Should Students have to pass Standardized Tests to graduate?
One time I heard a teacher at my old high school tell a new teacher that their job is to teach to the test and nothing else. I did not really know what she meant, but I knew something about what she said sounded very wrong. I thought why are they just teaching us how to pass the test instead of just teaching us what we need to know? Later I found out that whether or not I graduate depends on passing the test. The idea of standardized testing to say whether or not students graduate is a bad one. Not just bad for schools, principals, and teachers, but it can mean the end of a student’s future before it begins. That means not only does schools suffer, but everyone in our communities, states, and country suffers. It used to be that students had to take standardized tests every year. The results of these tests said what school districts would get more money or less money for the next school year. And it would also tell schools and teachers if some students needed to be put into higher level programs such as gifted and talented or advanced placement courses or if they were having problems and should be put in special education.
Even way back then, the whole thinking of giving more money to schools that score higher than schools that score lower seemed like a really dumb way to do things. Now, students have to do testing every time they turn around. The testing not only affects the money the government gives to the school district. It affects the individual students much more. Students that test low are not able to graduate even though they have completed and passed all of their classes.
Giving less money or no money to districts that have low test scores while giving more ...
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...ere like that. It all starts at school and it can all end there because a student’s future is written in education. It seems like standardized tests that decide if a student graduates plays a big part in keeping the undereducated down by not giving money to the schools that need it the most. This makes sure that students who go to poor schools will have a harder time getting into higher education like college and training schools which means they won’t have very many choices in the job market. But someone has to run the fry cooker at McDonald’s, so the educational system is set up so that the future minimum wage workers are will be ready to take their positions when they are not able to pass the test. Standardized tests, especially state tests that are high stakes for seniors, are a key part of this system of failure for students who are already less privileged.
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.
Though standardized testing has played a part in America's education system it took several tries before it played such a large role in education like it does today. The No child left Behind Act of 2002 was the foot hold standardized testing needed in order to be implemented into schools at a national level with such force. During the 1990’s the U.S felt as though it was falling behind on the Programme for International Assessment. “After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading”(walker 1).
Every state in the United States has different standards and expectations for public education. For example, some states require an exit exam in high school whereas others do not. One reasoning for this is because of test scores. Explained in an article titled “High School Exit Exams: Issues to Consider,” is that some states have a high number of students that are failing the exams, and so they either lower the standards or remove the test in order to raise the graduation rate at the end of the year (GreatSchools staff, n.d., p. 2). Setting lower standards is causing major problems for the United States as a whole because it reflects poorly on the nation’s report card. In the case of Nevada and Wisconsin, both states differ f...
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.
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...
Standardized tests cover certain material, which gives teachers something specific to teach. This is helpful, in that it allows teachers to know exactly what to teach. It also sets up a goal for the teachers, which is to get the students to pass. However, this process leaves something to be desired. Because the test is so important to the future of the students, teachers, and school, helping students to pass test becomes the most important part of their schooling. This restricts the educators from teaching students about things that are more important. College is usually next step for students after high school so it would seem logical that high school prepares them for college, but teachers are so busy preparing students for the test that they are not preparing them for the future. Consequently, students arrive at college ill-prepared, with shallow educations (Gitlin).
Almost state has gained federal funding from accumulating the test data from all of their schools (Ravitch 107). Data collected from multiple choice questions determines the intelligence of every student and their teachers. The test data is tracked throughout their lifetime in relation to their test scores, graduation dates and other statistics companies such as Amazon and Microsoft use to evaluate different groups (by age, ethnicity, etc) as a whole (Ravitch 107). Ravitch claims there are many problems with this, mainly, tests do not measure character, spirit, heart, soul, and potential (112). Not everyone is the same, and just because one may be weak in math or writing doesn’t mean they’re not smart, resourceful individuals with much to share with the world. For schools to be even seen with a slight amount more than just their test scores, they have to be in great standings with their students’ average test results. The government’s intense focus on test results hurts schools’ ability to be a well-rounded school immensely. In contrast to federal’s pinpoint focus on what students learn, educated consumers desire their kids to have a full, balanced, and rich curriculum (Ravitch 108). Schools need to be more than housing for test-takers. The Education Board may claim students’ proficiency in their testing makes them better people, prepares them for college, and ultimately, the workforce. What they are
Parents and advocates of education can all agree that they want their students to be in the best hands possible in regards to education. They want the best teachers, staffs, and schools to ensure their student’s success. By looking at the score results from standardized testing, teachers can evaluate effectively they are doing their job. On the other side, a proponent for eliminating standardized testing would argue that not all students care passionately about their education and will likely not perform to expectations on the test. However, receiving the numerical data back, teachers can construe the student’s performances and eliminate the outliers of the negligent kids. Teachers can then look at the individual scores and assign those outliers to get the help they need in school. This helps every student getting an equal chance at education. Overall, taking a practice standardized test can let a teacher look at individual questions and scores and interpret what they need to spend more time on teaching. A school also can reap the benefits from standard testing to ensure they are providing the best possible education they can. The school can look at the average scores from a group and hold the teacher accountable for the student’s results on the test. The school can then determine the best course of action to pursuit regarding the teacher’s career at the school. By offering teachers and schools the opportunity to grow and prosper, standardized testing is a benefit for the entire education
The NCLB Act is now envisioned to be a solution to this ongoing argument; this act guarantees extra funding for schools in low-income areas and for all American children to receive equal education (“The No Child”, 1). As expected, the government anticipates positive results and feedbacks from all public schools in the nation, before actually giving those schools more money as a reward. In this case, the government expects every school in this country to regulate a new standardized test for students (Popham, 14). This new standardized test will be used by the government to rate schools, whether the school is ‘failing’ or not, based on their students’ performances on this test.
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much pressure on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events. Standardized testing puts strain on teachers and students causing unhealthy occurrences, Common Core is thrown at teachers with no teaching on how to teach the new way which dampers testing scores for all students, and the American College Test determines whether a child gets into college or not based on what they have learned during high school. Standardized tests are disagreeable; tests should not determine ranking of people.
Accountability, we all need to be accountable for something in our lives whether it is our education, our job, or in our personal lives, but should an 8-year-old third grader have to be accountable for plotting leaf lengths in fraction form on a number line in order to move on to fourth grade? Should sixth graders be accountable for knowing the climate in Moscow or the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 in order to advance to seventh grade? You may think yes but I disagree, there is more to human intelligence that can be measured on a standardized test. Standardized testing is detrimental to the mental health of students and teachers, reduces the necessary time in art, music, recess, lunch, science and social studies, promotes corruption within the
Public education has been concern over the years. People in the United States generally believe that public education should get more funding. The options were to raise taxes but that was not in the vote of people. The people who can change it the most, the parents of the students, can’t. Studies show that parents are horribly informed about their students education, not even knowing about the new standards, common core adopted 4 years ago.
As child growing up some of the frightful memories include a visit to the dentist; an evil man with scary drill whose solve purpose is to hurt you or the first day in elementary school you finally leave all behind the cozy classrooms and nap times of kindergarten and enter the big leagues. All of these are considered a cakewalk compared to standardize testing. Since the start of elementary school students in the United States are taught to test. In many instances students are held back or placed in remedial classes because of lower grades. But many don’t realize that some students are not great at testing taking and because of the lower grades some educators believe that these students are lower achievers. This leads to lower self-esteem and encourage students to drop out in later years. Also students are forced to memorize information merely as facts without sparking their creativity or enhancing their knowledge.
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
Almost every school year students are expected to take standardized tests such as state tests, the SAT, and the ACT. A test qualifies as standardized if it is graded relative to others and relative to a score chosen as the standard for students. The tests can begin as early as third grade, where students scores may determine if they need to be held back, and through all years of high school where scores from tests like the SAT or ACT can determine if a student is accepted into a college. Controversy has formed around standardized testing, especially high stake testing. Some believe that standardized testing is helpful while others agree that the tests should be eliminated. Standardized testing should be abolished from the school curriculum