Standardized Test Speech

Pro Speech

INTRODUCTION

My partner and I affirm the resolution that, “On balance, standardized testing is beneficial to Kindergarten through 12th grade education in the United States.” We would like to start with our three contentions. Our First Contention being; Standardized Tests helps Teachers Identify how Students are Progressing in Class, Contention Two; Standardized tests help identify strengths and weaknesses of both teachers and students, and finally our Third contention; STANDARDIZED TESTS ARE RELIABLE AND OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT But before we start with our first contention, we would like to define the terms On Balance, and Standardized Testing. On Balance is defined by The Oxford Dictionary as, “With all things

considered” or in other words “Taking everything into account” and The glossary of Educational Reform defines Standardized Testing as, “any form of 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, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” Which means that almost every test that you and the rest of you class takes in school, as long as they are all graded in the same way, they would be considered a standardized test.
CONTENTION 1: STANDARDIZED TESTS HELPS TEACHERS IDENTIFY HOW STUDENTS ARE PROGRESSING IN CLASS
One of the most important parts to teaching is knowing what to teach and when to teach it. Standardized tests help to show us where the students’ progress is at.
a. “Obama’s Clumsy Take on School Testing” Denver Post Editorial Board, October 31, 2015,
Now, after nearly everyone, (from school districts to federal and state lawmakers, as well as teachers and parents) had concluded that the emphasis on testing sometimes went too far, the president has declared it true, also. In being so late to the discussion, unfortunately, Obama risks providing aid and comfort to those who refuse to acknowledge that standardized tests do in fact have an important role in education. In a nutshell, they strengthen accountability and transparency. They allow parents to learn how their children's achievement compares with others in the school, community — and, indeed, state and country. We must not return to an era when the public was kept in the dark about such matters. Obama's Education Department highlighted the importance of testing for a reason.
CONTENTION 2: STANDARDIZED TESTS HELP IDENTIFY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Why Standardized Testing is Important; Debbie Thompson; triangle education assessments.com; 2009
Test results can help guide us in knowing how a student compares to the average national student.

If a child’s scores seem to indicate that they are falling behind academically, we can get help instead of allowing the problem to persist. Likewise, a student that is performing above and beyond their grade level might be given an extra challenge, be placed into a gifted program, or be granted opportunities to pursue extra interests. Analyzing test results can help an educator evaluate the effectiveness of a curriculum or to help assess if instructional methods are a good match to a child’s learning style. Clues to achievement strengths and weaknesses as well as instructional strengths or weaknesses can be ascertained from analyzing achievement test

results.
CONTENTION 3: STANDARDIZED TESTS ARE RELIABLE AND OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
A.

93% of studies on student testing, including the use of large-scale and high-stakes standardized tests, found a "positive effect" on student achievement, according to a peer-reviewed, 100-year analysis of testing research completed in 2011 by testing scholar Richard P. Phelps. - Richard P. Phelps, "The Effect of Testing on Achievement: Meta-Analyses and Research Summary, 1910–2010,” Nonpartisan Education Review, Apr. 2011

B. Without tests, policy makers would have to rely on tests scored by individual schools and teachers who have a vested interest in producing favorable results. Multiple-choice tests, in particular, are graded by machine and therefore are not subject to human subjectivity or bias. - Richard Phelps, PhD, "Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Educational Testing Programs,” www.education-consumers.com, Feb. 2002.

CONCLUSION

With all these reasons and more my partner and I urge you to vote Pro in today`s

debate.