World domination. It may simply begin through the depths of an evil scientist, but in reality, standardized tests are the culprit. Standardized Testing: two words that as soon as teachers, their students, and administrators hear this, they fret. The day where all outstanding abilities acquired throughout the year is assessed at once. All this joyful news of how standardized testing supposedly creates miracles of our knowledge, increasing student achievement, may be proven wrong or right, but that is not our deepest concerns. A student’s mental/physical health and future as an authentic learner is most at risk here. No matter how many cries from multiple students are heard, they continue to be silenced. Simply put, all standardized testing should be abolished for they are hurting students both in and out of classrooms. As students we deserve the ability to access authentic learning, however, with standardized testing heavily relied on, students are deprived of this interaction. In order to comprehend the authenticity being compromised, we must first understand, what is authentic learning. Steve Revington, awarded The Prime Minister's Award of Teaching …show more content…
Machines. Can a machine identify one detail that entails innovation or originality? If there is anything compelling to a student’s understanding of the world, it is guaranteed it will not be on a standardized test. Former U.S President Barack Obama said, “Teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests.” Students have only limited time be dedicating their precious minutes for these tests instead of doing something that revolutionizes the world. However, with standardized testing still in place, there is no presence of authentic learning. Without authentic learning students become rote learners like robots trained for the next cue, blindly endangering the bright future ahead of
Standardized testing not only stresses out students, but it also leads the teachers to go in a dilemma whether to focus on the curriculum or to get students ready for the standardized testing. No one has ever enjoyed taking a test in his or her entire educational history. Similarly Mr. Estrada’s 4th grade class was not every excited about taking standardized test. Each student has his or her own level of learning. As the students were taking the test, I noticed some students were panicking, while others were confused.
Proponents see standardized testing as a way of making testing more efficient and effective by minimizing cost and increasing people’s accountability for their performance in the system. Opponents on the other hand argue that the systems has limitations based on its very nature on what can be tested and as a result of these standards needing to be met sacrifice some very important aspects of students education experience as well as force onto students and teachers a one size fits all model that has failed to deliver on its promises. After having reviewed all the evidence in detail it becomes clear to me that standardized testing is not an effective system for educating students and does more bad than good
Standardized tests have been historically used to measure how students compare with each other and how much of a particular curriculum they have learned. Increasingly, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and schools(Galegroup). Standardized testing is not an effective measurement of how capable and knowledgeable a student is due to it negatively impacting schools, its serious limitations, and its harm on student’s learning. The greater emphasis that has been placed on standardized testing in public schools has created a significant negative impact on the education system.
In America, there is quite a lengthy history of standardized testing. It all began in 1838 when the American education system began to form ideas of having tests that would be transformed into formal measures of student academic achievement. They were originally created to hopefully show student improvement and academic knowledge, which is also their most common use up to today. The commonly dreaded standardized test, the ACT, was created in order to help more colleges improve their enrollment numbers, and colleges needed a new standardized test in order to do so. But lately, these forms of standardized testing seem to be causing damage to students.
She stated that these “high-stakes” test will not reflect his true abilities due to pressure. Some educators agree that the testing format from standardized tests are not ideal. However, there were other educators who disagree stating that these tests are needed to ensure that educators are doing their job and for student to absorb the material (Tony 8). What the standardized tests already ensure are the unbiased and reliable way in measuring a student’s ability and a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. Having said that, making stricter standards and increasing testings are way to better the student in preparation for college.
In fact, the increasing use of standardized testing will do more damage than good, because of its failure to capture the entirety of a student’s body of work. Furthermore, the overwhelming stress that the United States government, and school systems have placed on the usage of standardized tests has become detrimental to American education, and is not the most effective way to gauge the intelligence of American students. The American educational system should be fixated on providing each child enough attention and information so they can succeed in that class and in the future. However, the increasing focus on having to pass a standardized test has blinded schools of the real goal, because they are required to get their students to pass the standardized tests.
Standardized Testing is a great way to see your students growth throughout the years, For these reasons there should not be more testing in schools. these hours) of testing show stress and damage to their education. These test are a waste of time, show distance, create behavior change and may change your social life or future.
By doing so, we can rely on assessments that allow students to practice and apply material in order to foster retention and mastery (Ravitch 261). Ravitch discusses Finland and how they completely reformed their educational system into a structure that has students take zero standardized tests until they reach the college application process, a method that was enacted to promote teacher accountability and place a stronger emphasis on the noncognitive aspects of individual development. A component of the basis for the argument, Ravitch states, is that while standardized testing may be effective when it is administered fairly, it often impairs students’ abilities to critically analyze information and leaves them practicing how to guess the “right answer.” Addressing this issue is a responsibility that falls on administrators and policymakers; they must be held accountable and required to make changes that best meet the constantly evolving needs of the students. In this case, completely modifying the concept of standardized testing is a necessity.
Why We Should Kill Standardized Testing Standardized testing: the nightmare of every student’s school year. There are many problems with the state using standardized testing as a measure of a student’s success in the classroom. One of these reasons is that some students are just not good test-takers. People are still not realizing the problems with standardized testing, as in the US, all 50 states require students to take these tests. Standardized tests are not just a worry for students, they are also an inconvenience to teachers.
In recent years testing has been a huge component of public education in the United States. Students take year long classes and then are forced to take long exams based on what they have learned. The problem with this is that many of these classes don’t provide students with the tools that they need to function outside the classroom. It is true that some of these classes are necessary and need to be taught, however, this is not the case for all of them. Standardized testing needs to be re-evaluated and replaced with more beneficial ways of teaching students information.
School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the
Standardized testing creates an environment where children come to despise learning and with that, begin to despise the pursuit of knowledge in general. This focus on “rote learning” stays with children their entire lives, hindering their ability to think at a deeper level and even to create independent and original thoughts and
Introduction Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates. Thesis Statement Standardized tests should not be eliminated completely, but should rather be evaluated in addition to other factors such as grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer hours. This would take pressure off of students during standardized tests, allow colleges to see how well-rounded the students are, and give students who are better in other areas
Educational companies that produce these tests are ordinarily doing it for profit, the same tests are produced and used for the same things, evaluation of effectiveness of teachings on students, performance of teachers, classes, how well schools are doing overall, rather than individual tests and observation methods for different categories. These companies are more in the business for the financial aspect and acquisition they would earn from this, rather than enriching the minds of the new generation. The standardized tests do not provide any ways for students to improve and develop off of their test results. They are not being taught how to think, how to be inventive and imaginative, instead about memorization of content. (Armstrong, 1)
I. Students average 20-25 hours a year taking standardized testing, according to a study completed by the Council of Great City Schools. II. This testing is used for a variety of things, all of which affect the way we are educated. III. Through my research on testing, I have found that the tests that we have all sat through are not as accurate as one may think.