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Should standardized tests be abolished
Should standardized tests be abolished
Should students be forced to take standardized testing
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Should students have to take standardized tests?
Students should not have to take standardized tests because I think it takes too long, it cost too much money, and it takes too much learning time away from students.
The reason why I think it takes too long is because last year it took a 4 hour tests, and you have to give the students a restroom break before you take the tests, then you have to pass out the copies, finally you have to pass out the pencils to the students that don't have a number 2 pencil.
The reason why I think it takes too much money is because the district has to pay for copies of the test, and to ship them out to schools all over the city. Finally the reason why I think it takes too much learning time from the students
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
some reason, I do not thing that rushing students to learn a lot of things will make things
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.
Finally some people say the tests are good because they show how the students are doing. Without the tests there is no good way to tell how the students are doing and who needs help. There is too much time spent on testing. There is 20-25 hours a year spent on testing and that does not count practice or learning time. Some may say tests are the best way to show how students are doing but there is still too much time spent on testing.
Standardized tests do not cover all the things students need to know. They also do more harm than good to students, teachers, school systems, and to states. Over a million dollars every year could be spent on more for classrooms and schools and it could help the funding issues most schools face. The stress levels and “drill like” teaching would lower and teachers could focus on teaching in more creative and outgoing ways. Also teaching things that will help students outside of the classroom. Schools could also stop relying on the students scores for federal funding, keeping jobs, or the school. Schools will take chances and teachers will try new ways of teaching using their students personal learning styles, not the needed curriculum for the
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 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.
These reasons, and many more, are why standardized tests should not be allowed to be the sole determining factor in how good a school is for our children. We should look at all of the factors which contribute to the learning environment in our schools and not just at how well our students can take tests.
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.
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.
According to Fyona Rose, “Not only do these tests belittle students' and teachers' hard work, they also leave them with negative feelings toward school and drain their love of learning” (Rose, 2015). This means that standardized testing can ruin the enjoyment of learning for both students and teachers. The reason standardized testing still happens is because it has become a standard for schools each year. But if the standard is bad something should be changed. Many who do not like standardized testing to do not believe that testing should be done away with, but rather be changed to accommodate the growing needs of society as a
Believe it or not, but according to the Washington Post, seventh graders spend 23.2 hours testing per year! If they fail the test, they cannot move on to the next grade! According to greatschools.com, 26 states require "a high school exit exam or plan to put one in place." I disagree with taking year end tests. Exit tests are not necessary for education. No one should take them because some people do not test well, it wastes time, and you can not judge a student by a test.
The simplicity and blandness of these tests do not let students enjoy testing and don’t allow the students to be as creative as they are in tests given by teachers. In “The Problem With Testing” by Anya Kamenetz, it talks about how as people are being taught to these tests. The info is very bland and only touches on what the students have learned the whole year. The fact that a student’s intelligence is being measured by being tested on only a tiny piece of what the students have learned the whole year in itself should shut down standardized testing. Also, to go along with the way these tests have been given straightforwardly with not a single aspect of enjoyment, students can barely move while they’re testing. As well as that reason, there is another one, which is that when it comes to standardized tests, public education systems seem to not really care for the students. Nothing is creative about these tests. Think of the school year as going on vacation and standardized testing as airport security delaying a flight. The question is, how bad are these tests? This question brings us into the fact public education systems don’t care for students when it comes to standardized testing. “Testing and Its Enemies” by Abigail Thernstrom explains how in some educational systems, students can fail if they do not succeed in passing these annual tests, even if passing. How can school systems allow one annual test, that they can’t even look at, determine a student’s fate as a learner? Another article supporting the fact educational systems do not really care about students, especially when it comes to public education is “Can We Do Education Without
Second of all it is unfair for the teachers because if a student does not