The Standardized Testing Debate

1707 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The truth about standardized tests

Standardized testing is one of the most hotly debated topics in education. Experts in education have different views on the topic. Standardized testing refers to a testing method whereby students are subjected to the same assessment procedures set by examiners that intend to examine and score them as part of a wider student’s body. Standardized tests are of two kinds, the aptitude tests and the achievement tests. The aptitude test examines the students’ advanced skills or competency. Achievement tests evaluate students’ understanding in a formal educational institution and reviews their performance and understanding of key concepts. While evaluating the pros and cons of standard testing, it is evident that researchers and educators question whether it measures how effective the school taught the concepts to the student or whether it asses the students’ comprehension of the basic concepts taught. The articles under review define and explain the pros and cons but fail to offer an alternative method of assessing students.

Standardized testing brings a sense of accountability to both the teachers and the students. According to Derrick Meador, an industry expert, teachers have to deliver effectively in preparing students for the standardized testing. He also states that there is also the advantage of the results of the students going public. This puts pressure on the school as a whole because the results will be a reflection of how much effort they put in their schoolwork. This publicity also ensures that a teachers performance is evaluated and poses the risk of a teacher losing their job or the school being closed and given to the state (Meador, n.d.).

Standardized testing makes it possible to create a clear qualitative compar...

... middle of paper ...

...mprehension. Educators must standardize their curriculum however, a standardized universal curriculum does not consider each individual student’s environment. Researchers have show that the student’s comprehension is pegged on their environment. In addition, the pedagogy style employed is also dependent on the environment, which standardized testing does not consider.

Works Cited

Meador, Derrick . "Standardized Testing."About.com Teaching. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .

Popham, W. James. "Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality." Educational Leadership 56 (1999): 8-16.

Ravitch, Diane.. "Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching." NPR. NPR, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Standardized Testing Has a Negative Effect on American Youth

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.

    Read More

  • Why America's Educational System is Failing

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

    1873 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine walking into school on day one of the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, or better known as TCAP. You are rushed to your proctor’s room. This is just day one of the six long grueling test days. The school board is counting on you to score high enough to reflect positively on your school district. Each session will last up to sixty minutes with just enough time for most students to finish. There are usually three sessions per day. For most students, this process is one which is dreaded with each coming year. TCAP results are scored by advanced, proficient, partially proficient, or unsatisfactory (Time4Learning). The TCAP tests students from 3rd through 10th grade. This test happens the same time each year. There are four different tests that constitute the TCAP: reading, writing, math, and for the 5th, 8th, and 10th grades science.

    Read More

  • The Case Against Standardized Tests

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Standardized testing is a type of test usually serve to determine how well you understand a concept which is often used for placement. These types of test include questions in a form of an essay, short answers, multiple choices, or a combination of these together and are given out as early as in kindergarten. This practice has been used for so long that it has become a part of the American culture. Every year, high school juniors and seniors worldwide take the SAT or the ACT in the hope that they score high enough to get into their dream school. However, there has been a lot of ongoing debates revolving around the idea of the use of standardized testing in college admission and the whether or not they are effective in determining a student’s

    Read More

  • Standardized Testing and Teacher Cheating

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Smolin, Andrea, and Jennifer Clayton. "Standardized Testing: How Prepared Are We?." Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. 12(4). (2009): 29-36. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • (Introduction Paper) The Impact of Formative Assessment and Feedback on Student Learning Using the Student Response System

    2141 Words  | 5 Pages

    Current educational policy and practice asserts that increased standardized student testing is the key to improving student learning and is the most appropriate means for holding individual schools and teachers accountable for student learning. Instead, it has become a tool solely for summarizing what students have learned and for ranking students and schools. The problem is standardized tests cannot provide the information about student achievement that teachers and students need day-to-day. Classroom assessment can provide this kind of information.

    Read More

  • Against Standardized Testing Essay

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Alternatives to Standardized Testing Within The Education System

    2062 Words  | 5 Pages

    Peterson, B. & Neill, M. (2014). Alternatives to standardized testing. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.a sp?path=archive/13_03/assess.shtml

    Read More

  • Examining the Evolution of Standardized Testing

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    High-stakes testing is for the cookie cutter student not the unique individual student. High stakes testing was started in 1905 by French psychologist Alfred Binet. He began developing a standardized test of intelligence which was named Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. During World War I, standardized testing was standard practice, it was how U.S. servicemen jobs were divided and assigned. Years passed and the first test to come into play was the SAT, it was founded in 1926 as the Scholastic Aptitude Test by the College Board. Years passed again in 1959 and to compete against the SATs, the ACT (American College Testing) were created. The test was made up of questions that geared students to a course of study by asking about their interests. In addition to math, reading and English skills, the ACT assesses students on their knowledge of scientific facts and principles. These tests have become just geared toward college as the decades went by. Decades past and new tests came were created, in 1980 the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS), 1984 the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS), 1991 the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Popham, W. J. (1999, March). Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15.

    Read More

  • Standardized Testing is NOT Effective

    2388 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sacks, Peter. "The Toll Standardized Tests Take." National Education Association. 2000. Web. 2 July 2015.

    Read More

  • Possible Solutions for Standardized Testing

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Standardized testing remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.

    Read More

  • The Role of Testing and Assessment in Early Childhood Education

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Solley, B. A. (2012). On Standardized Testing: An ACEI Position Paper. Childhood Education, 84(1), 31-37. Retrieved December 3, 2012, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2007.10522967

    Read More

More about The Standardized Testing Debate

Open Document