Throughout high school and college we will go through a vast amount of testing but why? Testing is used to show a person’s amount of knowledge on a particular subject. Usually it’s for one specific subject and not a majority of them, the standardized tests include all testable subjects as in English, math, science, writing, and reading. However, before we can all begin our college careers we have to take one of two tests, the ACT or the SAT. These two tests determine the college you get into, the amount of scholarships you will receive, and even whether or not your will be accepted into any college.
These standardized tests are used by schools because they find that it is an easy way to test a student’s ability. However, the issue in doing this is for example, the ACT is all multiple choice. Exams such as these do not give the option to include worded feedback to show that you at least know something about the subject. Multiple choice exams have this problem, they can’t test the information that a person fully knows, it only tests whether they chose the right answer or possibly just guessed it. With only a slew of multiple choice questions it can be easy to get a “good” score or a “bad” score. That’s why these tests are flawed, the results they show don’t prove anything or really show anything for that matter.
So, using these long multiple choice exams are what college’s consider to be a reflection of a student’s grades during their first year at college. The test maker itself explains that grade point averages during high school paint a better picture than their tests ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused" 1). College’s use these standardized tests as a quick measure of ability. However, a test cannot explo...
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Kohn, Alfie. N.p.. Web. 25 Mar 2014. . (Kohn)
"The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused." Fair Test. FairTest, 20 Aug 2007. Web. 25 Mar 2014. . ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused")
Meaghan, Diane, and Francois Casas. Bias in standardized testing and the misuse of test scores: Exposing the Achilles heel of education reform. Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives, 2004. 35-50. eBook. (Meaghan and Casas 35-50)
Students should not have to take a test just to enter in to college because students are more than a test score, they are people too. Why are students compared with a test score that – more often than not - does not reflect their academic ability? These tests are biased because people write the questions and, therefore, they can make the question wordy and choose which ones to omit (Pollard). These test do not measure a person’s intelligence; rather, their test taking ability. As proof, the ACT science portion of the test do not pertain to science knowledge at all; rather, it ...
... a tedious process, but the change can have immense, positive effects for the future college student. The ACT and SAT that supposedly measure a student's learning potential through multiple-choice questions should be replaced by a test of a student's desire to learn determined through the analysis of essays, recommendation letters, and school or community involvement. This change can result in a more academically motivated freshman class. Standardized testing in its current form does not accurately measure most students' learning potential. It does not allow for diversity and creates a huge hurdle for many potential academic achievers. An adjustment to a diverse, open testing format of the ACT or SAT and a stress on the student's other academic accomplishments can accurately measure the student's desire to learn, therefore measuring the student's learning potential.
Aitken, N., Webber, C. F., Lupart, J., Scott, S., & Runté, R. (2011, July). Assessment in Alberta: six areas of concern. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 192-209). Taylor & Francis Group.
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Thousands of students around the country and around the world will be preparing for the SAT and ACT tests while trying to maintain a high GPA. These tests will potentially have a significant impact on students' lives. Some will be taking these tests for the second or even third time to get that 1500 out of 1600 or that 33 out of 36, that they long desire. These flawed tests are not truly able to measure how well students will perform in college as they are supposedly used to predict. A single test that students have to wake up for at six, seven in the morning on a Saturday and travel to some random location to take a difficult test should not impact the student's chance of getting into college, let alone predict how well they will do in college.
Since elementary school, students have been sharpening their No. 2 pencils, preparing to fill in the bubbles on their standardized tests. To younger children, these tests aren’t a very big deal. But little do they know that the tests they take in elementary school are practice for the biggest test they will take in their lives. This test is the ACT, or the SAT. These tests are a huge deal. Students’ results on these tests could change their plans for the future, and that’s a lot of pressure. So are these tests really all that they are made out to be? Are they really that important enough to stress about so much? Many people have started to say that standardized tests are hurting American schools, and that they put too much pressure on students.
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...
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
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.
Amongst the most common forms of standardized tests both, the Scholastic Aptitude test ( commonly known as the SAT) and the American college test or the ACT are standardized tests that have been used nationwide to test a student’s academic skills which ultimately serve as a ticket to being admitted into universities. The SAT and ACT are not just tests that measure the skills and knowledge retained in the year prior to the test. In fact the tests are based on cumulative knowledge. The test are normally taken during the summer after a student has completed eleventh grade and each students is expected to perform based on the information obtained from the years prior or even after ( 9th, 10th, ,and maybe in the beginning of 12th grade) . The test are used to measure a student’s ability to learn, retain and apply critical thinking, verbal and written skills.
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
As many of us know, the ACT is a standardized test we all must take before being accepted into most colleges. For some people this test is difficult, for some it a breeze. Some people study hard for this test, and some people do not. It just simply depends on who you are and the type of test taker you are. In this paper, I will be arguing that everyone taking the ACT should not be graded under the same standards. First, I will explain what a standardized test is and specifically, what the ACT is. Second, I will bring up an counter argument that the ACT, in some instances, is tested the best way the way it is now because it is sometimes the best way for some people to test and offer my objection to it. Third, I will
The present-day education system in Ontario has progressed tremendously over the past few decades, but additional improvements can always be crafted. The government you direct has the potential to make revolutionary changes to the education system, which will benefit future generations of students in the long run. The following proposal deals with the topic of standardized testing within secondary schools and the consequences it may bring. Standardized tests are not necessary in secondary schools as they severely impact the mental health of students and subject material is not remembered in the long term. As a result, standardized tests should be removed from the curriculum and instead replaced with more class lessons relating
Standardized testing is used in most schools and institutions. These are tests that are all identical in testing of the subject matter, and all administered and recorded in a consistent method. Standardized tests usually have multiple-choice, or true or false questions, and testers are given a certain amount of time to answer all the problems. Standardized testing is usually used to compare the performance of students in a relative manner. Many people consider standardized testing as a fair way of grading a student, since computerized scoring removes any kind of possible bias. Millions are spent on these tests, such as the ACT and SAT, every year since these need to be taken in order for admission into most higher education institutions. Although
Standardized tests such as the ACT only put pressure on students’; they are told to get accepted to a college they need to score at least twenty-five or so. That only stresses students’ out because they want to get into a good college. They study like crazy (even though there’s no real way to study for the ACT), and only to end up in the end with a bad score that only shatters their self-confidence. Yes, standardized tests are supposed to determine where students range academically, but the tests do not prove how far students will go in life. Ideally the standardized tests define our futures; this means nothing if we are trained to take the test and succeed. Also, I do not believe that the tests fully measure the intelligence of students. The standardized tests in my opinion only measure how well students are at taking a standardized test (especially the ACT). The No Child Left Behind Act that was passed in 2001 starts testing children early (in elementary and secondary education) to make sure they are learning the basic skills. I remember taking the ISAT’s in elementary school and getting anxiety because the school perceived it as such an important test. As well as getting the scores back, when I didn’t do so well, I remember feeling like I wasn’t smart enough because that’s the way the school talked about the