Standardized Testing In America

A truly inspiring woman once said, “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that”(Obama). This quote is an excellent example of how even a person so high up in the political world can disagree with the ways of standardized testing and she is Michelle Obama. Even she can admit that if her career was decided on what percent she got on a standardized test she would not be where she is today. In the future if kids just keep believing the test score they get on these tests is what they truly will be then they are definitely not reaching their full potential. Kids often believe that these test scores will decide their future but that is hardly the truth. If these kids really

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.

In 2015, a poll was taken from over 1500 National Education Association members, and more than 70 percent of those polled believed that standardized testing is not useful and helpful to students in developing any skills (Walker). Standardized tests have been taken since the early 1900s in many age groups. A standardized test is any sort of test that has both the same questions and the same answers to all people it is given to. They are usually given over wide areas, such as states or even whole countries, and can be used to see what knowledge a general population has gained from their educations. Some major standardized tests are the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT). These tests are taken by people that are

Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, once said that, “sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent students do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” These tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s(Is the Use), but now, many people are starting to realize that standardized tests are not as convenient as they thought they were. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act required all schools in the United States to test students in grades two through twelve annually in reading, math, and science(Is the Use). But since then, the U.S. has dropped from 18th in the world in mathematics to 36th, with a similar change in science as well. On the other hand,

The state of Texas has been in a constant struggle within itself over just how to evaluate education, and standardized testing in Texas has been a major influencer in terms of the state’s standards for over thirty years. Though these methods of testing have been utilized for decades, resentment to the tests have been continuously rising among educators, parents, and students, but not everyone agrees. Despite government officials trying to quell these protests with changes to administration, and the way the test itself is formatted and formulated, there seems to have been little to no improvement made and those opposing the tests have started calling for an end to all standardized testing. For one to truly understand this ongoing struggle, one must first look at standardized testing’s beginning, then how government today is trying to fix the broken system, and finally consider the opinions of notable figures in the testing world.

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. 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.

It would be nice to imagine that everyone begins at the start line together. Unfortunately, a majority of people start at a disadvantage. In most public elementary schools, there are students in every grade level that are reading behind grade level. Consequently, these same students will encounter tests throughout their whole academic career. Starting in elementary school, a literacy gap will begin to emerge among students. As this gap grows, standardized testing will remain or increase to a point where some students are so far behind that it becomes intimidating to be in an academic setting. While many factors can contribute to the literacy gap, there are companies and corporations that continue to profit off of distributing

1,2: For my issue, I plan on addressing the controversy of standardized testing. I believe there would be differing opinions in the audience, some supporting and disagreeing with the topic. Most, if not all students have taken some form of standardized testing, thus, establishing a wide variety of viewpoints. While some believe this form of testing accurately measures a student’s achievement, others think it is an unreliable measure of a student’s performance.

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

In America, there is quite a lengthy history of standardized testing. It all began in 1838 when the American education system began to form ideas of having tests that would be transformed into formal measures of student academic achievement. They were originally created to hopefully show student improvement and academic knowledge, which is also their most common use up to today. The commonly dreaded standardized test, the ACT, was created in order to help more colleges improve their enrollment numbers, and colleges needed a new standardized test in order to do so. But lately, these forms of standardized testing seem to be causing damage to students. To conclude. whether it be mentally, physically, or emotionally, these tests have been wearing

Standardized testing not only stresses out students, but it also leads the teachers to go in a dilemma whether to focus on the curriculum or to get students ready for the standardized testing. No one has ever enjoyed taking a test in his or her entire educational history. Similarly Mr. Estrada’s 4th grade class was not every excited about taking standardized test. Each student has his or her own level of learning. As the students were taking the test, I noticed some students were panicking, while others were confused. There was also a point where a student informed Mr. Estrada about him not feeling good about this test, as he was afraid of him making silly mistakes and not getting good results. Little after all the students were done with the

Are you tired of the way we do testing? Well, I am. Some people think that we should keep the way we do testing. While everybody else thinks that we should change the way we test. I think we should change the way of testing because it causes stress to lots people. The way we test takes up time that could be used to learn something new.

Standardized tests in elementary and secondary schools are ineffective because they aren 't taken seriously, don 't accurately portray one 's intelligence, and they change the way students view themselves.

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.

Standardized testing is a common way of measuring a students progress and performance in school. The tests may vary by different schools and grades and it usually takes up a large portion of students total time. Although it is purposely designed to be consistent and accurate tool, it isn 't. Many question the effectiveness of standardized testing. Standardized testing is an inaccurate assessment because it does not effectively judge the students ability to learn or understand material, it can not always be objective and fair, and does not take into account the student 's real and true understanding. Standardized test marks based on the students performance on the competitiveness of the exam, and little on their actual knowledge or skills. To