Standardized Testing: Good?or Bad?
If you're in school, you may wonder why you need to take standardized tests.
You may think there is nothing good that comes out of standardized testing, and teachers are just trying to put you through misery, but, in all, they're really not. In fact, although standardized testing may not be the most exciting, and it's probably something you don't look forward to, usually stressful, in the end, it's going to benefit you. In 2011, 93% of studies on students, and those taking large-scale and high-stakes standardized testing, said to have found a, “positive effect” on student achievement.
Standardized testing has the ability to provide an estimated idea on where you stand academically, and gives you teacher
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Not mentioning how it is an individual test, which doesn't show your overall growth.
But in my opinion, standardized testing, although not much fun, is worth taking, and trying your best on. Without standardized testing, teachers would not know how much a student has grown, or learned from her class, and it would be more difficult to place a student in the correct class for them. So that you're not too advanced for a class, or maybe needing some extra help in some areas. In June, 2009, a survey of 1,342 school systems were surveyed to find that 71% of students think the number of tests that they take is, “about right” and 79% think the questions on the test are, “fair.”
Standardized testing is also helping you prepare for your future, or college. Standardized testing may seem, “rough” now, but in school is also not the only time you will be taking standardized testing either. If you're planning in working as a physician, lawyer, real-estate broker, or a pilot, you will be seeing these types of tests again to make sure you have the necessary knowledge for your
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
Although standardized testing is supposed to reflect what the students have learned, they often times do not to the fullest potential. What some educators may not take into consideration is the limited resources and ways that teachers are able to get the information across. Standardized testing not only has a negative effect on the things listed above but also a negative impact on the learning styles. Many standardized test are created to improve student achievement, but studies show that the testing format has not improved this at all. Standardized tests also do not incorporate all of the different types of learning, and since this is the case not all of the testing results are measured accurately, which can make the results be very incorrect.
Some may say standardized tests are a wonderful thing for schools to test their students but I'm here to tell you why they are bad. The standardized tests have too many problems that need to be changed. There is problems with how many are taken and they need to be fixed. There are too many problems with these tests and the government needs to modify them. So this essay will explain that standardized tests are bad and they need to be fixed, because kids take too many of them, countries who take less are outscoring us, and they are too low quality.
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.
Standardized testing assesses students, teachers, and the school itself, which puts a great deal of pressure on the students. High scores show that the school is effective in teaching students, while low test scores make teachers and schools look as though they are not teaching the students properly. This is not always the case. There are teachers who do teach students what they need to know to pass the test, but their students are still unprepared. Although teachers try to improve instruction, student performance is still variable to other factors that the school cannot control.
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.
Argument Against Standardized Testing President Bush is promoting annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight. This bill is currently being considered in Congress, and has garnered much support. As of right now, 15 states test students in those grades, and more than 20 have high school exit exams, which look only at the test score of a student, not at his or her academic achievements. Standardized testing is an unfair and inaccurate form of judging a person’s intellect. In many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores, partly because America does not currently have the capabilities to fairly score the increasing number of tests.
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.
Throughout my educational career, I remember taking standardized exams since I was in second grade. My experience with the standardized test was never a pleasant one. At a certain point, I thought that it would hinder me from going on to the next grade, graduating high school and going to a college of my choice. I always felt that standardized test did not measure my actual intelligence and was frustrated with the concept that comparing students to others, by giving all students a basic multiple choice test, is enough to measure how well each child would do throughout the school. After I had started understanding the ranking system, I started doubting my ability to keep up with my peers, not just in my school but the state. The first exam that
First off, standardized tests do not prove student achievement. The department of education has many goals for their students. Some of these goals include creativity, motivation, and curiosity. “Standardized test measure just a portion of these goals”, which in fact, are more important for their future than a test score can ever be. These goals are real and significant achievements that can’t simply be learned from a test. This is why a test score doesn’t even come close to proving a student’s performance in school.
Abandon Standardized Testing Just about everyone has some experience with taking a Standardized test, and most likely the experience of taking a standardized test was a terrible one for everyone involved. They are terrible for teachers and students alike. Standardized tests should be abolished in the state of Wisconsin because standardized tests cause teachers to feel the need to teach to the test, taking the fun and creativity out of teaching and learning. Also, standardized tests are only beneficial and geared towards middle and upper income background children. Student tests cannot reliably, validly and fairly be used to judge educators.
According to Washington Posts, an average student takes 112 required standardized tests between pre-kindergarten to 12th grade (washingtonpost.com). Although some people see standardized testing to be beneficial for excelling in school, many consider it to be biased, a waste of time, and stressful for the
Standardized testing in elementary and middle school has detrimental effects for teachers, students and administrators by preventing students from learning about important subjects, providing inaccurate indicators of where students and teachers have shortcomings, and causing unnecessary anxiety and stress, which can replace a love of learning.
There are some advantages for having standardized tests, we can see how our schools compare with each other and we can see where what we need to work on. There are some researchers that believe that teachers over time can have different thoughts on a paper if given in different perspectives. With these tests, they are either right or wrong answers. “grades and test scores are far less likely to be generalizable than any standardized tests”
Recall your years in Grade school through High school. You must have taken some form of standardized test in one grade or two. Can you recall on how you felt about it? Did feeling of Panic, Anxiety, Stress, and when the results came back did you feel Disappointed or relieved? If so then that is a good thing for that means that the test is functioning, it’s purpose. The purpose you may ask is beside making students feel stressed out (although it is beneficial) is to help you improve and for teachers it is a way to see if the student is learning and if not then which area to focus on. Even if the test seems formidable they are beneficial for a student and teacher.