Standardized Testing

835 Words2 Pages

Income and reading have a huge impact on why some students do better than others on standardized tests. Researchers conducted a survey to collect data through home observations and interviews. “The results reported help explain why low-income White students usually have higher mean scores on standardized tests than middle-income African Americans and why middle-income White students have higher mean scores than upper-income African Americans” (Jairrells 2). Researchers use the terms “poor” and “non-poor” to determine the status of families. This survey showed a greater percentage of poor white families having ten or more books in their home than non-poor African American families (Jairrells 3). Some families read more to their children because …show more content…

For example, in California’s assessment system, the content standards are not properly aligned with meaningful instruction (Montgomery 1). Some teachers have no idea what they are supposed to be teaching their students to prepare them for standardized tests. This leaves out a lot of meaningful information the kids need to know to be successful on these tests. Also, this leads students not understanding core concepts. California schools started a test that would prepare students for the real exam which was called STAR testing (Montgomery 2). This helped students significantly. This test covered the core content areas of English, Social Science, Science, and Mathematics (Montgomery 2). This test did not count for anything more than your individual progress of where you are at and if the students needed to spend more time studying. Teachers and administration were having a hard time keeping the students engaged to take the test seriously (Montgomery 3). This leads to handing out special privileges to the students who pas the STAR …show more content…

Assessments must be worth taking for the students. These assessments should present useful information and questions to push the students to think and gain valuable experience when taking these tests (Testing Action Plan 1). The tests should be made with high quality. Test with high quality result in actionable, objective information about the student knowledge and skills (Testing Action Plan 1). Students will only spend a certain amount of class time taking standardized tests. Schools should recommend the state to come up a time limit of no student should spend more than two percent of her classroom time taking these tests (Testing Action Plan 2). Also, letting a parent know when their child is about to hit their limit would have the parents involved in what is happening with their child at school. Tests should be made so they are fair for everyone in the school. A fair measure of student learning for students with disabilities and English learners should come into accountability (Testing Action Plan 2). Teachers should be able to help students that have a learning disability or English learners on the test so they have a fair advantage like the rest of the

The Sol's Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing In Schools
1900 Words | 4 Pages
Parents and advocates of education can all agree that they want their students to be in the best hands possible in regards to education. They want the best teachers, staffs, and schools to ensure their student’s success. By looking at the score results from standardized testing, teachers can evaluate effectively they are doing their job. On the other side, a proponent for eliminating standardized testing would argue that not all students care passionately about their education and will likely not perform to expectations on the test. However, receiving the numerical data back, teachers can construe the student’s performances and eliminate the outliers of the negligent kids. Teachers can then look at the individual scores and assign those outliers to get the help they need in school. This helps every student getting an equal chance at education. Overall, taking a practice standardized test can let a teacher look at individual questions and scores and interpret what they need to spend more time on teaching. A school also can reap the benefits from standard testing to ensure they are providing the best possible education they can. The school can look at the average scores from a group and hold the teacher accountable for the student’s results on the test. The school can then determine the best course of action to pursuit regarding the teacher’s career at the school. By offering teachers and schools the opportunity to grow and prosper, standardized testing is a benefit for the entire education
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Standardized Testing: A Limited Measure of Success
840 Words | 2 Pages
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
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Annotated Bibliography On Standardized Testing
1210 Words | 3 Pages
A scholarly journal written by an anonymous author sheds light on the importance of standardized testing by showing its efficiency in higher level education. This article provides a solid counterargument for the use of standardized tests which is standardized tests being a good source of predicting grades throughout college as well as whether students will stay long enough to graduate. It is also able to establish that the SAT is effective in forecasting a grade-point average through the fourth year as well as predicting students study habits. The
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The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing
1873 Words | 4 Pages
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.
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Helping Students With a Low Socioeconomic Status
1529 Words | 4 Pages
Reading, writing, math, science, and other skills learned in school are instrumental for a child to have in order to be successful both in higher education and in life. Many factors contribute to a student’s acquisition of these skills such as their learning environment, preschool education, mental and emotional development, parental involvement, and dedication to learning. The issue that many young children are facing, however, is that all of these factors can be greatly influenced by the Socioeconomic Status (SES) of their family. Unfortunately, up until recently it was virtually unknown how teachers could help these “at risk” children, which caused an increase in the likelihood of children dropping out of school or repeating a grade. However, it is now becoming clear that there are ways that educators can help ensure children have successful academic careers and lead better lives.
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The Shortcomings of Standardized Testing
1649 Words | 4 Pages
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
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Standardized Tests
583 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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How Standardized Testing Effects the Education
2676 Words | 6 Pages
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...
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Standardized Testing
830 Words | 2 Pages
Scholar Bill Ayers believes standardized testing in schools does not accurately measure what is necessary to be successful in life. Ayers insists that Standardized tests such as the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) measure specific facts and function which are among the least interesting and slightest important information that children should know. In an article titled “Testing the Right Way for Talent”, written by Hugh Price, argues the fact that standardized tests fail to capture the qualities that are necessary to be successful in the business world. Another article labeled “Implementing NCLB Assessment and Accountability Requirements in an Imperfect World” composed by Stuart Kahl, is in agreement with both Price and Ayers. According to Bill Ayers, Hugh Price and Stuart Kahl, standardized tests are uncalled excuse for a traumatic and stressful time in a child’s life.
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Standardized Testing is NOT Effective
2388 Words | 5 Pages
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.
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Standardized Testing: A Qualitative Study
1416 Words | 3 Pages
The overall purpose of schooling is to advance one’s knowledge and skill base and through standardized testing the belief is that one’s knowledge and skill base can be assessed and analyzed, but what occurs many a times is a teacher's difficulty to expand upon the learning process due to the confinements that testing has on his/hers ability to teach. In a qualitative study performed by the Morehead State University it was determined that in a particular rural school standardized testing had implemented a limit on the amount of time that teachers were able to instruct, as well as limitations on the “instructional resources and the types of assessments teachers employed” (Thomas, 2005). Even if a teacher was content with teaching the state
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Validity Of Standardized Testing
635 Words | 2 Pages
Education is an integral part of a society and essential for the advancement of that society. Throughout the years, multiple reforms to the Educational system in the U.S were made. A few examples of these changes would be the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act. The most recent reform of the education system was Every Student Succeeds Act passed by Obama Dec. 10, 2015 (Klein). One of the key parts of this act is the focus of annual testing in order to monitor the progress of students. States will individually determine the criteria they will test their students in order to evaluate their progress. In some cases, States have decided to standardized tests into their graduation requirements. Pennsylvania has
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Socioeconomic Status And Education Essay
900 Words | 2 Pages
It can be argued that the academic performance of children has nothing to do with their socioeconomic status, because there have been many cases of children from very poor families who have excelled greatly in academics (APA, 2017). Furthermore, many predominantly high-end schools have posted poor results when compared to school with poorer backgrounds. This is despite the fact children from lower socioeconomic classes do not have access to the best forms of learning materials. The high performance of children from poor backgrounds is often attributed to the fact that they are not preoccupied with many activities which would otherwise hinder them from concentrating on their studies (Sacerdote, 2002). Therefore, some believe it is false to say that poor performance is associated with children who come from low socioeconomic classes. Rather, they believe academic achievement is genetic (Sacerdote, 2002).
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Teacher Ethics
1534 Words | 4 Pages
It is important that teachers give children a fair chance to show their knowledge when assessing. “The purpose of assessment is to provide feedback that can be used to improve student performance” ( Orange 2000). Teachers assess children to ensure that they are understanding the material, and to make sure they are learning. For young children especially tests should never be the only criteria of assessment. Instructors should always make sure that their assessment is fair. When testing a child, make sure that the testing method used is appropriate for that child. For example, if giving a test that relies on visual aids to administer the test it is important that the teacher is certain that all the children have good enough vision to clearly see the aids.
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Testing Is A Necessary Evil
1378 Words | 3 Pages
Standardized testing is a necessary evil. We know is important in education, and is needed for funding, but we also know how testing does not always help our students’ education, and it came sometimes hinder their learning. For this article review I wanted to focus on testing, since it is what is currently consuming my next two weeks at school. As I grew up, I viewed testing as something we needed to do, especially when I was in college, but I was never a big fan of testing, I was never good at testing. Now as a teacher, I have to administer the MAP test, and it is hard to teach my students the importance of the test. I think about how our 3rd graders will be testing the rest of their academic careers. They will test every year in various subjects, SATs, high school exit exams, and then college exams. Even after college, some students will be testing to get job opportunities. Educators do not like testing, but we also know they are needed in education. This is where principals can play a role.
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Standardized Testing

The Sol's Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing In Schools