It’s an age-old question. Do standardized tests really show what students know? Some may think they are a great way to measure education and others may think that one test does not justify a child’s knowledge. What is this test exactly? A standardized test is any 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. They are used to “judge” or “measure” the knowledge or skills that students learn in school. The problem with these standardized tests is that they measure all students on the same material, leaving out special skills the student may have. It also puts a great deal of stress on a student to know that they will be timed on these questions that …show more content…
This argument goes along with the other two mentioned and explained above. There isn’t much that is positive to say about these assessments. It places so much pressure on students to perform well and pressure on teachers to teach what is going to be on the test. This brings negative energy to classrooms. An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests. He claims, “Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don’t already know” (Jouriles, Greg). He also goes on to explain that one’s test score isn’t reliable and that we should trust the teachers when grades are published. A school system can accurately judge the students in the school on what they are good at better than the standardized tests do. They can break down many different aspects of what students need to improve on and what they are already knowledgeable of. Students need to learn more than just the test information. Only studying and learning test material makes students less diverse and leads to boring lectures in the classroom. Another article written by an organization called Fairtest adds, “Some students simply do not test well. Many students are affected by test anxiety or do not show their learning well on a standardized test, resulting in inaccurately lower scores” (Fairtest). These tests punish students for what they can’t control, making them stressed and panicked that they won’t graduate or move on to the next grade. Some children are from low-income families attending schools with large classes with little to no materials for learning what is on the test. In addition to that, some teachers have never been educated on test content, which is not their fault, and this results in low-test scores. This all leads to why there are such negative feelings throughout classrooms of many
Garcia-Pelayo2students, one can find oneself surprised when we learn that each state spends roughly “$1.7billion a year” (Ujifusa 1) on standardized testing. Money for standardized testing if being spentbefore students even set their eyes on a college application, and definitely before they start fillingout their applications. Standardized tests are expensive, and usually required too. Unless astudent knows for sure that the school they’re applying to, and getting accepted to, does notrequire standardized tests, spending those $65 dollars is almost inevitable. What most studentsconsider “back-up schools” might not need high grades, but at the very least they need thesatisfaction of knowing that you took a test and that they have a number by
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.
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 restrict student learning in the classroom (Cole, Hulley, and Quarles 17). The teachers in a classroom cannot teach what they would like to teach, but rather they are forced to teach what will be on the test. Often, when teachers teach what will be on the test, many students will begin to zone out and do other things, rather than listen to the teacher drill them with memorization for the tests (Willis 59) Teachers are graded based on how well their students do on these standardized tests, so they will teach only what is going to be on the test, to keep their jobs, or even get raises. Whenever this happens, students are hurt because they lose out on many opportunities to learn, and they even lose critical thinking skills. The testing curriculum often also places too many goals for students and teachers to reach, which will force them to move more quickly and not properly address every topic (Popham 71). Which, in the long run with further encourage only teaching the test, and nothing else.
There are many arguments that are pro standardized testing, such as standardized testing prepares students for their futures and gives all students equality with what they have been taught. As I stated above, even though all students may be given the same standardized test, their education is not equal, and therefore the standardized testing is extremely unfair to use the scores to assess whether or not the students prepared. When we had class debates one of the topics was standardized testing and how it affected our schools, one of the arguments against standardized testing was that the tests are not true to showing off the student’s ability. Many students have severe test anxiety and because of that, their testing scores are not what they
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
The issue of standardized testing has been a highly debated issue in the United States for many years and shows no sign of being resolved any time soon. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was an effort to standardize and improve our education system, but 13 years later it is still in shambles. While many people agree there is a need for some sort of measure for quality education, there is much disagreement about the effectiveness of standardized tests. Some even say federal programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have gone too far in using test scores to evaluate teachers (Gordon 2013). Unfavorable results from these tests seem to generate more punitive consequences for the teachers and schools than help for the students. The words “high-stakes” are used often in numerous sources to describe the current testing system and refer to decisions that will make a significant impact on both students and teachers. These decisions include repeating a grade or not receiving a diploma for the student and possible loss of a job for the teacher. Standardized testing is an ineffective and expensive way to measure student achievement.
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.
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system; that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.
For a high school student, it can be said that the most stressful parts of their high school life are in their Junior and Senior years. This is due to many students having to maintain a suitable grade point average, as well as having to juggle college visits and applications, extra extracurricular activities, as well as any personal or social life they wish to have. On top of all of these responsibilities, students must also handle the stress that comes along with taking multiple state-mandated standardized tests. Through these standardized tests, students display what they have learned throughout their school careers. Although the multiple-choice format of these tests may have lead to many to begin to memorize facts and questions instead of thoroughly thinking through material, as said by The Center for Public Education, a national public school advocacy group: “in many cases multiple-choice tests now require considerable thought, even notes and calculations, before choosing a bubble” (Mitchell).
They brought standardized testing into the school system in 1950s. Standardized tests are large-scale tests that are administered to students and scored in the same manner. Students take the same test in the same conditions and, if possible, at the same time so that results can be attributed to student performance and not to differences in the test or the way it is given. Because of this, the results of standardized tests can be compared across schools and districts. Take one at the beginning of the year for they can be assigned to a class.
After 14 years of schooling, I have come to realize the kind of role standardized tests play in the education system. Recently, standardized tests have been used to assess how well teachers works based on their students’ test scores. Are standardized test a fair and appropriate way to evaluate a teacher and determine the salary they deserve? Testing is controversial topic when used for judgement of a teacher’s abilities. While testing, there are a lot of outside factors that can distract a student and disrupt the test, resulting in a worse score than what the student is actually capable of.
“Promote creative learning by doing away with 'fill-in-the-bubble' standardized tests, and instead evaluate students based their understanding of the curriculum and their ability to use it creatively” (“Bernie Sanders Quotes about Education”). In today’s education system, the number one priority among faculty and students are passing these standardized tests. In multiple schools around the country, students are required to take a standardized ,and sometimes, computerized test. Standardized testing are generally unfavorable around the United States because standardized testing can cause stress and anxiety for teachers and students, the teachers have to surround their time and curriculum around these standardized tests, and other alternatives
These tests have been elevated as a tool for students, schools, and teachers. They are driving our good teachers to leave their profession, that they have worked hard to get. With the standardized testing kids may not be good test takers and the grades on the test may reflect that one subject of the matter but not the other. In that case, schools are spending huge amount of money on standardized testing; later on that money needs to go to the schools to buy updated textbooks to actually teach the children what they need to know. Countless teachers have to eliminate projects and activities that provide students with an opportunity to be creative and imaginative.