Proponents see standardized testing as a way of making testing more efficient and effective by minimizing cost and increasing people’s accountability for their performance in the system. Opponents on the other hand argue that the systems has limitations based on its very nature on what can be tested and as a result of these standards needing to be met sacrifice some very important aspects of students education experience as well as force onto students and teachers a one size fits all model that has failed to deliver on its promises. After having reviewed all the evidence in detail it becomes clear to me that standardized testing is not an effective system for educating students and does more bad than good
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. Every once in a while the world will submit their schools performance and they will be ranked with
Standardized Testing While can be beneficial, standardized testing isn't improving American education. Standardized testing evaluates only the individual performance of a student instead of the overall growth of a student over the course of a year. In my opinion, Standardized testing is not enhancing education in America. Not all students who are smart and take in all the information test well. For instance, there are many people who simply do not perform well on tests.
Standardized testing has become a very controversial topic amongst the nation. There are two sides, one that agrees that these tests are doing well for students and school officials, and another that argues that these tests are hurting the students taking them and should be put to a stop. Norman R. Augustine wrote an article for the need of standardized testing, and Jessie B. Ramey States the ways that the tests are impairing the learning capability of the students. Norman uses three arguments that people opposing the standardized test would most often use.
Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson).
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
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.
To Test or To Read 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.
Although some might say standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations, the teachers can not make students do well on a test. Standardized testing has a stigma that if one does not do well on the tests then their future will be at stake and they will probably not do well in life. This is simply not true, taking one moment, one day, one hour of someone's life and making them take a test will not show you how well a student will do in the future. The tests
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
Testing is around 115 years old; it started being taken seriously in academics in the early 1900s for the United States. Although it seems minor, standardized testing should not be a thing in any type of school because it causes physical and mental stress for students and teachers, causes a major financial strain in many schools, and takes time to complete and prepare for. Standardized
Parents can compare how their students are doing compared to other schools and even other states. Standardized testing allows schools to compare their results against other schools results. Another reason standardized testing is good is because the tests allow the students’ progress to be tracked throughout the year. If these students are taking similar tests yearly, then it is easy to see if they are improving, declining or staying at the same level. This is very important because then a parent can know what’s going on with their child and if they are improving that’s probably good news
Based on a survey conducted at West Forsyth High School, participants answered the question “Do you think standardized testing improves students overall education?” We got this response from a student,”No, it induces stress and puts importance on passing one test over retaining the knowledge for practical life.” From studying to taking standardized tests, they can negatively affect students and put them in a bad place of mind. However, there is no need to be stressed. A lot of standardized tests are applying these important topics learned in classrooms, and they are not a part of students' grades.
Standardized Tests are ineffective because they don’t measure what is important. Other people may think that we don’t take enough tests. The text stated, “We need a lot of tests to figure out how smart people are getting.” This all may be true, but, parents are complaining that the teachers are “teaching to the test”. Other people may think that we don’t take enough tests while some parents are complaining about all of the testings.
Standardized testing does not require much of an effort. These tests are checked by the computer thus, saving more time and since these tests are administered in the same manner, it would be easier for them to evaluate the test results because these tests have its own standards. These tests are also objective and are based by general-knowledge thus, making the test results unbiased and non-subjective. Educators will also be able to compare and evaluate a student’s progress over a period of time. These tests would show whether a student has performed well or not (OccupyTheory, 2014).
