Benefits Of Standardized Testing

An issue surfaced when Kath M. Newman, an associate professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, stated that she was angry at her son about a test. 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.

“Well-intentioned parents who want their children to be successful in school can place so much pressure on the kids that they resort to cheating” (American federation of teachers). To improve this, teachers and parents need to be mindful of how their students feel and need to not push them as much. You could see why people might think cheating is okay and vital to succeed, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s wrong and that you should talk to your teachers about how you

Standardized testing has become a very controversial topic amongst the nation. There are two sides, one that agrees that these tests are doing well for students and school officials, and another that argues that these tests are hurting the students taking them and should be put to a stop. Norman R. Augustine wrote an article for the need of standardized testing, and Jessie B. Ramey States the ways that the tests are impairing the learning capability of the students. Norman uses three arguments that people opposing the standardized test would most often use. The first is that these test encourages the teachers just to “teach the test”, but he ensures that, this is exactly what the teachers should be doing.

Studies show that this numerical score, otherwise known as VAM (value-added modeling), is both unstable and unfair. The overwhelming tendency for the same teacher’s scores to fluctuate between multiple years concerns the critics of standardized tests and is a major flaw in the system. As stated by Diane Henningfeld, author of Standardized Testing- At Issue, “the true quality of a teacher is likely to change very little over time” (54). The current system, however, frequently penalizes educators when natural fluctuation occurs. Constantly replacing seemingly ineffective teachers is harmful because it does not leave the opportunity for teachers to get comfortable in their position.

They served as a way in which to compare students on a large scale. The beauty behind it was that each student was given identical tests and there were no discrepancies. Yet, something that the school system failed to realize is that equal does not mean the same. When everyone is given the same test and some are unable to produce the same results because of mental disabilities or language barriers, we begin to unfold the first layer of standardized testing problems. Since the introduction of standardized tests, we have seen a larger focus on trying to catch everyone up to the ability to take the same test.

For example, decrease in importance of high-stakes and use diverse strategies. Most of the disadvantages of it effects the school, teachers, and students as a whole not just individually. Many problems have occurred from these tests such as test taking anxiety, competition between teachers, racial and poverty inequalities, and devotion towards tests. These reasons show how standardized tests are not helping schools and students, but, hurting them. Effects of student test taking are said to lead to test related nervousness.

Standardized testing can quickly the only indicator of student and teacher accomplishment. The United States would be able to rabidly fix the testing problem with a simple touch-up of their education laws. "Despite ample evidence of the flaws, biases and inaccuracies of standardized exams, NCLB and related state and federal policies, such as Race to the Top (RTTT) and the NCLB waivers, have pressured schools to use tests to measure student learning, achievement gaps, and teacher and school quality, and to impose sanctions based on test scores" ("How Standardized Testing Damages Education" 1). The United States education system can be fixed by removing mandated testing. Laws such as NCLB, and RTTT should no longer exist.

This movement has become very popular with both parents and students. The idea is that if everybody continues to opt out from test eventually schools will realize that testing is not working and they will change the ‘norm’ of education. However, the only issue is that they do not provide a good alternative method, their main objective is to raise awareness on how stressful test situations are not the answer. They are on the right track but you can’t just wipe out testing and expect students to magically do better. The solution I am proposing is a whole new school system.

To sum it up, paying student for good grades can lead to practical problems in teacher classroom. When considering the choice of paying student for good grade or not, the choice should definitely be not to pay student for good grades. Kids should not be paid for good grades because it gives pressure to students to inflate their grades, can lead to external motivators that may be affective and well intended and kids should be satisfied with their own accomplishment to success. For those who say paying for good grade is something every parents should do, it is not because kids are being bribed to do well in school. School is their own job and the own

Froylan Mendez Professor Mattoon English 1C 12 March 2017 High School Education The education system in high schools is more troubling than elementary and middle school because those are the kind of students that shouldn’t get all the attention. From past experiences with the system and everything that comes along with it. Some of the problems with the education would be the teachers giving too much attention, how they grade and giving extra credit when it isn’t necessary. Teachers shouldn’t be giving students too much attention because they’ll expect it more from every person. The teachers have a weird way of grading student’s papers such as curving their tests, making them easy enough so they don’t have to grade anything.