Arguments Against Standardized Testing Essay

Cohen says that most students focus primarily on the standardized test scores, and do not realize that other factors can influence the final decision as well. Finally, Cohen states that many colleges like to see all of the test scores that a student has ever obtained, so a student’s low scores will not be weighed as heavily as the same student’s high scores. Cohen asserts that an SAT score can be the difference between acceptance or rejection. She also contends that some schools have minimum requirements that must be met to have a student’s application considered. Therefore, if the SATs are flawed and imperfect, they

Many students work hard to obtain the best test scores and achieve “Straight A’s” in order to have a better chance of attending their dream college. Schools and parents often encourage children from a young age to perform their best and challenge themselves. Often the students who strive for excellence live their dream of

Angel B. Perez in the article “Want to Get Into College? Learn to fail” argues that colleges aren’t always looking for perfect student, or students that scores good. Perez supports his argument by explaining to his readers that perfection does not exist. He also tells the reader that just because we make errors in high school doesn't really mean that it’s going to define us in the future. The author’s purpose is to point out the benefits of going into college, in order to show the reader that perfection isn’t what colleges look for.

In a country that promotes the ideas of grit, innovation, resourcefulness, and growth, I find it curious that American universities are still using standardized tests as an indicator of future success in college. Although standardized tests are only one factor in admissions to many colleges, they should not be used at all because they do not accurately predict the success of students in higher educational environments. Instead of using the SAT and ACT, admissions officers should put more weight on written essays, cumulative high school grade point average, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation when deciding admissions. Although some may argue that the SAT and ACT offer a way of ranking students without factoring in grade point average, their ability to predict the future success of college students has not been demonstrated.

I feel that one’s grades show a lot about their character, dedication and determination along with several other

FW #5 A better alternative to standardized testing would be to use student portfolios in order to assess learning and growth. “A student portfolio is a systematic collection of student work and related material that depicts a student's activities, accomplishments, and achievements in one or more school subjects”(Scherba de Valenzuela). Using this system wouldn’t require kids to miss classes to take standardized tests, it’s a better representation of a student's learning during the year, and It increases self-motivation to learn and grow. It doesn’t take them out of class to take the test.

Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson).

Students leave school stressed and full of anxiety and its actually making a negative effect on their everyday life. Students get so overwhelmed that harming themselves is in the picture. The state needs to realize that students aren’t giving their 100% and they will never know their actual academic skills. So why give standardized test? Teachers need to focus on the future and teaching them skills they need in their everyday life.

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

A students ACT and SAT score is just one portion of many college applications. Colleges and Universities look at GPA, an essay, and letter of recommendations to determine a student’s admission. Many people believe that the importance of the ACT or SAT score depends on the college and what other things the student has to offer (Drinkworth, 2015). The ACT and SAT tests can be an important factor in college admissions because they tests are on all subject areas, math, reading, writing, and science. Since each area is graded separately and the score is later averaged out it shows how the students does overall in the general

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

The reason why I am academically successful in high school comes down to my work ethic. I personally believe that as long as a student works hard in high school, they can get good grades. I have friends who do not work as hard as they could and it reflects in their grades. Not to say that they have bad grades because they do not, but, if they put more effort into school they could have significantly higher GPA 's. However, work ethic, while important, is not they only necessary trait to be successful in college.

Considering these pros into action, there are cons to it. Higher salary based on standardized tests will have negative effects. More manipulation of test results will occur within this. If school board officials are seeing that students are achieving higher test scores, they will take action and give teachers the bonuses, but what the school board does not know is that the teachers are the ones manipulating the tests for their own benefits in this case for money. “Cheating teachers are on the rise as figures show the number illicitly helping children pass GCSE and A-level exams has trebled in the past two years” (Turner).

SATS and ACTS have been used for numerous years as a way to gauge a student’s academic success while in college. Students have the choice which test they would prefer to take and most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. There are a few key differences between the SAT and ACT, which may make one test more suitable than the other for those taking the tests. Many studies have proven that the SAT and ACT are not the best judge of future success, and that colleges should focus their applications more on past grades and accomplishments to decide which students should be accepted to their university. SATs and ACTs are not an effective measure of college readiness and future academic success.

Have you ever wondered how grades actually do help students throughout their career in school? Yes, many do believe grades do not help, can cause stress to students overall making them perform at a lesser level and sometimes some believe that school isn’t even needed at all in a child’s life. Grades can affect a student’s learning and constant low grades can bring them down and their mindset of just being a below average student. However, grades do help students by showing the student’s progress in school whether they are doing good or bad and grades give a goal to get a better grade by trying harder to get that grade a student wants. First, grades show progress to everyone besides just the student.