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the truth about standardized tests
academic arguement about standardized testing
standardized testing in education
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Standardized testing is one of the most hotly debated topics in education. Experts in education have different views on the topic. Standardized testing refers to a testing method whereby students are subjected to the same assessment procedures set by examiners that intend to examine and score them as part of a wider student’s body. Standardized tests are of two kinds, the aptitude tests and the achievement tests. The aptitude test examines the students’ advanced skills or competency. Achievement tests evaluate students’ understanding in a formal educational institution and reviews their performance and understanding of key concepts. While evaluating the pros and cons of standard testing, it is evident that researchers and educators question whether it measures how effective the school taught the concepts to the student or whether it asses the students’ comprehension of the basic concepts taught. The articles under review define and explain the pros and cons but fail to offer an alternative method of assessing students.
Standardized testing brings a sense of accountability to both the teachers and the students. According to Derrick Meador, an industry expert, teachers have to deliver effectively in preparing students for the standardized testing. He also states that there is also the advantage of the results of the students going public. This puts pressure on the school as a whole because the results will be a reflection of how much effort they put in their schoolwork. This publicity also ensures that a teachers performance is evaluated and poses the risk of a teacher losing their job or the school being closed and given to the state (Meador, n.d.).
Standardized testing makes it possible to create a clear qualitative compar...
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...mprehension. Educators must standardize their curriculum however, a standardized universal curriculum does not consider each individual student’s environment. Researchers have show that the student’s comprehension is pegged on their environment. In addition, the pedagogy style employed is also dependent on the environment, which standardized testing does not consider.
Works Cited
Meador, Derrick . "Standardized Testing."About.com Teaching. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .
Popham, W. James. "Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality." Educational Leadership 56 (1999): 8-16.
Ravitch, Diane.. "Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching." NPR. NPR, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
Current educational policy and practice asserts that increased standardized student testing is the key to improving student learning and is the most appropriate means for holding individual schools and teachers accountable for student learning. Instead, it has become a tool solely for summarizing what students have learned and for ranking students and schools. The problem is standardized tests cannot provide the information about student achievement that teachers and students need day-to-day. Classroom assessment can provide this kind of information.
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
Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.
Ravitch, Diane.. "Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching." NPR. NPR, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
Kohn, Alfie. "Standardized Testing and Its Victims." Education Week. N.p., 27 Sept. 2000. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
"The Standardized Testing Debate: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly." TakePart. N.p., n.d. 22 Feb 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much pressure on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events. Standardized testing puts strain on teachers and students causing unhealthy occurrences, Common Core is thrown at teachers with no teaching on how to teach the new way which dampers testing scores for all students, and the American College Test determines whether a child gets into college or not based on what they have learned during high school. Standardized tests are disagreeable; tests should not determine ranking of people.
Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.
Peterson, B. & Neill, M. (2014). Alternatives to standardized testing. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.a sp?path=archive/13_03/assess.shtml
Popham, W. J. (1999, March). Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15.
Sacks, Peter. "The Toll Standardized Tests Take." National Education Association. 2000. Web. 2 July 2015.
“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 remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.