The concept of standardized testing has always been difficult for me to comprehend. In my opinion, I believe that standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT give people of different ethnicities and lower economic background a disadvantage. Watching this short video on what SAT really test on individuals has helped me become less anxious about my own SAT scores. I began to think that I was a failure because I am incapable of scoring a high score in most tests that I have taken. The pressure of having SAT or ACT scores as a necessity in order to be considered into most college is overwhelming. Therefore, when the video introduced the idea that those with better resources tend to score higher on these tests, it made sense. If someone does not
Exploratory Paper: Is Standardized Testing Bad? Standardized testing has been around in one form or the other for centuries based on historical data which shows its use way back in imperial China and was used to determine the strengths and talents of individuals so that they could be effectively used in the emperor’s service. In the 19th century Great Britain introduced standardized testing to its’ territories and eventually Europe. The United States introduced standard testing to its citizens in the late 20th century and has rapidly integrated this testing tool into the nation’s public school system.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is an impelling test to get admission in most of the U.S colleges. All high school seniors during the time of December are actively preparing for victory against the four hour strenuous exam, the SAT. The reason is that SAT score determines the fate and dreams of students. Standardized test scores play a crucial role in student’s future as it is believed to address student’s ability to think, reason, and act so that they can be successful in college life. However, SAT is a huge burden to students and is a biased test.
While some kids are financially stable, and can afford to have training and preparation for these exams, there are other kids who cannot. These kids may not be able to get into a university as they lacked the crucial help and resources to not only pass the test but score as high as the students who have the edge to prepare better. My question is why are American school systems are relying so much on one test to defy a student’s grade or future? Studies have shown that high stake testing like the SAT’s, have cut down on different ethnicities getting into colleges. According an article written by Rebecca Zwick, At the University of California Berkeley, African American enrollment dropped by more than 60% in 1997.
Since 2006, overall SAT scores have dropped by 21 points. It is safe to say that the increase in standardized testing has done more bad than good. When standardized testing became more prominent, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) saw a plateau in reading and math scores. Additionally, the NAEP saw no further closure in the test score gap. The test score gap affects all minorities.
In the history of modern colleges, the SAT has been the most widely accepted standardized test by students. The SAT was first introduced in 1926, and since then it has been used by millions of college applicants to demonstrate their academic prowess. Following the creation of the SAT, there have been countless debates on whether it should be scrapped or kept due to its potential to unfairly discriminate against students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and its possible lack of correlation with academic success. Every year, more schools begin to shift toward test-optional, while many schools continue to use mandatory standardized testing. To fully understand and agree on an answer to this debate, extensive research must be done, and students
Standardized Testing: Making College Admissions “Fair” Every year , the daunting prospect of undergoing standardized testing brings anxiety to thousands of high school students, and for good reason: a student’s performance on standardized college admission exams - most importantly, the ACT and SAT - is a major determinant in deciding where they will go to college. For decades, such standardized tests have been universally accepted as part of the admissions process: proponents argue, as Syverson (2007) explains, that such tests are the only way of standardizing college admissions when students from different schools have such widely varying profiles. However, in the past several decades a growing anti-testing movement has begun to poke holes
For many years, there has been a great deal of controversies on whether standardized tests should be used for college admissions. Standardized testing started in America over 50 years ago and are today, more pressure-packed and ubiquitous than ever before. The first standardized test was developed in 1959 by Professor Everett Franklin Lindquist. Many admissions counselors depend on a student’s ACT and SAT scores a great deal when determining if they should accept the student or not. Though many feel that these tests are a good thing and should continue to be used, others disagree due to the numerous problems that have been discovered when reviewing students SAT and ACT scores.
Standardized tests are very common in today’s modern society. They are used as a tool to measure a person’s performance and indicate how their estimated performance will be in a college class. Every year hundreds of students take the ACT or SAT in order to get accepted into their college of choice and to receive scholarships, but they fail to see the problems with these standardized tests. As more and more people take these tests, the national average score falls causing doubt in the extremely important system. This is leading people to question whether or not the ACT and SATs are accomplishing what they were created to do.
Standardized testing (SATs), in the United States has been present for years and has caused plenty of teachers, students, parents, and other individuals who are informed about it to have different perspectives and opinions on it. Before doing my research on the different opinions people had on standardized tests, I always believed they were encouraged by professors and school facilities. As a student myself and on the behalf of other students, standardized tests were always perceived to be stressful and unjust. Test taking was never a strength of mine especially if the test was timed because it just added more pressure to answer the questions quick. In high school, my teachers never discussed how they felt towards the SATs, which made
School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the
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
Standardized testing is an issue with students fearful to fail the tests, with all the pressure and tension on them to overcome this predicament, as well as teachers ' jobs being in jeopardy. Most students from lower income families are at a disadvantage with this setup and groundwork for standardized tests, such as the SAT. A wealthier, more affluent family can buy higher quality and superior preparation books. Students even turn to various methods such as cheating, in order to overcome the tests.
Standardized Testing 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.
Standardized tests are toxic to the future prospects of America: the students. The tests are prejudiced against minority test-takers as a result of biased questions. Students’ education is harmed due to narrowed curriculums and school closings. With the knowledge gained about standardized tests, many colleges have become “test-optional institutions” (Soares 3). In fact, according the article “Standardized Tests Discriminate Against Minority and Lower Income Students,” Wake Forest University went test-optional in 2009 and today there are over 870 test-optional colleges, representing almost 40 percent of all four-year degree colleges in America (Soares 3).
Introduction The wealthy have hijacked the educational system Programs, such as standardized testing, are formed by corporate foundations. So, money is going towards these tests instead of the schools and children. There are also many charter schools now and they do not support public schools. They are there to put them out of business. If this money was redireected towards the public educational system it would greatly influence learning.