Should Schools Have Standardized Tests? All schools across the country do some sort of standardized testing. If we do these tests, shouldn't they benefit students? But do they really help us in the long run? Some could ask, why do schools take standardized tests? Do people also benefit from taking standardized tests? What might happen if schools stop using standardized tests? Why do schools do standardized tests? Standardized tests like the ACT and the SAT are mainly for college admission purposes. Schools want students to have chances to make progress in education and college by taking tests like these because not every student has a fair chance of getting into college because the majority of colleges can cost a lot of money. If they want …show more content…
Higher paying white collar jobs will especially look thoroughly and the score the students have acquired from the test. It shows that under half the students who take standardized tests use it to get into college and jobs. So the test really does not benefit everyone who takes it. But the percentage of students who do succeed in it is quite substantial. What would happen if we stopped taking standardized tests? The test isn't exactly benefiting every student who takes it. Most students are going into other professions that might not necessarily need to look at standardized test scores because they focus more on skills that don't require math and reading abilities as much as other professions do. Standardized tests put a large amount of pressure on students to do well or they won't find a suitable profession. But that is not the case. Students can still be successful going into other professions without sufficient knowledge of math and reading. That could continue to grow the number of students who go into other professions if schools stopped taking standardized tests. The world can still function without the standardized tests required to
One time I heard a teacher at my old high school tell a new teacher that their job is to teach to the test and nothing else. I did not really know what she meant, but I knew something about what she said sounded very wrong. I thought why are they just teaching us how to pass the test instead of just teaching us what we need to know? Later I found out that whether or not I graduate depends on passing the test. The idea of standardized testing to say whether or not students graduate is a bad one. Not just bad for schools, principals, and teachers, but it can mean the end of a student’s future before it begins. That means not only does schools suffer, but everyone in our communities, states, and country suffers. It used to be that students had to take standardized tests every year. The results of these tests said what school districts would get more money or less money for the next school year. And it would also tell schools and teachers if some students needed to be put into higher level programs such as gifted and talented or advanced placement courses or if they were having problems and should be put in special education.
Since the release of the report by Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in December of 2010 many in the government and community are searching for ways to reform the American education system to give American students the greatest opportunity to succeed. According to the report, American students are not testing as high as other nations in the world (Duncan, 2010). There are many contributing elements that have brought America to her knees in the education system, however, the obsession with standardized testing is found to be one of the most influential downfalls.
All students must pass standardized tests in order to graduate. Standardized tests are not going to make us smart, so why is the government spending all their money on those tests? According to Quinn Mulholland, Author at Harvard Political Review "Teaching to the test" is replacing good teaching practices with "drill n ' kill" rote learning.” Students learn better if they’re being taught by a teacher who teaches a subject that he or she is passionate about. On the other hand, if teachers are told to teach students in order for students to pass tests then students are not learning, instead they are memorizing. Standardized tests won’t make students ready for college. Standardized tests will not improve student achievement, it is an unreliable way to measure student success, and they are not objective. Standardized tests are also unfair to students whose English is their second language as well as students with special
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
Having a standardized test can keep everyone at an equal level in our education system. For example, a teacher by the name of James Ayoc wrote on an online blog, “ the purpose of testing kids is to figure out what they know and are able to do.” (Aycock) Mr. Aycock uses these standardized tests to assay what his students know and are capable of doing. Another reason Mr. Aycock uses his test is to mark his ability to teach. Mr. James also argues that without the use of standardized testing, he would be unable to compare scores to measure
Districts are starting to close down schools because of low results for the majority of classes. The parents do not know what to do and can not help with this topic anymore since the government has forced almost every school to take these standardized tests. Schools also depend on these tests greatly and are unable to notice the other skills and knowledge the students have. Are these standardized tests really beneficial to the public school system?... ...
Standardized tests have been a controversial issue regarding whether they are helping or hurting students and their academics. People that are for standardized testing argue that the tests are fair because all students nationwide are learning and being tested on the same thing. Bruno, Kemmerling, and others agree that these tests are beneficial to schools, students, and teachers. Others who are against standardized testing disagree because teachers are only teaching to the test. Littky, Caines, and Hanford see the negative aspects of standardized testing and want to change how people perceive it. Both sides of the issue have a credible argument.
Standardized tests have been a scourge of student life in America for more than fifty years. Throughout the United States, high school students prepare for months for the day in which they have to take out their No. 2 pencils, to endure four everlasting hours of bubbling-in answers. The ACT, American College Testing, and its counterpart, the SAT, Scholastic Assessment Test, are known as the high school exit exams, in which they have become one of the largest determining factors in the college-admissions process. Both standardized tests judge a student 's performance, in which it measures how well students learned skills to meet state standards. Although standardized tests are meant to measure what one learns in high school in order to determine
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
Standardized Tests are not effective at measuring student achievement (“Standardized Tests Do Not” 1). They also cannot tell what your main abilities are, or what you even know. Standardized Tests are bad for the classroom because they restrict learning, force teachers to teach to the test, and they do not effectively measure students’ abilities.
Don’t you think students should take standardized tests? To start with standardized tests make sure schools are doing good. It also helps students prepare for later on in school such as elementary school, middle school, high school, and even collage. Even though it takes a while to get the test results back it only takes about 2 days to test. If students didn't take standardized tests how would you know how much they have progressed through the year.It will also give you preperation for next year.Sometimes the time depends on how long the students take to test. It not only tells you how good kids are doing but how well the teachers are teaching. It also shows and helps to know what subjects students are struggling in and what they're succeeding
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
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
Would you believe me if I told you that many veterans don’t have healthcare or cannot afford it? What? Crazy right? Veterans give their life for our country yet we cannot give them simple healthcare. Many are plagued with mental illnesses and disorders.
A standardized test is “to assess the aptitudes and achievement of students. These tests have been used to make informed decisions about curriculum and instruction” (Tager 2). Supposedly standardized tests are used to see where students are academically, yet these tests are taken every year and are never actually used. Standardized testing is one of the biggest issues in public schooling, and in my opinion falls under the main reason why there are so many other issues like the ones I have mentioned beforehand in this essay. One reason I believe standardized testing needs to be removed is because of these tests teachers are being paid on how well the students are doing, and I including others believe that the only reason we still have these tests to this day is so the teachers do not have to be paid as much.