More handpicked essays just for you.
How can education lead to income and wealth inequality
Standardized testing effects on education
Overall effects of standardized testing
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
CA 8 According to officials, standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are supposed to predict how well students will do in college. Students are tested on these standardized tests to know how much knowledge they know, such as to determine and know the students reading, math, writing, and science skills. Researcher shows a similar relationship between SAT scores and high school grades. Data from the College Board shows that SAT is strongly correlated to family income. Students with wealthy families seem to outscore the students that are living in poverty. This is because wealthy students have access to better school supplies, better teachers, and a greater education than those students living in poverty that can’t afford a better teacher
In the article, Gregory Mantsio reveals a chart based on the test results of 1,465,744 SAT takers in the year of 2006. The chart given, displays the amount of the family income and how it affects the scores of those who had taken the SAT. The facts given, indicates that the more money the family has, income that the family receives, the higher the scores are. For example, if you had a job or career that allowed you to be able to bring in more than $100,000, then your child is more likely to receive a median score of approximately 1,100. But the question is, how can this be so? One reason is quite simple: The children born into a higher class has much more access to educational resources, are exposed to vocabulary and spoken language in their early childhood, and experience less stress than those who are in a lower class. Which in the long run, gives the children in the higher class a better chance when it comes to succeeding in life. Compared to those in a lower class whose scores are below the approximated amount of 1,100 due to their family
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.
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.
Standardized tests are biased to certain students whether it is race, or even how much money the parent(s) earn. According to Standardized Testing and Its Victims by Alfie Kohn, the tests are a lot easier for children coming from richer communities like Dublin for example, then Cleveland where funding is scarce (Kohn, 2000). It is not just a rich and poor battle it also is a battle with students and regional or language barriers. According to Uyen Zimmerman, my former math instructor from Dublin Coffman, explained English as a second language students interpret asked questions phrased strangely to them differently than a student whose primary language is English. For example, she said there was a question on the ACT that asked a question about folding pizza and an ESL student thought that it meant putting pizza into a folder. Another example is asking students about black ice when students in states such as Hawaii and Louisiana, have never seen or heard of black ice (Zimmerman, 2014). I agree with her completely. All standardized tests are playing with what the creators of the test think is a “standard” and testing all students across America with the exact same questions.
Do you like being bombarded with the stress of having to take so many tests? In 1845 the US brought standardized testing in the subjects spelling, geography, and math into public schools (Standardized Testing 1). Standardized tests were made to swiftly assess students abilities (Standardized Testing 1). The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 mandated testing in all 50 states. In the article, “Standardized Tests,” it states that “US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Blame of the decline in rates are on poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use
Tests have been taken and the results are shown to be biased towards students from wealthy areas, most likely because they can afford more educational resources then students from poor areas. “The private test preparation market for the SAT and the ACT is a $2 billion-a-year industry in the U.S. “(Westervelt ,Eric ). Families living in suburban neighborhoods typically have a higher income than those living in urban neighborhoods, which enables them to have more resources. This is an unfair advantage because not every student is being set up for success.
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.
“The higher the student’s social status is, the higher the probability is that they will get higher grades” (Mantsios 294). Today the patterns persist as Mr. Mantsios’ article shows “that of the students who took the College Board Exam (SAT) - the students who score lower points were of lower class whereas, the students of high class, scored higher on the tests”(Mantsios 294). Mr. Mantsios “compares a study that was done in 1978 by Richard De Lone for the Carnegie Council on Children, which showed a relationship between class and test scores to a survey done by College Board, thirty years later, to reveal that there is no difference; test scores are still linked to family income” (Mantsios 294). Mr. Mantsios states that class standing and consequently life chances, are largely determined at birth” (Mantsios
Standardized tests are very common throughout the United States. They are used to measure students’ academic performances in school. These tests vary from state to state in all grade levels. However, these tests are believed to be biased towards those students who come from higher-class neighborhoods, simply because they have more educational resources. “The absence of standards virtually guarantees stratified resources and access to knowledge, based upon income, color of skin, and the community and neighborhood in which one lives” (French, 2003). The resources in the suburban areas differ from those in the urban areas, because of the gap within the difference of incomes. Families living in suburban neighborhoods have a bigger income, which enables them to have more resources than those living in urban neighborhoods. Most educational resources come from taxes, which plays a big part in the gap between urban and suburban neighborhoods.
As in an incoming freshman in high school, not only was I introduced to standardized test but my fellow classmates as well. Standardized test is any form of a test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, which is also scored in a standard or consistent manner. These particular test are given at the end of each school year to the particular students who are enrolled in the the classes of the given test. The standardized test include Algebra I, Biology I, English, and History.We also found out that in order for anyone to graduate those particular test had to passed if not you were not eligible to graduate. However, out of all four test History was the most difficult for students to pass as well as myself. This test in particular was known for being the hardest test to pass. Since the test was so hard to pass we were introduced to that one class specifically History our ninth grade year so that we could take the test for the first time at the end of our freshman year. Not all students had problems passing you had some pass all four on their first try, but then you had the other set of students who could not pass which hindered many from graduating. In the end I do not believe that
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
According to Gregory Mantsios in “Class in America: Myths and Realities” grades, test scores and level of schooling completed are connected with economic status. Even though test makers have made strides to make the tests more “fair” research shows that the gap between the rich and poor maybe staying the same or even getting worse. The higher the student's social class, the more likely they are to get good grades and have high test scores In a study by William Sewell he discovered that students with a higher economic background were twice as likely to get some type of training after high school and four times as likely to receive a college degree. However social status does not equal ability.The odds of getting into college have improved for
For years, people have been trying to figure out ways to equalize the divergent academic achievement rates between rich and poor children. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010 found that, since the late 90’s when they first started monitoring over 2,000 children, media
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.