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Standardized Testing In America Essay

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America has a problem: our education system is broken. America is the world leader in many industries, but for all that America has gotten right, it has certainly gotten education wrong. Students are not truly learning in America. They are learning to take state-issued tests. This leads to students being unprepared for the ever-changing world ahead of them.
Standardized tests are just teaching kids to memorize information. “Statistics items that appear on traditional tests typically…do not test whether or not students understand statistical concepts, are able to integrate statistical knowledge to solve a problem, or are able to communicate effectively using the language of statistics….students who produce a correct "solution" on a test item …show more content…

“To better prepare students for standardized tests given in the upper grades, the curriculum in the lower grades has been changed. Emphasis is placed on academic skills at the expense of social, emotional, and physical goals for children (Fulton).” As a student, I understand what Fulton is saying. SO many times I’ve found myself with my stomach in knots, worrying that if I don’t do well on this test, I’ll be a failure. This is because teachers have told us our entire lives that if we don’t do well on these tests, then we won’t get into the good classes and will have to be in the “dumb” classes. But this isn’t the teachers fault. They are being pressured as well. Jackie Holt, a social studies teacher at Lawrence County High School, gives insight into the mind of a teacher when it comes to standardized …show more content…

It is a great way to see how students are learning and what should be improved upon. In “The Good in Standardized Testing,” Lelac Almagor recalled how a straight-A student was distraught over a terrible score on her test. “...she couldn’t read grade-level texts. Neither could many of her classmates at their majority-minority, wrong-side-of-the-tracks public school (Almagor).” Almagor states that standardized tests are a good way to see where students are at so that we can improve. I agree with that. But at the same time, standardized tests have become the sole focus of schools. That’s not what school should be focused

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