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Effects of standardized testing on students
Overall effects of standardized testing
Negative effects of standardized testing
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When students of all skill levels are joined together in a classroom, there are numerous possible scenarios, some beneficial, others potentially tragic. In some cases, a student may feel left behind, not fully understanding the material but hesitant to ask questions for fear of peer ridicule. Conversely, a brighter student may easily become bored as the teacher must repeat the material or illustrate the concept in a new light for those students who have not yet understood. Between these extremes are the average students, usually the majority, who may feel educationally trapped between “the gifted” and “the slow”. One potential solution to these challenges is grouping classes according to skill level. This approach has several potential flaws and setbacks, and opponents of “grouping” express valid concerns. However, globalization and previous failures in public education are forcing architects of learning, administrators, principals, and teachers to consider dynamic approaches to instruction and learning. Parents, teachers, and administrators on both sides of the issue must remember their shared goal—to empower children through education—and be open to objective research and reasonable reform.
Imagine a third grade class of 60 students. There are three teachers assigned to teach third grade. Many schools today simply split these 60 students into three classes of twenty based on parent and teacher requests, politics, and luck of the draw. Oklahoma’s public education system, starting at third grade, already tests students annually on skills and abilities via the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests (OCCT). Now imagine 15 students score above-average in math, 15 score below-average, and 30 receive average scores. One teacher can work with ...
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...er 7, 2011, from http://www.wright-house.com/ac/papers97/Hyland-ac1.html
Marzano Research Laboratory. (2010, March 29). Results | Re-Inventing Schools Coalition - RISC. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from http://www.reinventingschools.org/resources/results/
Marzano Research Laboratory. (2010, April). RISC vs. Non-RISC Schools. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from http://www.marzanoresearch.com/documents/RISC_vs_Non_RISC.pdf
RISC Approach to Schooling | Re-Inventing Schools Coalition - RISC. (2010, February 10). Re-Inventing Schools Coalition - RISC. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from http://www.reinventingschools.org/resources/the-risc-approach-to-schooling/
USA Today. (2010, July 5). Some schools grouping students by skill, not grade level - USATODAY.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-07-05-grade-held-back_N.htm
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.
Education week, 22(41) p.12. Retrieved September 28, 2003 from EBSCO database (Masterfile) on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com.
of the book. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print. The. Madaras, Larry, and James M. Sorelle.
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
In 2002, President George W. Bush passed the “No Child Left Behind Act” which tied in schools’ public funding to standardized tests and enforced the tests in elementary and high schools every year by state education departments. This law also began to put more emphasize on standardized tests which has diminished our level of education and the law “made standardized test scores the primary measure of school quality” (Diane Ravitch 28). Bush hoped this law motivated more students to do well on these exams and teachers to help them prepare better, but it ended up hurting many schools in the process. These exams like the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) should not play such a prominent role in schooling and the government should not make tests the main focal point.
Jay, P. (2007). Introduction to the special issue on the single best idea for improving k-12 education. Journal of Education 82(4): 549-550.
Hopkins, G. (2003). Is ability grouping the way to go---or should it go away? Retrieved April 10, 2004, from http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin009.shtml
America’s children have found increasing difficulty with school. The curriculum in schools is claiming to be harder in higher levels, but the lack of focus and direction in the younger grades has made for decreased grade levels and lower mastery in several basic areas such as math, writing, and reading skills. Standardized test scores are at an all time low, as increasing amounts of children progress through the educational system having not at...
I have a strong interest in education; in fact, I am currently in college going after my degree in liberal studies, in hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher in the near future. This year I signed up to volunteer as room mom in my daughters second grade class in order to get more of a hands on experience and really figure out if this is the career I see myself wanting and having. Something that I didn’t realize until becoming more hands on in a classroom setting are the effects of the “Common Core Curriculum” having on children. For the first time in our nation’s history, beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, more than 90 percent of public schools will operate under the same learning standards for literacy and math, from kindergarten through grade twelve in order to become “college and career ready” (Nichols, p.36). At first glance, adopting the common core curriculum may seem ideal considering, “having the same standards in all states will help students get a good education, even if they change schools or move to a different state” (Core, Common). But what came to me as more of a concern is children, who generally perform well on tests and in class, are now faced with challenges due to the common core exam questions that are not at an age appropriate level, which I might add are given to the children multiple times throughout the year. All of this is at the expense of children and furthermore, it not only takes away from any creativity or talent that children may possess and might never know what they are capable of, but it also undermines any independence and creativity of the teachers as well.
The American education cannot forgo the wise words of Spock on Star Trek,”The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one”. The “needs of the many” are meet in ability grouping, and all students will be challenged to their full potential. In mixed ability classes only the middle group of students needs will be met. Ability grouping doesn’t hurt any student , nor does it discriminate an racial or socioeconomic classes. It is imperative that America schools ability group their classes in order to have American students better compete with other students around the world.
Education in America has existed as long as the nation itself. In fact, education began before Americans even landed in America—before the name “America” was commonplace, before the thirteen colonies emerged, before anyone had any thought to inscribe the words “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” English Puritans taught their children long division and cursive script while sailing across the rough waters on the Mayflower (“Colonial Education”). To distract young minds from the treacherous hurl and break of the Atlantic waves, parents encouraged the group to recite their Bible verses and name the twelve apostles (“Colonial Education”). There were only a few children aboard, about “20 adolescents, mostly boys,” but their importance superseded their numbers (“Children on the Mayflower”). The survival of the children “was of great importance to the survival of the Plymouth Colony,” so their parents invested great effort in their education. Once on land, schooling flourished from the confines of the ship to the vastness of unexplored territories and unlimited time. Eighteenth century colonial Separatists built small one-room schoolhouses devoted to religious studies, the wealthy Federalists of the nineteenth century formed English Grammar Schools to discipline future politicians, and twentieth century middle-class urban dwellers pushed for public education buildings amidst the bustle of city factories (“Early National Education”). As the people recognized a growth in population, they also recognized a growing value to schooling and learning. The nation flourished and expanded, and so did its educational system.
Too much time is being devoted to preparing students for standardized tests. Parents should worry about what schools are sacrificing in order to focus on raising test scores. Schools across the country are cutting back on, or even eliminating programs in the arts, recess for young children, field trips, electives for high school students, class meetings, discussions about current events, the use of literature in the elementary grades, and entire subject areas such as science (if the tests cover only language arts and math) (Kohn Standardized Testing and Its Victims 1).
When a school or teacher groups students “based on their ability or achievement,” the school is practicing between-class ability grouping (Santrock 125). In many cases, between-class ability grouping is used in a high school setting as a way to group students with similar goals and skills. On the surface, between-class ability grouping appears that it benefits all students because it allows teachers to better teach students in a more focused manner. However, researchers have determined that this form of grouping harms those that are in a lower ability group (125). Recently, when I was helping out at a lower achieving high school this form of grouping was clearly evident. Students were clearly divided into classrooms based on their abilities. Each classroom was going over the same material but each classroom teacher was teaching the material differently to meet the needs of that group of students. The history classroom that was deemed an advanced placement class worked a lot smoother and the students had a good understanding of the subject as well as appropriate behavior. However, the “average” history
A mixed classroom approach is a structure that involves putting children from different social classes and intelligence levels into one classroom. The mixed approach is preferred because it gives all students an equal opportunity that may or may not push them to make an attempt in school (Lee 2013). As many different students are placed into one classroom, it is up to the teacher to create a classroom environment suitable for all students because of the many students from different backgrounds (Smith, 2005, p. 98-99). Therefore, a heterogeneous approach is better
...each child linked to his or her age, maturity, interests, capacities, and capabilities. The teacher will be given suggestions to divided her students into mixed-ability groups for some activities, or she can group students by age or grade for skill subjects (such as reading and writing, arithmetic, and science). This will encourage students of different backgrounds to include each other in their work. However she must note that for grouping to be effective, materials and teaching must be varied and made challenging to accommodate the learning needs of students with different levels of ability. She will also be informed to develop a variety of worksheets to be used with diverse groups in multigrade classroom situations; these could include teacher-guided activity sheets, group learning worksheets, individual practice worksheets, and peer directed instruction sheets.