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Is standardized testing effective
The truth about standardized tests
Why standardized testing is bad conclusion
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Schooling School Who, what, when, where, why? Curiosity is always persistent in the younger years, and society should encourage this. The trouble is, the United States education system is, unknowingly, doing everything in its power to destroy students’ natural want to learn. Much to the joy of every student in the U.S., what the educational system is doing can certainly be undone. Currently, the U.S. uses standardized testing such as the SAT, the ACT, and state mandated tests like Ohio’s AIR testing to assess an individual’s knowledge. The scores received on these standardized tests can determine if the student graduates or gets in to their preferred college, or even if a teacher gets to keep their job (“Standardized Tests” 10). Not only …show more content…
standardized testing has been in use since the 1930s. Originally, it was used to test for kids who may have special needs for education. Now, it is used more as a requirement to receive federal funding and as a measure of students’ education. The “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 especially caused this. A standardized test is defined as a test, “…that is given to evaluate the performance of students relative to all other students with the same characteristics… In the United States, standardized testing is one of the primary methods used to measure the performance of educational institutions (and often teachers) and to make decisions about the distribution of funding,” says “Standardized Testing: An Overview” (Issit and Maureen 1). These tests have gone from assessing students for specific fields they may need help in to essentially acting as the basis of our educational system. It was believed that standardized testing would make the quality of every student’s education better by enforcing that specific amounts of information for specific topics need to be covered, but what they are really doing is limiting educational …show more content…
Authors Amy Witherbee and Denise B. Geier of “Point: Standardized Testing is the best Way to Establish Education Standards” say, “Standardized tests are important, not for the testing, but for the standards. They are, in essence, a benchmark that when properly done, sets out for students, teacher, parents, and a nation, goals for the next generation” (1). Standardized testing can aid in measuring student success, but they are not always an accurate representation of a student’s knowledge or a teacher’s capabilities. The key phrase in their claim is “when done properly”, which is not something that is easily said or done. It is nearly impossible to ensure that the system is not being corrupt, or to prove that everyone is testing the same way, “standardized” or not. Some students are simply not good test takers. They could be the next Einstein, but when it comes to their ACT scores students may seem as though they lack basic knowledge. Other students may be master test takers but have no comprehension of what they are answering. Sure, they know the nucleus is the center of the atom, but do they know what that means? These tests are much less accurate than their supporters may
Standardized tests, such as the SAT and the SOL, have been implemented for many years now for individuals in grade school to take. The SOL’s, or Standards of Learning tests, are Virginia’s version of standardized tests that students are required to take in order to pass a class, evaluating their knowledge on a specific subject. SOL’s are mandatory for students to take as soon as they reach third grade. Additionally, the SAT is a test taken in the final years of high school that colleges look at when comparing students for post-secondary school. People concerned with student’s education can come to the common consensus that education is important and there should be some way to compare a student’s achievements to one another. However, the process
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.
Garcia-Pelayo2students, one can find oneself surprised when we learn that each state spends roughly “$1.7billion a year” (Ujifusa 1) on standardized testing. Money for standardized testing if being spentbefore students even set their eyes on a college application, and definitely before they start fillingout their applications. Standardized tests are expensive, and usually required too. Unless astudent knows for sure that the school they’re applying to, and getting accepted to, does notrequire standardized tests, spending those $65 dollars is almost inevitable. What most studentsconsider “back-up schools” might not need high grades, but at the very least they need thesatisfaction of knowing that you took a test and that they have a number by
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.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
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.
Why is standardized testing part of the college admission process? Some of us might still remember taking the SAT or ACT when we were applying for college; however few of us question why we have to take such a test. Millions of dollars are spent on prep materials all so we can achieve a decent score and hope colleges will be impressed. The College Board claims a high SAT or ACT score correlates to college success which is defined as a good GPA throughout college. However if you stop and ask yourself what the SAT or ACT has to do with college success, most of us will arrive at the conclusion that these tests have almost have nothing to do with college success. Some of the questions are simply on these tests are simply ridiculous and will never
It’s an age-old question. Do standardized tests really show what students know? Some may think they are a great way to measure education and others may think that one test does not justify a child’s knowledge. What is this test exactly? A standardized test is any test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from a common bank of questions, in the same way. They are used to “judge” or “measure” the knowledge or skills that students learn in school. The problem with these standardized tests is that they measure all students on the same material, leaving out special skills the student may have. It also puts a great deal of stress on a student to know that they will be timed on these questions that
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
“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.
Why do students take tests instead of using all that wasted time to learn about more valuable info? School should eliminate testing due to the fact that students learn how to take the test not really about the test subject, waste instructional time in class, and the inefficiently provide evidence of students and teachers ability. Schools should eliminate standardized testing because it teaches kids just to know how to take the test not to learn the info. In the article written by Lindsey Layton, Joshua P. Starr says that “Too many kids in too many schools are bored” and that “Parents maybe see that and they want their kids to be engaged in school” (A.3). Kids are bored and not engaged at school because so much of their time is taken
Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) passed in 2002, annual standardized testing is mandated in every state. Now, students take one hundred twelve standardized tests from pre-k to their Senior year; however, American students’ rankings dropped or remained stagnant in almost every subject when compared to their peers around the world. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in late 2015, did not change America’s standings significantly. Lower-class schools are especially affected by the increase in standardized tests combined with a lack of resources. Standardized tests should not be used to measure students’ academic growth or teachers’ success in the American schooling system.
“In new researches over 89% of students have a much more heightened reaction to testing” (Walker).“Sometimes, these kids get so worked up with having to pass these tests to pass third grade, that this time of year we have some children…that have such severe anxiety that we can’t get them to school at this time of year”(Thompson). The schools and teachers put a massive amount of pressure on students. Many schools in The United States start testing as young as the third grade. Some students have become so focused on these tests that they forget to enjoy the experience in school. Under some state rules if someone fails their standardized test, they fail the entire grade.
How to deliver best education to students is a question that has been debated for decades. The definition of having a “good” education may differ for many—is it receiving a satisfactory report card? Is it being accepted into an appraised university? Or is it achieving an adequate score on a nationwide standardized exam? These exams are becoming more and more popular in various nations. Colleges in the United States are gradually increasing the emphasis of the importance of the ACT and the SAT; South Korea is continuing to pressure its students to excel on its Scholastic Aptitude Test; but Finland, on the other hand, rejects the idea of pushing these exams. Tests are used to compare students and schools to others and maintain a consistent way of measuring education levels throughout a country, but they are mainly used to roughly gauge a student’s competence. At times, a student’s future could be reliant on a single test score. This type of testing may be doing more harm than good, proving that this is not really necessary for students to be fully educated. Standardized tests, instead of promoting the achievement of an education, are in fact doing the opposite by limiting learning and deemphasizing the significance of characteristics such as individuality and creativity, ultimately having a harmful effect on students.
A standardized test requires all students to answer the same questions with the goal of getting the same answers so that the government can compare groups or individual students based on a certain standard. Originally standardized tests were to be used so that different schools or states could compare to other schools, but since the government passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), elementary, middle, and high schools only care about meeting the requirements so they can get funding (Improving). Since schools focus on receiving funding so much, students are getting extremely stressed out, which leads to lower scores and schools not meeting the set requirements. All of these issues are what creates the vicious cycle of the American education