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There are many arguments that are pro standardized testing, such as standardized testing prepares students for their futures and gives all students equality with what they have been taught. As I stated above, even though all students may be given the same standardized test, their education is not equal, and therefore the standardized testing is extremely unfair to use the scores to assess whether or not the students prepared. When we had class debates one of the topics was standardized testing and how it affected our schools, one of the arguments against standardized testing was that the tests are not true to showing off the student’s ability. Many students have severe test anxiety and because of that, their testing scores are not what they
should be. You also have the case of students who are excellent students but horrible test taker and vis versa with students who are horrible student but amazing test takers, and in the end it is only hurting the students because in both cases they are getting false scores that are not representative of them as students. When we start deciding that standardized tests are going to prepare our children for their lives, what kind of lives are we wanting for them? For example, the Chinese Test-Prep Factories like Maotanchang High School in Maotanchang, where students train around the clock for a test that determines their future. This school is referred to as a memorization factory because these students are constantly focusing only on test scores. These types of Chinese schools have high suicide rates, because these kids know that if they do not pass this test it means no college, and many time that means no future. When students are forced to focus solely on a test with little to no social interaction, we are not preparing them for a successful future, we are not teaching them how to be successful people outside of school. One thing to consider to change the way that we use tests is to consider the Finnish education method. Schools in Finland focus less on test scores and more on the student’s education as a whole, they include more subjects like arts, plays, and other activities that help shape the student. Finnish schools only give one test, which is at the end of the student’s senior year of high school. The only downfall to this method is that Finland has a much lower student poverty rate, therefore it would be somewhat harder to adapt in the US. Standardized testing only attempts to prepare students for a test, it does not prepare students for the rest of their lives and they are forced to miss out on many other aspects of education.
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.
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.
His hands are shaking, his palms are sweaty, he is afraid his heart is about to beat out of his chest. The rectangular thing is placed in front of him. A bead of sweat drips from his forehead. he wipes it away. Soon after that he faints. This is all because of a simple rectangular piece of paper that has the words standardized test written on it in big, bold, black letters. These are just some of the signs of test anxiety, all so teachers, schools, and students can be compared to one another. Standardized testing is wrong and uneducational. Some would ask why this is erroneous, when the schools get money if the students do well on these tests. This is amiss because of three simple reasons. One, standardized testing does not work. Two, standardized tests only measure a small portion of why makes education meaningful. Finally three, standardized testing causes severe stress in younger students.
The world is no longer concerned with educating whole human beings, but instead, it is focused on collecting “data.” “Standardized testing robs students and teachers of using their creativity and critical thinking. It holds everyone accountable for meeting this one standard when that is nearly impossible to do. It turns us into robots, dehumanizing both teachers and students.” (Gettysburg College, 1) Standardized test are given to schools by the government. The problem with that is that the government is not in the classroom with students every day. They do not know what the students need. Standardized testing takes away time from student learning experiences where they are not able to think critically or be creative. Standardized tests take place in an artificial learning environment. They are timed, students are not allowed to ask questions, use references, talk to another student, and they cannot even get up and move around. All of these things do not mirror the reality of the real world at all. These tests are reducing the richness of human experience and human learning to a number/ set of numbers. A student may have a deep knowledge of a particular subject, but receive no acknowledgement for it because their test score may have been low. Maybe if students could draw a picture, lead a group discussion, or make a hands-on project, they could show all the knowledge that they really have. They cannot do any of these things in a standardized test. As stated before, testing also creates “winners” and losers.” The “winners” get to move on with their life, but the “losers” often suffer from loss of self-esteem and the damage of “low expectations.” Standardized tests do not value diversity either. There are a wide range of differences in the people who take standardized tests. People have different cultural backgrounds, different levels of proficiency in the English language, different learning and thinking styles, different
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.
This argument goes along with the other two mentioned and explained above. There isn’t much that is positive to say about these assessments. It places so much pressure on students to perform well and pressure on teachers to teach what is going to be on the test. This brings negative energy to classrooms. An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests. He claims, “Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don’t already know” (Jouriles, Greg). He also goes on to explain that one’s test score isn’t reliable and that we should trust the teachers when grades are published. A school system can accurately judge the students in the school on what they are good at better than the standardized tests do. They can break down many different aspects of what students need to improve on and what they are already knowledgeable of. Students need to learn more than just the test information. Only studying and learning test material makes students less diverse and leads to boring lectures in the classroom. Another article written by an organization called Fairtest adds, “Some students simply do not test well. Many students are affected by test anxiety or do not show their learning well on a standardized test, resulting in inaccurately lower scores” (Fairtest). These tests punish students for what they can’t control, making them stressed and panicked that they won’t graduate or move on to the next grade. Some children are from low-income families attending schools with large classes with little to no materials for learning what is on the test. In addition to that, some teachers have never been educated on test content, which is not their fault, and this results in low-test scores. This all leads to why there are such negative feelings throughout classrooms of many
Standardized tests are designed to show you and the teachers where you are as far as learning skills go. They have pros and cons, but in the end, they are just there to help the education system. And they determine how far in life you will go. Meaning, you have to take standardized tests to get into some universities and one of the requirements to graduate high school is to pass the standardized tests. So, no matter how much parents, students, or even teachers think the standardized tests are unfair, they are only there to help us and we need them in order to make sure we are getting the education that we deserve.
Throughout my educational career, I remember taking standardized exams since I was in second grade. My experience with the standardized test was never a pleasant one. At a certain point, I thought that it would hinder me from going on to the next grade, graduating high school and going to a college of my choice. I always felt that standardized test did not measure my actual intelligence and was frustrated with the concept that comparing students to others, by giving all students a basic multiple choice test, is enough to measure how well each child would do throughout the school. After I had started understanding the ranking system, I started doubting my ability to keep up with my peers, not just in my school but the state. The first exam that
One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.
Abandon Standardized Testing Just about everyone has some experience with taking a Standardized test, and most likely the experience of taking a standardized test was a terrible one for everyone involved. They are terrible for teachers and students alike. Standardized tests should be abolished in the state of Wisconsin because standardized tests cause teachers to feel the need to teach to the test, taking the fun and creativity out of teaching and learning. Also, standardized tests are only beneficial and geared towards middle and upper income background children. Student tests cannot reliably, validly and fairly be used to judge educators.
You may not think about it but Standardized testing is quite expensive. According to Huffing Post and edweek.org Standardized testing cost 1.7 million dollars annually. That is a LOT of money with that we could be doing much more productive things. Also Standardized testing is very timely. According to wbur.org kids takes about 20-25 hours. With this time students are only reviewing things they ALREADY learned when they could be learning something new. Standardized Testing is also a bad situation that can be changed with a little bit of effort. If we stop standardized testing many good things will happen. For Example teachers will stop feeling pressured to teach to the Standardized test so they do not get fired. According to LAtimes.com Standardized tests do not help evaluate teachers. people are actually already trying to change this according to Radio,inc Republicain senate aids are drafting a bill to eliminate standardized testing. With the immense cost of standardized testing we could be putting money toward extra-curricular activities or better supplies. The possibilities are endless. That means that standardized test is something we could change and could make a better situation out
Standardized testing has been around for many years. It first started out in China, testing out their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry, says TIME magazine. In 1905 French psychologist Alfred Binet developed the first standardized test of intelligence, which is now the modern day IQ test. Ever since World War I standardized testing was a standard practice. These test were used to determine the assignment of U.S. servicemen jobs during the war. There has been a debate recently, asking if standardized testing is showing the true ability of the students and are the students missing out on beneficial lessons because they are only being taught to pass a test.
Standardized testing puts unnecessary pressure on students and does not have any real benefits to helping students learn better. Standardized testing places all students in the same category of intelligence and does not show the individual’s true potential. Schools spend weeks before the test are administered to prepping students, so students will not fail. If standardized testing was a method that worked well children would not weeks of classroom time to prepare for the test. If the tests were organized according to the right age group it would not take hours to prep students they would already have the information necessary to perform well on the test.