better on the test and the results could not be what they expected and they could feel like a failure. This can cause a student’s self-esteem to be lowered. Two, they might become worried about their future if they don’t receive a high score. There are many students who have the pressure of their family to do well and if they do not, they might become depressed. Even President Obama thought that standardized testing was not a good way to do things. Taken from an article written by Jonathan Glover (2016) of The
Standardized tests have historically been used as measures of how students are compared with one another or how much of a particular curriculum they have learned throughout the semester or year. Consequently, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and higher education evaluation. Various numbers of students across America have had to repeat classes because of the way standardized tests are used to pass or fail students. Although the tests require students to retain information until the end of the semester, I believe it is wrong to allow just a single test to decide whether an entire semester’s work will be rewarded with the credits that may have been well-earned. Some standardized testing such as the SAT, are not fair to students who may come from a poor educational background and do not retain information as their fellow peers. Students are at a disadvantage if they have test taking anxiety, which is a condition that many students suffer from “a feeling someone might have in a situation where performance really counts or when the pressure's on to do well” (Test Anxiety). Standardized tests give a false pretense of objectivity and consequently of equal opportunity. However, "the only goal of standardized tests is the scoring, which is done by machine" (Facts on Standardized Tests and Assessment Alternatives). It is made clear that the purpose of testing is to provide information to be used in conjunction with, not in pl...
High-stakes standardized testing greatly impacts the environment in which students learn. When such a huge emphasis is placed on these tests and scoring well on them, it often creates, in excess, unnecessary anxiety and stress. In Florida alone the number of different standardized tests given to students spanned across kindergarten through 12th grade has increased to over sixteen. Often students are faced with the harsh realization that not scoring well can mean the difference from a pass and fail grade. That kind of pressure can lead to a complete shutdown of their learning. Although students are heavily impacted by the pressure and anxiety that accompanies standardized testing, they are not the only ones. Teachers not unli...
Standardized tests should not be used to measure student proficiency. These tests are becoming much more challenging and high stakes, resulting in a significant amount of stress and anxiety in students. Standardized testing has become a huge weight on students which is leading to test anxiety. Jasmine Evans writes in her article “Problems With Standardized Testing,” from Education.com about critics of the No Child Left Behind, an act passed in 2001 one under the administration of George W. Bush, who say that there is a lot of pressure on teachers, students, and parents, and school officials as a result of these tests. They say the pressure to...
The purpose of this review is to explore the effects of standardized testing on elementary students as well as the impact on teachers. This literature review is in no way an all-inclusive review of all available information on the topic of test anxiety. The reviewed literature was found through Arkansas Tech’s online library database using the search terms: “standardized test anxiety”, “test anxiety elementary”, and “high stakes tests elementary.” There are many questions to be answered concerning standardized test anxiety. How do students perceive high stakes testing? Do students experience heightened anxiety in relation to testing? What types of psychological, physiological, and behavioral reactions occur prior to, during, or after standardized testing? How does standardized testing affect teachers, schools, and parents? What behaviors do parents and teachers observe to indicate anxiety? How is test anxiety measured? The following research literature review attempts to find answers to these questions.
Standardized testing has always been a primary concern for teachers, parents, and the students taking the exams themselves. It is believed that standardized testing creates anxiety for all school-aged students, for the fear of failing the test, and puts unneeded pressure on the teachers to “teach to the test” rather than promote free learning. The documentary “Standardized Lies, Money & Civil Rights: How Testing Is Ruining Public Education,” directed by Daniel Hornberger (2013), depicts the misconceptions, truth, and reality of standardized testing, past, present, and future all across the United States.
Since elementary school, students have been sharpening their No. 2 pencils, preparing to fill in the bubbles on their standardized tests. To younger children, these tests aren’t a very big deal. But little do they know that the tests they take in elementary school are practice for the biggest test they will take in their lives. This test is the ACT, or the SAT. These tests are a huge deal. Students’ results on these tests could change their plans for the future, and that’s a lot of pressure. So are these tests really all that they are made out to be? Are they really that important enough to stress about so much? Many people have started to say that standardized tests are hurting American schools, and that they put too much pressure on students.
Test anxiety or stress can impair students’ academic performance on standardized tests and thereby hide their true abilities and strengths. Anthony Pasquale quotes, “… Intensive standardized testing not only causes stress in students but may undermine learning," wrote Daniel Edelstein in an article for Brain Connection. “Stress is the body's general response to any intense physical, emotional or mental demand placed on it." Stress undermines learning because it affects the way one thinks. Tests stress some people out in a harmful way, and what happens when stressed out students take tests? Normally not good results…” The education system is putting too much emphasis on testing and not seeing the consequences on student’s mental health. I am personally affected by standardized tests because these tests potentially determine my future. I experienced anxiety, severe panic attacks, and headaches because I was stressed thinking about the tests or simply not concentrating while taking the tests. I know my education has a power to determine my future through the years coming, but I am exhausted at the fact that a grade on the tests determines my
Standardized testing is something all students fear, no matter what grade they are in. Whether they are in elementary school and middle school and fear the ELAs or Regents exams, or in high school and fear the SATs, PASTs, APs, ACTs, etc. Even with standardized testing being as feared as they are, students are still being able to take them. There are many ways students are being encouraged to take them, one being that they are impulsed.
The National Education Association (NEA) conducted a survey, wherein teachers were asked various questions about the impact standardized testing has had in their classrooms. According to Tim Walker, “Forty-two percent of the surveyed teachers reported that the emphasis on improving standardized test scores had a ‘negative impact’ on their classroom, while only 15 percent said the impact was ‘positive,’” (para.5). According to this survey, fifty-two percent of teachers said that too much time on test prep, with it being estimated that the average teacher spends about thirty percent of class time focused on preparing for the test (Walker para.7). Despite the majority of teachers, the people who see the effects the most, reporting that standardized testing does significant harm to education, the results of the exams are still stressed far too much. It would appear that the stress on standardized testing has taken its toll on the educators, too, as forty-five percent of surveyed teachers reported that they had considered quitting due to the rising importance of standardized testing and their results (Walker para.
Standardized testing is something all students and teachers dread. The weeks leading up to the tests are filled with teachers stressing about grants and their jobs both of which are riding on students success; students worrying about being able to pass the test to move on to the next grade, giving the state a bad impression about their teachers, and if their scores on these tests will affect their chances of going to college. This is what the states standardized tests are doing to instructors and pupils all across the country. Researchers at Bowling Green State University in Ohio found that two out of three surveyed elementary school students said that proficiency testing caused excess stress, and three out of four secondary students shared that belief. (Edwards)
One reason these tests are so terrible for students is the anxiety it gives them. “Some students simply do not test well. Many students are affected by test anxiety or do not show their learning well on a standardized test, resulting in inaccurately lower scores.” (“The Dangerous Consequences
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
It’s an age-old question. Do standardized tests really show what students know? Some may think they are a great way to measure education and others may think that one test does not justify a child’s knowledge. What is this test exactly? A standardized test is any test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from a common bank of questions, in the same way. They are used to “judge” or “measure” the knowledge or skills that students learn in school. The problem with these standardized tests is that they measure all students on the same material, leaving out special skills the student may have. It also puts a great deal of stress on a student to know that they will be timed on these questions that
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.