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Shortcomings of standardized tests
Academic argument about standardized testing
Shortcomings of standardized tests
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In the United States, standardized testing is used to measure how knowledgeable or unknowledgeable a person is in a particular subject. Standardized tests are exams designed to measure a student’s scholastic performance. These tests are a controversial issue, because some people feel the test do not show the students’ intelligence. I am one of these people. What the test may cover may not be what the students have learned in class. However, some critics feel “that standardized tests allow administrators, teachers, and parents the opportunity to view solid evidence of the students’ performance, which in turn could lead to curriculum changes” (Banta, p.1). Standardized tests also create unnecessary stress for students. These tests require students to study or cram for many hours and puts them in a demanding social setting where they are forced to answer difficult questions.
Standardized testing was once a good idea, to test the students’ capabilities and to see how they compare with other districts, but teachers teach using different methods and focus on different issues. What they think is important may not be what other teachers feel is important or what the state thinks is important. So, as a student you learn more about what the teacher deems important, but are evaluated on by what the state thinks is important. Standardized tests are not a reliable way to evaluate someone’s intelligence. This brings us back to what the students were taught in class and how it has been assimilated. Curriculum is said to be affected by the standardized test. Some critics say, “That teachers are going to teach what will be covered on the test and unfortunately the information not covered on the test is not taught” (Banta, p.2). I know that if st...
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...a greater challenge than what can be tested in a multiple-choice format. Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act say that there is immense pressure on school officials, teachers, students, and parents. That pressure to succeed creates a poor environment for learning—an environment of fear, rather than discovery.
Such tests reward quick answers to superficial questions. They do not measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any field. Their use encourages a narrowed curriculum, outdated methods of instruction, and harmful practices such as grade retention and tracking. “Standardized testing can be wrongfully used as fuel for those with political agendas. This is a sad reality far too often across all levels of the political realm. Education is a hot political topic and rightfully so, but the center of this debate is often standardized test scores. “(Meador)
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
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
This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far outweighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schools function, but instead they have impaired the natural learning ability of students and imposed upon the judgment of experienced educators. Although a means to evaluate the progress of public schools is necessary, it is also necessary to develop more modern and effective ways of doing so. Standardized testing mandated by the federal and state governments has a negative effect on the education of America’s youth.
Standardized tests have been used to see how much a child has learned over a certain period of time. These tests have been a highly debated issue with many parents and just people in general. In the article “Opting out of standardized tests? Wrong answer,” the author Michelle Rhee argues that people should not be trying to opt out of standardized tests because it allows the country to see how much a child has learned and the things they need to improve. On the other hand, in the article “Everything You’ve Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong,” the author Kristina Rizga argues that standardized tests are not an efficient way to measure a student’s intelligence.
Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.
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.
Standardized tests prepare students for the stress, pressure, and competition of the real world that is to come in their future. The exams place pressure on students to study and comprehend the material. The exams may push students to compete with their peers and to help each other grow and do better on the tests. Although standardized testing can help students grow and be more competitive they also place a stupendous amount of pressure on students, which can lead to a severe amount of anxiety. Students have to deal with the pressure of This also places the added burden of constantly trying to do better than their peers onto students (Williams). Students are often compared with little regard to their differences (Williams). When students are forced to "perform" on these tests and do better than their fellow students it shifts the focus from actually learning the material to cramming in as much information as possible to do well on the tests. This pressure placed on the students can lead to severe anxiety and in extreme cases mental conditions. Standardized tests have become so intense that they have taken the joy out of teaching and learning for both students and teachers. This pressure affects students performance on the test, therefore the testing can not be used as a gauge of their academic
“No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning” (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents Exams, and the ACT. “Three kinds of standardized tests are used frequently in schools: achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude” (Woolfolk 550). Achievement tests can be used to help a teacher assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses in a particular subject. Diagnostic tests are typically given to elementary school students when learning problems are suspected. Aptitude tests are designed to predict how a student will perform in the future. For example, the SAT predicts performance in the first year of college. Standardized tests give educators a standard measure or “yardstick” because such a large number of students across the country take the same test. These tests are used to tell how well school programs are doing or to give a picture of the skills and abilities of students. Standardized tests; however, are problematic at all ages and levels of schooling.
Along with the effects that grades can place on to students, comes the topic of whether or not testing students on their academic abilities through the use of grades given by standardized testing is necessary for a student’s academic success. Some people argue that standardized testing is a valuable asset to the overall education system in the United States, however others speak differently on the subject. In an article written by a college student named Joshua Palackal, he states in his submission, "In case you did not know, standardized tests are exams created by testing companies. These tests are used to evaluate what students in different states and school districts have learned. However, these exams are not as innocent as they seem. Before,
“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.
Standardized testing does not truly evaluate a student’s knowledge. “High schools are turning into ‘giant test-prep centers’, effectively closing off intellectual inquiry and undermining enthusiasm of learning (and teaching)” (Wallace 4). Students are now being taught in such a fashion that all of the learning is aimed at standardized tests, whether that is state issued tests or tests that are used to analyze students for colleges. Colleges have used standardized tests such as the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Test) to choose which students would be accepted into their schools and who would not be. “Another problem with the SAT is that today so many preparation methods exist; the tests are not really a true showing of what a student knows” (Wallace 1). With so many test preparation methods, a student, or the students parents, can basically buy their score. For instance for $2100, Princeton Reviews Honors program guarantees a score of 2100 or the student will get their money back (Princeton 1). Because of programs like this, students who may not have did the best in high school, can score exceptionally high and get admitted into college solely on the fact that the students parents have an exceptional amount of money.
Standardized testing has such high-stakes, for example, if students don’t pass them they either fail or don’t graduate. Before standardized testing became a tremendous part of success in schools teachers were able to choose their own curriculum. Teachers and Students are both affected by the change in curriculum that is caused by the change in how important standardized tests are. “My high school teacher friend Ariel says, My honors English curriculum now contains only two books, instead of the 12 I used to teach. And very few short stories.
In August of 2004, a New Mexico high school teacher reported that many students didn’t take their standardized testing seriously because it didn’t affect their grades. Instead, this junior class at New Mexico Valley High School had “fun” with their testing, filling in answers in shapes such as Christmas trees, battleships, and hearts (Contreras). Though many teens understand that standardized testing isn’t completely helpful, school corporations still administer them. Why? Many would say that they assess the teachers and measure the intelligence and performance of students, but it is arguable that they are unnecessary and measure the amount that students care and/or pay attention instead.
Every year, the average American student who attends public school is forced to prepare for standardized tests even though it is not necessarily beneficial to his or her education. Standardized testing has become a main focus in modern day schools across the U.S nation, causing a monumental increase in the amount of time a student prepares for a test. On an estimate, students are expected to study a staggering amount of 60 to 110 hours a year in order to get decent, meaning and average C or higher, on the standardized tests. Not only is standardized test producing a large amount of unnecessary work in order to score the apparent intelligence of the body of students, but it also comes at a high expense. “Including the cost of lost instructional time (at $6.15 per hour, equivalent to the per-student cost of adding one hour to the school day), the estimated annual testing cost per pupil ranged from $700 to more than $1,000 per pupil in several grades that participated in standardized testing”. (Strauss). Even though standardized tests are commonly known for benefitting the country as a whole, it is not improving the education in America because it is not enabling young American students to reach their full potential.
In the educational society today many ways to teach our children and have them get the most out of learning is up for debate. Each time the Department of Education has a meeting the topic of standardized testing and how it is working comes to the forefront. We have a mixed response and two sides that want the same thing but are not certain either way is right or necessary or even what is most important, actually helping the children. In our discussions we have found that as a team we are for and against standardized testing.