Would you like your academic reputation to be measured by a series of multiple choice questions about topics you may have never been taught with only one correct answer? Essentially, this is what American standardized testing is based on. Scores are seen as the students' mental and academic ability, and are compared to others' scores nationally. Creative thinking is a large factor . Standardized testing demeans creative thinking, causes trauma, and inaccurately measures a child's mental ability and achievement.
These pressured Common Core tests cause intense amounts of stress, lead to test anxiety, and harm the mental health of both the teacher and test-taker. Stated by USNews, "Increased pressure on students has resulted in more test anxiety.
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Encouraged not to miss testing days, children may come to school ill and not at their full ability for successful performance. Multiple cases of children being moved to tears or vomiting are widely shared by educators. Parents, fatigued from the endless hours and days of testing, are increasingly frustrated. And with mounting pressure to perform being directly correlated to job security, teachers have succumbed to this pressure and changed their approach in the classroom: they teach to the test to attain the required result. The result is anxious students no better prepared and educators who leave their profession at an alarming rate, frustrated at not being able to give children the breadth of knowledge and skills needed for life achievement." Standardized tests are the root of this entire problem. Academic pressure is also a large explanation for test-taking anxiety. Although, the students will most likely be assured during the test if they fully understand a concept, rather than bleakly being taught to the test. ASCD says, "Test scores are often used for grade promotion, admission to an educational program, or job placement. Pressure to do well is being placed on students by their parents, teachers, peers, at themselves. This concern about test anxiety is not only prevalent among professional teachers but parents and administrators as well. Students may feel pressure due to the time limits or the testing location. It could become so severe in some students that it interferes with their ability to learn and to take tests." The results of standardized tests oftentimes determine if you move on to the next grade level, or get a job promotion. Therefore, these assessments and their scores are overly relied on and therefore harm the mental health of the test taker, leading them to receive bad scores on their test nonetheless. Common Core state and national assessments such as STAR, ACT, and ITBS demean the creative thinking of children and students.
“The United States is the only economically advanced nation to rely heavily on multiple-choice tests. Other nations use performance-based assessments to evaluate students on the basis of real work… Ironically, these nations to do not focus on teaching to multiple choice and short answer tests, they score higher on international exams.” (Fairtest, 2007). American students are being “taught-to-the-test” and not taught that there is more than one correct answer to a question. Being taught a more creative way to think is crucial to solving problems in the real world, where we will have to improvise on situations. Other nations lead the way by helping to understand real-world situations. These United States exams claim to prepare students for life, but do they really? “Tests that measure as little as poorly and multiple-choice cannot provide meaningful accountability. Instead of being accountable to parents, community, teachers and students. Schools become “accountable” to an unregulated testing industry. Not only do students get an interior education, but the public gets the mistaken impression that education is improving” (Economic Policy Institute 2010). This explains how education is seen to be further improving as teaching to the test becomes more popular and relevant. This means that we are drained of all time needed to fully understand a concept to …show more content…
improve the student's test scores, rather than their overall understanding and ability to solve problems related to their lessons. Lohud states, “Nearly ninety percent of school psychologists who responded to the survey believed that teachers’ expectations contributed at least somewhat to test anxiety. Eighty-eight percent said that parent's expectations also contributed to students' stress on standardized results" Expectations of students' results pressures students to want to do well, as they are said to represent "how smart" the test taker actually is. In contrast, parents and teachers may enjoy feeling what their children and students are capable of in comparison to state-wide and national results.According to Edexcellence, “School practitioners also use statewide test results to benchmark their students’ achievement across school and district lines.
How do students stack up? Only a statewide standardized test could tell.” This statement contradicts aforementioned facts and supports the idea of comparing the “cognitive abilities” of students, and teaching strategies of instructors. Although, comparing students due to an incorrect test is immoral. Galegroup says, “scores on standardized tests usually do not provide a direct and complete measure of educational achievement. Standardized tests do not measure, such as creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, leadership,
endurance…” Comparing a one-answer score is unimportant compared to the long-term factors of that child that will help them successfully grow throughout their life, physically or mentally. All children are different, and not two will think all the same. “The problem of confounded causation involves three factors that contribute to student’s scores on standardized achievement tests: what is taught in school, and a student's naïve intellectual ability and a student's out-of-school learning” (ASCD, 1999). All results, regardless of material taught, will differ depending on the type of person.
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
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
The current education system implemented by most schools measures a student’s progress using two methods: letter grades and standardized tests. However, the pressure put on students to achieve high grades causes standardized tests to be overlooked throughout the school year. Because of this, students enter tests with false hopes of scoring well when in reality they are severely underprepared. Honor roll students with perfect GPA’s can score in the average percentile if they are not adequately exposed to the test material. Schools should put a larger emphasis on preparation for standardized tests so students will be better equipped to take these tests and receive a score that more accurately reflects their knowledge.
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.
Some may say standardized tests are a wonderful thing for schools to test their students but I'm here to tell you why they are bad. The standardized tests have too many problems that need to be changed. There is problems with how many are taken and they need to be fixed. There are too many problems with these tests and the government needs to modify them. So this essay will explain that standardized tests are bad and they need to be fixed, because kids take too many of them, countries who take less are outscoring us, and they are too low quality.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
Standardized testing assesses students, teachers, and the school itself, which puts a great deal of pressure on the students. High scores show that the school is effective in teaching students, while low test scores make teachers and schools look as though they are not teaching the students properly. This is not always the case. There are teachers who do teach students what they need to know to pass the test, but their students are still unprepared. Although teachers try to improve instruction, student performance is still variable to other factors that the school cannot control.
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.
In recent years many schools have begun to put more emphasis on standardized test scores. Almost all college bound students now take entrance exams like the ACT or SAT. These tests supposedly indicate how "smart" a student is and how successful they would be in colle...
Overall it is evident that standardized testing has affected the education in the United States negatively. The main flaw is that policymakers made standardized testing the center of our education system, which intern led to vast changes in curriculum where educators were forced to teach to test rather than teaching materials that fosters creativity, and enhances knowledge. Howard Gardner, famous for his work on multiple intelligences, stated he was unconcerned that American children were ranked last among the major industrial nations in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. He reported that tests measure exposure to facts and skills not whether or not kids can think (Ritter 5).
Argument Against Standardized Testing President Bush is promoting annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight. This bill is currently being considered in Congress, and has garnered much support. As of right now, 15 states test students in those grades, and more than 20 have high school exit exams, which look only at the test score of a student, not at his or her academic achievements. Standardized testing is an unfair and inaccurate form of judging a person’s intellect. In many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores, partly because America does not currently have the capabilities to fairly score the increasing number of tests.
High stakes testing does not accurately determine a student’s intelligence. In 1999, the National Academy of Sciences researched the appropriate and inappropriate uses of tests. They agreed that “no single test score can be considered a definitive measure of a student’s knowledge”(http://www.allianceforchildhood.net/news/histakes_test_position_statement.htm).
There is added pressure to schools to get better scores which adds pressure to the educators and the students. The added pressure can cause health problems with the students or the educators. If health problem come from the stress of the tests it could negatively affect the student’s ability to learn (Pros and Cons, 2013). The test itself is a problem as well. The test is supposed to be unbiased based on the grade level but in most cases the test is not. As much as they try...
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.
One of the reasons why standardized tests are used is for measuring a child’s scholastic performance. But how accurately do they do this? A standardized test is made up of consistent questions and procedures for scoring and administration. They are always made according to identical rules so the procedures are the same for everybody who takes the tests. They come in many forms: on paper, on computer, questionnaires, etc. These tests are very contentious because many people have different opinions about them. Some critics feel that the tests help parents and teachers act as guides to assist students on expanding their knowledge in a particular subject. They are also needed to enter Ivy- League schools which further explains why international schools and schools in the United States take them. However, most do argue that these tests do not take into consideration a child’s traits and what the child can give. The tests judge students based on their performance on that day, not on their growth as educational participants, and places many in stressful situations due to the amount of studying needed to prepare for the tests. Standardized tests give scores that predict how “smart” a person is, although intelligence comes in many forms. To a large extent, standardized testing is not an effective way of measuring a child’s intellectual potential because it focuses mainly on the performance instead of the child’s growth and it doesn’t take into account the child’s personality and what they have to give. On the other hand, they can be necessary because they act as guides to help parents and teachers aid children on what they don’t have knowledge on in a specific subject.