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. In New York State, …show more content…
If students perform well on standardized tests, then they could possibly be selected for “gifted programs, colleges, scholarships, or employment.” (D. Thompson) Public schools receive funding from the state when excelling students in their state perform well on standardized tests. The state funds the schools in order to provide their students with merit based scholarships. This is important because this data helps schools find the most promising students in their state. This can ultimately equate to priority on-campus housing, tuition reductions, dream colleges, and jobs; aspects of college that are not always guaranteed without exceptional test scores. AP (Advanced Placement) exams can ensure college credit for a certain subject if the student performs well, preferably scoring a four or five out of five. “For example, if you score well on the AP English Literature exam, you may not have to take the college’s required freshman-level English course.” (Taking Required Tests) If every college did not consider standardized tests, then universities and employers would miss out on academically inclined prospects. Students would also miss out on merit awards from their test
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Show MoreIn particular, not everyone who scores high on standardized tests do better than those who perform poorly on these tests. In fact, some people who perform exceptionally well on the ACT, HSPA, and the SAT drop out of college and do poor in college. The score that you receive on these tests do not show college readiness, as much as it shows an ability to perform on a statewide level of excellence. Standardized testing impacts incoming college students because they feel that in order to get into a good school, in which they must perform well on these tests.
As a college counselor, I encourage our students to take the standardized test for college admission. SAT or ACT is one of the key element in the college admission process and required for most of the post-secondary institution as an admission requirement. Common Core standards provide many advantages for students to be prepared for those standardized tests. Common Core standards are designed to help students for success in college and career (CCSS Initiative, 2010, p. 1). We have fifty different States that means fifty different standards and fifty different tests so students and parents get frustrated when they move from to another state.
Education has had some form of high stakes testing for many years, the SAT, ACT, AP, and so on. Testing in this form was used to measure how much a student had learned and retained over the course of a student’s education. However, over time the testing focus changed. High stakes testing morphed from a useful tool that gauges achievement to becoming the primary focus in education. The focus is no longer about what the child has achieved, instead the emphasis is on achieving top scores.
Requiring standardized tests could ensure students are fully prepared for college and give them better opportunities once they make it there. In 2020 the University of California Standardized Testing Task Force did a yearlong review of testing as a college admissions tool, and found that, “The value of admissions test scores in predicting college success has increased since 2007, while the value of grades has decreased, due in part to high school grade inflation and different grading standards.” This is just another thing that goes to show grades are not the most reliable factor when deciding whether a student is ready for
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.
Year after year, students all across the country from five to eighteen years old are burdened with the stress-inducing task of taking standardized tests. Hours upon hours of valuable time is spent measuring intelligence and knowledge, when having instruction time instead could be far more beneficial. Students aren’t the only ones being affected by the tests that can cause deep anxiety in many, teachers also are succumbed to the stressful testing sessions and preparations. The many tests forced upon students across the nation are irrelevant to the actual improvement that is occurring among these students. The use of standardized testing among pupils in America is not improving education, but is heavily damaging it instead.
Standardized testing is very common in the United States, and has been in the United States of America (US) for more than fifty years. In today’s society, standardized tests have become the norm. They are more pressure packed and strenuous than ever. Standardized testing used to only be used sparingly, but now every child from elementary school to a college graduate school must take these rigorous exams. Standardized tests can be very helpful when it comes to positive student achievement, equal content and comparison, and helps prepare you for college.
The No Child Left Behind act originally was to improve our student’s knowledge but had resulted differently in overly testing students . You’re tested about 14 or more times throughout your middle school and high school years depending on your school district requirements. The government is now willing to do whatever it takes to do to receive money for testing students. An example of how extreme this testing has become can be found in the situation of a student named Joe. He was hospitalized, preparing for open brain surgery, when he was rudely interrupted by his teacher’s visit, with a number two pencil and a standardized test.
No Child Left Behind obligated school districts in all states to ensure that all students are proficient. “After New York City’s reading and math scores plunged in 2010, many schools imposed extra measures to avoid being shut down, including daily two and a half hour prep sessions and test practice on vacation days.” (Is the Use”). Standardized tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful, as recent studies have shown. Standardized testing creates disadvantages for students who do not perform well on tests, or do not have the background knowledge to complete questions effectively.
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
To start, colleges are very serious about testing scores, so testing sufficiently is essential. When starting the college admissions process, students want to have test scores and resumes that will hopefully guarantee admittance into certain schools. Second, colleges look at one’s evaluation grades to see if one is a good fit for the curriculum. If colleges have difficult programs, they will see if a student is able to handle the rigors of their assessments, and therefore standardized tests can reveal a natural fit for colleges. Lastly, standardized tests show whether one has adequate test-taking skills to pass one’s classes.
When you start testing kids as soon as the hit the school doors the playing grounds are no longer even. The “gifted” are separated from all the other kids and giving better tools and more opportunity. So, when a kid who was not deemed
In 2002 the act No Child Left Behind (NCLB) of forcing testing every year in every state in the U.S cause increasing in the use of these tests. The U.S. students rank in math and science have declined from 18th in the world to 31st in 9 years, but remain the same in reading. So many different areas can cause the education to collapse, such as educators’ performance, and the increasing level of using the standardized tests. The American Educational Research Association previous leader W. James Popham defined standardized tests as, "any test that is administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner (¶4).
Standardized tests are used commonly in the school systems and they do not measure the overall students’ achievement. For this reason, educators and administrators must take into account how economic elements are affecting the grades on standardized tests. Usually, this group of students averages below the acceptable grades on standardized examinations regardless of the subject. For reasons beyond their control, children from low socioeconomic level face an increased risk of failing standardized examinations. The failure of the tests could cause an overwhelming impact on students, families, the school system, and society at large because eventually, the students may be dropping out of school.