Standardized Testing: The Generalization Of Students

Standardized Testing: The Generalizing of Students

Nelson Mandela once stated, "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela is one of most famous and idolized people in history. Education is the key to success. In today's society, success in education is measured by achieving good grades and generating high ACT or SAT scores. Standardized tests like the American College Test (ACT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are heavily relied upon by colleges. Colleges base students' intelligence on these scores. Standardized testing is the most common method of measuring student growth and progress. A standardized test is a test that requires all test-takers to answer the same questions. Their results are then

Standardized testing is an ineffective method of determining intelligence among students if we continue to use it incorrectly because it affects the teachers in the classroom, generalizes students, grades your ability to answer questions to only three to four subjects, kills the creativity in the classroom, creates winners and losers among students, and it has the ability to change a person's future job.

Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills (Oxford English Dictionary). This is the ability to apply skills to any situation or subject, not just few generic subjects. Standardized tests measure a person's ability in the subjects of math, reading, and science. A person's intelligence should not be based solely on these subjects. In their defense, these questions require students to use the skills they have learned which justifies a portion of a person's intelligence, but only a small portion. Colleges will receive scores from these exams and will grant scholarships based upon them. When money is involved, students are willing to strive for higher scores to save more money in the future. To achieve higher scores on standardized tests, students are willing to put in more extensive hours of study before taking the

Education is not a one size fits all concept. Every student learns different subjects at different speeds. All students have their strengths and weaknesses but standardized tests only test on a few subjects. For instance, these tests will not grade the ability to communicate with others. They will not score the ability to problem solve or think outside the box using our imagination.

Andy Hudlow, a staff writer at Benilde- Saint Margaret's school in Saint Loius Park, proclaims his views on standardized testing:

The goal of standardized testing is not to find out how well you think through problems, or if you can express your opinions, or create a presentation, the goal is to find out what you were able to memorize. The more inconsequential details you can churn out, the smarter colleges will perceive you to be. The intense effort it takes to truly perform well on these tests means that students have less and less time to focus on their actual schoolwork in the hardest years of high