Standardized Testing In Public Schools

Standardized testing has not improved education in America. Standardized tests have been issued in schools all across the nation for years now. Some people like them and some people don’t. They do not help the student learn more information than they would without the tests. The U.S. has dropped from 18th highest scores in schools in the world to be in the 30’s on almost all of the subjects on the test.

All students dread one thing when it comes to school - testing. Standardized test are the main focus in our school systems instead of actually gaining knowledge at the end of the year. As a mother, Michelle Rhee, understands the lack of attention given on education as a whole instead of just waiting on the scores, but she still agrees on continuing with standardized test. Kristina Rizga opposes the opinion of Michelle Rhee as she does not believe standardized test truly measure the intelligence of a student. Kristina Rizga proves her stand against standardized test by utilizing solid use of argumentation.

For years standardized tests, such as the ACT, have been used as a way to rank students, determine their classes for the next year, and decide if they get into a college. Standardized testing does not show how smart a child is, it simply demonstrates how good they are at taking tests. It evaluates a student’s performance and alertness on one particular day, not in general. It is unfair to determine a child’s future with a test when it’s based on test- taking skills, and not actual knowledge. This is also unfair because many children, who are forced to take standardized tests have medical problems, such as anxiety.

Why is it that students agonize over standardized testing so much? It’s because the students know that hardly any growth comes from them and that they are often unreliable measures of intelligence or ability. On Opinionator, an opinion-sharing site maintained by the New York Times, Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, wrote, “It is entirely possible for a student to fail a test, but still have... the knowledge that we want," meaning that poor test results are not

Therefore, the argument that standardized testing helps pinpoint areas for improvement, is weak. It does not account for the students whose intelligence is poorly reflected due to their poor test-taking abilities. Nixon also said that “We can compare our students to their peers at other schools to determine what we’re doing well within our educational continuum.” Additionally, some students are extremely intelligent with poor test taking skills, while others are great test-takers. Thus, comparing students’ standardized test scores is not an efficient method to assess what needs to be improved upon.

Although there has been a drastic increase nationally over the importance of standardized tests, there has been little research on the impacts that may occur on the students. However, the students in this study did not actually fail

Over two hundred parents claim to not let a student go through standardized testing. The earliest records of standardized testing come from China, for the subjects of philosophy and poetry. America “copied” the European education system. In the early 20th century, immigrants took “standardized tests”. To determine possible career and where each person stood socially.

For students and educators all over America, “standardized testing” is a commonly heard phrase. Students from grade school to high school are typically assessed each year with a state-created test, designed to measure a year’s worth of knowledge in the form of pencilled-in bubbles. Standardized testing has been a routine practice for years, but both students and teachers have recently began questioning if too much emphasis is placed on standardized testing in schools, and if the test is able to fulfill its purpose in the first place (Bhattacharyya, Junot, and Clark para. 2). Standardized testing is an impractical, superficial, and restrictive method of assessment, which suggests that it is not a reliable tool for education and the success of

Meredith Broussard explains how standardized testing does not prove a child’s general knowledge nor creative in-depth thinking by stating, “Standardized tests are not based on general knowledge... they are based on specific knowledge contained in specific sets of books: the textbooks created by the test makers” (Broussard). Miner also states that standardized testing, “... leads to a dumbed-down curriculum that values rote memorization over in-depth thinking, exacerbates inequities for low-income students and students of color, and undermines true accountability among schools, parents, and community” (Miner). The assessment of a child should encourage a child to want to learn for the sake of learning. Alternative assessments could address a child’s development and learning process. These evaluations can determine why children are more likely to read behind grade level, instead of highlighting their inabilities.

To begin with, standardized tests are not wholly reflective of a student’s knowledge.

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 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.

Each student has a variety of skills they each manifest in, whether it’s creativity, IQ, the arts, etc… However, standardized tests never includes all of these traits that we all possess. Even though standardized tests don’t represent these traits, they are

Finally, whether standardized testing is the best way to measure achievement or not, it does have a way of giving results that if improvement needed will be a major help for learning in the

Considering the great amount of money that is poured into education, you would think that we are producing geniuses by the freight-car load, however assessment geared toward measuring academic intelligence seems to suggest otherwise. First of all, the method used for measuring, standardized testing, can be greatly flawed just from the virtue that it’s a test. Tests are often described as tedious and nerve-wracking. Anxiety levels are higher than normal, and performance levels can be significantly suppressed. Many times we’ve heard people say that they choke or freeze up in test-taking situations.