Standardized Testing is a very controversial topic in the academic teachings community lately. There is a very big divide between what students and parents feel about these tests verse what big corporations think about these tests. Is it viable? Does it truly test the smartness of a student? These questions are the few questions that are at the core of this topic. For students in high schools all around the United States, standardized tests are what matters to them most when it comes to schooling. It is what determines what classes they take, if they progress into the next grade, and how they are ranked compared to other students around America. However, these tests are causing high school teenagers more harm than good. In South Brunswick High …show more content…
This makes sense given how prestigious South Brunswick High School is compared to other schools around America. With that being said, how do students feel as testing dates come around? We found that majority of our participants felt either nervous, slightly nervous, or neutral. Only 19% of our participants said they were slightly confident while 12% said they were confident. With majority of students feeling uneasy about the upcoming tests it is easy to see why many students despite taking these tests. Now, since standardized tests invoke such uneasy feelings in students, we asked our participants if they took any drugs to help them take, or study for the test. With many drugs like adderall used to treat ADHD, students are likely to use such drugs to help them focus on test. Fortunately, we found that 85.2% of our participants denied using any drugs while studying or taking these tests. However, the other 14.8% of students who do take drugs can not be overlooked. Having students in such high stress environments like this where some are driven to take drugs just to get by is unacceptable. Finally, due to all the tests that are being
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.
Some supporters of these tests argue that the new computerized testing is better, however, the test day truly showed the hamartia of the test. When having a school as large as Hudson, with its 1,600 students, you might take a moment to consider what the effect of 1,600 students using the school’s minute network. If you guessed that it would take more than a half-hour-hour for all of them just to get to the system, you’re
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.
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.
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).
Standardized testing has become one of the most popular types of testing in U.S. public schools to date. Students take numerous standardized tests throughout their childhood schooling. (Studies show that a typical student takes an average of 112 mandated standardized tests between Pre-K and 12th grade.) While standardized testing is one of the main procedures that Universities use to judge incoming students, it is not proven to be the most effective way to convey a student’s actual intelligence level. The U.S. should not focus so heavily on standardized testing because it is not a complete accurate measurement of a student’s intelligence.
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.
In spite of the fact that the United States allows everyone to have a chance, in view of government sanctioned testing, the extended periods of time at school and the way students are being left behind makes the American education system plummet. “As much as 90% of variation in student development is clarified by factors outside the control of educators” (Teachers 1). Regardless of whether there are issues outside of school or at school young people carry on with a troublesome life. With all the work and pressure they consume on a daily basis, it is astounding that they get through it. All these issues in their life essentially make it harder for them to take these tests and like the name states it is standard.
In the Atlanta our high school students are more stressed than ever, the amount of teenagers facing depression has more than double than in recent years and that number is steadily climbing. This can be attributed towards many things but standardized testing seems to be one of the biggest problems. Students futures are dependent on good test score, these test are large and strenuous forcing students to stay up in the wee hours studying. Its now higher the way our economy is built today. Some people are second guessing about attending college.
Schools focus too much on testing, they spend 1,110 minutes on 18.5 hours on studying for testing. Eighth graders have 2.3 on testing and from preschool to 12th grade, students took 112 exams. Others may say we learn from these tests and it is between preschool and 12th is 12 years. But, students stress over how many
“Certain stress related illness range from asthma, obesity, diabetes, headaches, depression, anxiety, and gastrointestinal problems such as acid reflux” (10 Fixable stress related...). When our researchers went out and asked people about how they felt about these standardized tests they said “... Whenever I take these tests I feel Stressed out and overwhelmed at times. I have gone nights before these tests without sleeping because I have stressed out over it too much” (Is Standardized testing right...). This is a growing problem for our students that needs to be stopped. “Because students know that test scores may affect their future lives, they do whatever they can to pass them, including cheating and taking performance drugs” (What you need to know about...).
Standardized testing is a fundamental part of the American education system and that has been the case for many years. During those years, such testing has provided the education system with some benefits. However, for the most part, this testing has had a detrimental effect on the quality of schools, how teachers teach, the education of students, and the American education system itself. As such, this kind of testing has proved to be more harmful than it is beneficial. As a result, standardized testing should be removed from the American education system because it influences schools to inefficiently use classroom instruction time, encourages inefficient teaching methods, produces inaccurate scores, and restricts the creativity of students, a quality that they need.
First of all, too much valuable learning time is spent testing. According to Newsela article on standardized tests, about 20-25 hours are spent each year specifically on standardized tests. Likewise, the average public school eighth grader spends about 2.3% of the school year taking exhausting
The problem can only get worse. Standardized testing only evaluates students on one day and the standards cause teachers to teach only the standards. No test can give a full perspective. Parents need to be more involved in the testing.