Argumentative Essay On Standardized Testing

When was the last time you took a standardized test? No matter how long ago or recent, you can remember the feeling of anxiety the night before the big test and all that day. The feeling of not wanting to go take it, but wanting to get it over with and move on. You are sitting at the desk with a number two pencil waiting for the prompter to say, “You may begin,” in a room that is either too hot or too cold. After you finish the test, you are not done, though: there is still the stress of waiting for that score to come out. The scores are important, too; because they help determine college acceptance, class selection, and school grade placement. Should that test with all the variables to truly decide the capabilities of students’ intelligence? Do these standardized tests really test someone’s intelligence and academic capabilities, or is it a test of speed, testing skills, and memorization of knowledge you may or may not have been taught? “The goal of standardized testing is not to find out how well you think through problems, or if you can express your opinions, or create a

One of the good things about standardized tests is that they are all the same. It shows where everyone in that grade, in the state, are in certain subject areas. It also allows the state to know what might need to be improved in the schools or lesson plans. “Standardized tests are inclusive and non-discriminatory because they ensure the content in equivalent for all students” (Standardized Tests). Students of every ethnicity, religion, and even those with mental handicaps all take the same test. This allows the state to compare a student with a handicap directly to a student without. It also helps when comparing those with English as their first language to those who it is not. The ability to have a controlled test to base schooling lessons off of is very helpful in improving