The average American student takes about 112 standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade (Strauss). A standardized test is any form of test that requires the student to answer the same selection of common questions in a consistent matter, which makes it possible to compare relative student performance. Standardized tests restrict creativity, waste time, and waste money. We should get rid of standardized tests in our school system.
Standardized tests limit a student’s ability to express creativity. Since almost every standardized tests is multiple choice, students aren’t allowed to think outside the box. Some students need to explain their answers in a creative way, but they can’t because of our testing system. They are forced
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Annually, about 1.7 billion dollars are spent on standardized tests (Ujifusa). These tests waste a lot of money and do not improve education in any way. The 1.7 billion dollars that we waste could be spent on higher education, but instead it’s wasted on these tests. Students across America are struggling to pass their classes, and they could use more support from teachers. The money that we’re wasting on standardized tests could go to helping these students, but it’s practically thrown away. There needs to be a better use for this money.
Not only are these tests a waste of money, but they’re also a waste of time. Standardized tests take between 20 to 25 hours out of the school year, but the amount of time that students spend studying for them is immeasurable. Students do not learn anything during the testing process.
Most students already struggle finding time to do homework, and they have to study for standardized tests on top of their already busy lives. The time that students spend outside of class studying for standardized tests could be used for something more productive. The school also has to create a modified schedule so students can take the standardized test- it will most likely result in shorter class periods, cutting away from valuable learning time. These tests waste incalculable hours during the school day and outside of
Schools are giving out too many standardized tests. It’s not only robbing them of their time, but it’s also causing stress and anxiety and going into far levels. Students need to be focusing on their learning academics and preparing for their future. Taking unuseful tests are not only pointless, but they put too many kids/teens into anxiety and even depression.
Last week President Obama announced that he believes the school in america should have less standardized tests. President Obama says “students are spending too much time in the classroom taking tests, many of them unnecessary, and urged officials in the country’s schools to take steps to administer fewer and more meaningful exams.” The white house agrees by saying “a problem the administration acknowledged it has played a role in — has taken away too much valuable time that could be better spent on learning, teaching and fostering creativity in schools. To curb excessive testing, Obama recommended limiting standardized exams to no more than 2% of a student's instructional time in the classroom.” This would allow the student to spend more
Standard testing is a very controversial and important subject because it deals with the progression of the American education system. The practice of these assessments has been highly scrutinized not only for the way it has changed the format of classrooms, but also for its accuracy, pressure, and abundance. In 2001, standardized testing became federally mandated through the No Child Left Behind Act by former president George Bush Jr. According to research from the Council of the Great City Schools, students have been taking “an average of 113 tests from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade” (K. Hefling). These numbers have increased to the point where parents have opted for their children to not attend standardized exams.
The tests narrow down the curriculum to focus on the subjects that are on the test, forgetting about the other subjects. Standardized tests cannot measure all that schools teach like how to be a problem solver. Standardized tests have not improved America’s education system. Every once in a while the world will submit their schools performance and they will be ranked with
They even will take out daily announcements and pep-rallies to “prepare” the students for the tests they have that day (Ramey). With everything comes a Pro and Con side, but it is to find middle ground which is important. This argument of standardized testing, has the side of the nation trying to keep up with the standards of other country, because we are falling a bit behind in academics, compared to other countries. There is where a line where students aren’t getting the all-round experience and knowledge that they need to succeed.
Students want to have a childhood, they don’t want to sit in a school building taking tests. “‘Kids spend too much class time taking standardized tests,’ President Barack Obama said on October 24. According to a new report, “students spend 20 to 25 hours each school year, taking these tests”(A Call). Students are spending a whole day staring at a computer or paper bubbling in answers that they won’t even remember the next day. Kids aren’t learning anything from
Despite the fact that the standardized tests might have a little relevance, they are very useless to us students. If you care anything about college, then why would you care about standardized testing? College doesn’t see your test scores. How do you expect the school boards to make us students take all these standardized tests they want to give us seriously, when they know that they have no meaning and so do the students. No one likes taking a recreational test anyway.
As reported by the Office of Work/Life of the Columbia University there are both pros and cons of standardized testing. They state that the main benefit is that these tests make schools and teachers accountable, and that they should teach what students need to know for these tests. This, however, has a con; teachers may lose jobs and schools may be even shut if students repeatedly, which will put extreme pressure on both parties, in turn, causing them to teach only what would be necessary, hindering a student’s potential. Another pro included in this report is the ability that it gives educational boards to evaluate sub-groups and develop programs so as to better educate them. Standardized tests also allow parents to see how their children are doing in school compared to the country, state, or municipality.
Standardized testing (SATs), in the United States has been present for years and has caused plenty of teachers, students, parents, and other individuals who are informed about it to have different perspectives and opinions on it. Before doing my research on the different opinions people had on standardized tests, I always believed they were encouraged by professors and school facilities. As a student myself and on the behalf of other students, standardized tests were always perceived to be stressful and unjust. Test taking was never a strength of mine especially if the test was timed because it just added more pressure to answer the questions quick. In high school, my teachers never discussed how they felt towards the SATs, which made
Introduction Attention Grabber: If you are not good at taking tests, does it mean that you are not going to be successful? The test is just a number who can be alternated whether you cheap it or not and how focused you were when taking it. As students, teachers, and parents, we are all familiar with the concept of standardized testing. However, have you ever stopped to consider whether or not these tests are actually necessary or beneficial? Today, I want to discuss why I believe standardized testing should be eliminated in our education system.
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
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
As a student in high school did you ever feel like the standardized test are helping you or making you get in to a better college? Have you ever thought about how many hours students and teachers spend preparing for the standardized test? Many hours and studying are being put into those test but are they really effective and are the test doing the students good in life? Standardized tests are really just to effective, teachers and students spend too much time on them and it’s not doing the students any good, and even it’s not doing the teachers any good. Standardized tests in schools today in Ohio should be stopped because they are causing for teachers to be evaluated by the test results of how the students do on the tests, they are having the students more stressed about school and do they benefit you in colleges and university and do they really look at how well students do on them test.
Test money can be used to buy other more important things that most schools are lacking. According to Kira Goldring in the article Do Standardized Tests Improve Education? She illustrates, “There are schools all over America that are in dire need of updated materials, funding for teachers, school psychologists, more after-school programs, ect.” For instance, if schools stopped spending so much money on tests, students would get better materials. In addition, the amount of money being spent on tests is ridiculous.
A standardized test, according to W. James Popham of ASCD.org, is “any examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.” In standardized testing, examinees are instructed to precisely answer a specific set of questions, which are usually multiple-choices. Although standardized testing is believed to be an objective method to grade students, administers should understand that these tests are not only a waste of time, but also a waste of money. Standardized testing is irrelevant to a student’s education because it is an unreliable way to measure a student’s knowledge, causes stress, and hinders a student’s overall learning potential.