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Effectiveness of standardized testing
The importance of standardized tests
Standardized testing in education
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No talking, no getting up, no asking questions, and only the qualified tools are allowed. Students prepare all year to take this test. A test that might not even measure what it is supposed to, a standardized test. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was established as an updated version of the Elementary and Secondary Education act of 1965. Its mission was to build upon education for all children no matter their background. However; what it really did was force states to create basic guidelines of what has taught and, create standardized tests that schools have to give. If a school decides to opt out and choose to not give the test to their students then the state will stop funding that school.
As mentioned, the system of standardized
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The tests are not altered to those kids, so they are just left to fail. Kids are left in situation were they are being tested on aptitude and their ability to memorize material. Rather then being tested on something that matters like their ability to understand and gain knowledge. These tests are not an honest measurement of what the students are capable of. Claire Klodell from the Huffington Post touches on this subject in her article about standardized tests “standardized tests are an unreliable measure of student performance. The Brookings Institution conducted a study in 2001 which found that 50-80 percent of year-over-year test score improvements were temporary and ‘caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning.’” (Klodell). This shows that teachers teach to the test and that students memorize the information in order to get a passing score. Even the U.S Department of Education agrees that standardized tests influences teachers to teach to the tests but they don’t see it as a bad thing. “Curriculum based on state standards should be taught in the classroom. If teachers cover subject matter required by the standards and teach it well, then students will master the material on which they will be tested--and probably much more.” (NCLB). Although it is true that they will master the test material, precious class time is wasted trying to prepare students for tests rather than preparing them for what they will need to know to be successful in higher
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001’s main purpose was to enhance the education system and hold schools accountable in its attempt to bring equality in the fight against poverty for poor and minority groups. Once this Act was signed into law the American public expected an overhaul of the education system with only good outcomes. The public assumed our children would be receiving the best education available and the economic issues that plagued schools would no longer be a problem. In the beginning of its implementation No Child Left Behind was expected to bring America up to standards with other nations, this was something that America has struggled to do for many years. Our children were now being put first according to Act and the public and many political figures were ecstatic over the possibilities.
...achieving high scores on standardized tests” (Solley).Because of this, teachers take more time to teach test preparation skills than valuable information (Neill, 165). Although standardized tests have been trusted for years to assess the progress of students, there is little evidence that they measure progress accurately.
The No Child Left Behind Act was put into place to help disadvantaged students, educators and the education system reach their full potential and succeed in life. This Act also drove student achievement to reach its highest and to hold both states and schools more accountable for each student’s progress. They represented significant changes to the education landscape at the time and helped shift the country’s focus on education (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).
Students spend most of the year preparing to take one or two big tests at the end. The amount of pressure put on students to succeed on these tests is astronomical, making it impossible to focus on the actual goal of assessing their knowledge. A student in Florida spoke to her school board about the absurd expectations from these tests, “Every year I do well in school, but I get low test scores on the FCAP and it feels like a punch in the stomach. This is unfair and I don't want to lose my opportunity to take my advanced classes or get a better education because of this one test.” (Locker)
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.
Anatole France said, “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” Through the No Child Left Behind program students are being tested in a manner that does not accurately measure learning. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB or The Act) Act was proposed in 2001, an addition to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to assist students who have a disadvantage or are a minority. Through this Act students were required to take standardized tests. One main reason of implementing the standardized testing as a part of NCLB was to raise schools AYP, adequate yearly progress; this measures a schools progress in reaching certain standards set by the Federal Government. The Federal Government should eradicate the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 because it is creating substantial problems, limiting learning, and has proven to be ineffective.
Although there have been legitimate arguments supporting the benefits of standardized testing, such as their ability to successfully measure students’ proficiency, in recent years there have been concerns and disadvantages regarding how their misuse poses a serious threat to the American education system. Despite the belief that standardized tests should be used to measure students’ proficiency, there are more reasons outweighing this statement regarding why they shouldn’t be used for this purpose. Not only is this a particular issue with standardized testing, but the tests are becoming more high stakes and are being used unfairly to determine things such as graduation, or placement in a school, resulting in a significant amount of stress and anxiety in students. Testing corporations are also profiting from the design of these standardized tests, while standardized testing is also forcing teachers to all teach the same thing, leading to a lack of creativity in the students. Aside from these arguments, standardized tests have been found to be becoming flawed and have poor design.
Many people agree that standardized tests are a reasonable evaluation of a student’s capability. Standardized tests originated in the mid-1800s, in the American education system. W. James Popham defines standardized testing by “any test that’s administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner” (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). After the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) came about in the early 2000s, the use of standardized testing became popular. NCLB required yearly testing for specific grades and subjects. If schools did not demonstrate adequate improvement, they were either closed or run by the state. This was done so the state and the tax payers of the schools knew that students were learning and knowing the material. Tax payers especially wanted to make sure their money was going to good use (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). High scores on standardized tests can result in funding for the school, along with bonuses to the facility and staff of the school.
As child growing up some of the frightful memories include a visit to the dentist; an evil man with scary drill whose solve purpose is to hurt you or the first day in elementary school you finally leave all behind the cozy classrooms and nap times of kindergarten and enter the big leagues. All of these are considered a cakewalk compared to standardize testing. Since the start of elementary school students in the United States are taught to test. In many instances students are held back or placed in remedial classes because of lower grades. But many don’t realize that some students are not great at testing taking and because of the lower grades some educators believe that these students are lower achievers. This leads to lower self-esteem and encourage students to drop out in later years. Also students are forced to memorize information merely as facts without sparking their creativity or enhancing their knowledge.
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
Standardized tests are examinations administered to the children of the United States. Some states have exit exams, meaning a student must pass the test to continue or finish their education. Here in Virginia, students are tested from 3rd grade to 8th grade on the Standards of Learning tests also known as the Virginia SOL’s. Students from Kindergarten on up will take the Cognitive Ability Test or Cog AT and Benchmark tests throughout the year. High school students have their choice of taking the SAT’s or ACT’s or if they would like to join the military they will be given the ASVAB. Unfortunately, these tests are not completely to blame for poor results. The education standards are different in each case; some areas like in South Carolina depend on federal aid and grants to function. Their practice is the lower the grade of the results of the test the more money they will receive. Whereas in Virginia, the lower the score with no improvement the less funding they will receive and if there is no improvement within five years the entire school staff is replaced. From an early age, society has encouraged the practice of examinations from the entry to school to work employment. The real question that needs to be asked is are these tests benefiting the youth in the United States or are they just encouraging them to memorize large amounts of information. In turn, how much are they actually learning and can we as educators, parents and concerned citizens guarantee these children are receiving the best education possible. Testing is necessary but we are over testing our children and slowly removing all of the creativity from them and the teachers. Turning the youth of today into memorizing machines and not comprehending the material that th...
The No Child Left Behind act was implemented in 2002. According to the National Education Budget Project, NCLB requires states to test students annually and requires states, school districts and schools to ensure that all students are proficient at grade level. The state defines what grade-level performance is and are accountable to make sure the students achieve it. The Advancement Project article “No Child Left Behind Catalyzes” states, “No Child Left Behind’s ‘get tough’ approach to accountability has led to more students being left behind, thus further feeding the dropout crisis and the School-to-Prison Pipeline”. NCLB has made schools less effective and worsened the environment.
“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.
The “no child left behind policy” The “no child left behind policy” was implemented in 2001. Aiming at improving the performance of basic reading and maths skills of the students, the policy required elementary and secondary schools to take yearly tests, and the schools need to pass the tests in order to show their capability of teaching the students. The policy received positive results. For example, the scores of reading and maths had greatly improved after the implementation of the “no child left policy”. Many supporters of the policy claim that it could help to increase the accountability of the schools and teachers, and students and parents had the chance to choose the schools with better performance. However, the policy also
No Child Left Behind Providing American children with the best education as possible is definitely a goal of the United States. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was created to set high standards for schools and students to help improve the education system. Although the idea of the act seemed promising, the goals and standards were not easily attainable and actually did not greatly improve education. The No Child Left Behind Act failed to meet the goal of closing the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, encouraged teachers to teach to the test, and neglected the importance of each student’s individual needs.