Most students, by the time they reach college, have taken numerous MCA tests (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments), NWEA tests (Northwest Evaluation Association), and either an ACT test (American College Testing) or SAT test (Scholastic Assessment Test), depending on which region of the United States they are from. Webster’s defines a standardized test as “any test in which the same test is given in the same manner to all test takers.” Every student who has had any type of education knows what standardized tests are and what a pain they can be. Our students are given standardized tests starting in elementary school, all the way through high school, and even into college. Standardized testing has been a recurring debate among scholars, teachers, and students alike. There are many reasons to approve of, and put to practice, standardized testing, but there are also many reasons why testing in this way hurts our students. Standardized testing, while it is an effective means of analyzing basic knowledge of a large number of people, should not be practiced within the public school system because it causes more harm that good, it does not accurately test individual knowledge, it limits critical thinking skills, and limits the spectrum in which teachers educate their students.
Peter Sacks, author of Standardized Minds: The High Price of America’s Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It, says that, “like a drug addict who knows he should quit, America is hooked.” We are a “nation of standardized-testing junkies.” Since the 1960s, there has been criticism against standardized tests in American education. Sales of standardized tests to public school more than double between 1960 and 1989 to $100 million a year. According to researc...
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...owledge. If we can start implementing these skills necessary for actual life at a young age, our country will be more successful. If the United States wants to remain a global superpower, we need to start investing in our kids better and with greater intent on improving and challenging them.
Works Cited
Chappell, Bill. "U.S. Students Slide In Global Ranking On Math, Reading, Science." NPR. NPR, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .
McNeil, Linda M. "Part I, Part III." Contradictions of School Reform: Educational Costs of Standardized Testing. New York: Routledge, 2000. N. pag. Print.
Sacks, Peter. "Beyond the Testing Trap." Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It. New York: Da Capo, 2000. 1-9. Print.
Michele Obama once stated, “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn 't be here. I guarantee you that.” The First Lady is, in other words, to say that standardized testing was a major factor into her life’s outcome and her scores could have potentially not put her in her position of power that she is highly recognized in today’s society. Although standardized tests do play a large role in any college application, standardized testing may not count as much toward one’s college admissions or success because standardized tests are not the only factor toward college applications, these tests only benefit a specific target group of people, and standardized tests are better used for giving insight on one’s
This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far outweighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schools function, but instead they have impaired the natural learning ability of students and imposed upon the judgment of experienced educators. Although a means to evaluate the progress of public schools is necessary, it is also necessary to develop more modern and effective ways of doing so. Standardized testing mandated by the federal and state governments has a negative effect on the education of America’s youth.
In “Standardized testing undermines teaching,” the author, Diane Ravitch, reviewed a book she authored, The death and life of the great American school system: how testing and choice are undermining education. This review highlights various cons of Standardized testing on the students and educators. She states that standardized testing and the use of incentives to motivate students and educators have failed to meet the set goals. Although the author was at the forefront of advocating for this system, she is now opposed to it and sceptical of the use of incentives to motivate teachers. She also reviews the role of charter schools in perpetuating classism. She states that standard tests and the use of...
Standardized tests have been used to see how much a child has learned over a certain period of time. These tests have been a highly debated issue with many parents and just people in general. In the article “Opting out of standardized tests? Wrong answer,” the author Michelle Rhee argues that people should not be trying to opt out of standardized tests because it allows the country to see how much a child has learned and the things they need to improve. On the other hand, in the article “Everything You’ve Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong,” the author Kristina Rizga argues that standardized tests are not an efficient way to measure a student’s intelligence.
Ruthven, R. (2007, November 7). Is Standardized Testing Hurting Education? Associated Content. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from www.associatedcontent.com/article/438846/is_standardized_testing_hurting_education.html
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Sacks, Peter. Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It. Cambridge, MA: Perseus, 2000. Print.
Standardized tests are a tremendous part of most schools’ curriculum in the United States today. These tests are assessments of students’ knowledge on either one or more subjects. Standardized tests are a performance evaluation of students, teachers, and schools due to their importance. A standardized test is distinctive from other tests in two ways. One, it has common questions being answered in the same way and two, it is being scored in a consistent style allowing for comparative performance. Through extensive research Oliver’s and Visone’s statements and overall research have several key differences that shape their own separate arguments. Though their thesis and hypothesis have the same underlying idea that there is a problem with` standardized
Standardized tests, such as the SAT and the SOL, have been implemented for many years now for individuals in grade school to take. The SOL’s, or Standards of Learning tests, are Virginia’s version of standardized tests that students are required to take in order to pass a class, evaluating their knowledge on a specific subject. SOL’s are mandatory for students to take as soon as they reach third grade. Additionally, the SAT is a test taken in the final years of high school that colleges look at when comparing students for post-secondary school. People concerned with student’s education can come to the common consensus that education is important and there should be some way to compare a student’s achievements to one another. However, the process
Chappell, Bill. (3 December 2013). U.S. Students Slide In Global Ranking On Math, Reading, Science. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/12/03/248329823/u-s-high-school-students-slide-in-math-reading-science
Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.
One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.
Sacks, Peter. "The Toll Standardized Tests Take." National Education Association. 2000. Web. 2 July 2015.
Standardized testing in the United States is not always a common practice. In the Mid-1800s, Horace Mann, an education reformist, developed a test to administer to a group of students. Its purpose was to determine how students were performing at their current level and whether they were capable of proceeding to a higher level of education, although the student’s success on the test had no negative repercussions. These tests were a necessity at that time because the idea of public education was still being molded and these tests were the only means by which student progress could be measured. Within 35 years of the first recorded examination in 1845, testing became the factor which determined whether students were able to be promoted to the next grade.
There are many important things children gain while growing up; the most important thing children gain growing up is their education. The educational skills children learn in school teach them the skills they need to perform outside of the classroom and in the workforce. With education being one of the most important gains in the lives of children, it has come to light how in recent years the United States has fallen further and further behind its peers in international rankings. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2009 educational scores, the United States ranks “33” (1), which is lower than the 2002 ranking of “18” (CNN). With such a decrease in the United States ranking, parents wonder why American students are falling behind.