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. Many feel that the tests are unfair and this is why standardized
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.
Attention getter: Last year, districts in Philadelphia had a $0 budget for books. At the same time, a quarter of a percent of America’s education budget, several billions of dollars, was spent on standardized testing.
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 standardized tests should not be eradicated from the school system, it should be a requirement in all schools, especially elementary schools. The younger they start the better they will do in the future. According to the article, titled “Testing…Testing…One, Two, Three”, it tells that “better performance-based tests will put a stop to the “dumbing-down” phenomenon” (Gluckman). This reference means that standardized testing benefits student learning by being able to identify their strengths and weaknesses; and focus on working on those weaknesses. Not only are these standardized tests unbiased, but they are also a way to monitor and promote both student and teacher achievement. Let’s be the first to halt this phenomenon on its track and help our children
Standardized tests have been historically used to measure how students compare with each other and how much of a particular curriculum they have learned. Increasingly, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and schools(Galegroup). Standardized testing is not an effective measurement of how capable and knowledgeable a student is due to it negatively impacting schools, its serious limitations, and its harm on student’s learning.
As Michelle Obama once declared, “If my future was determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” The performance of a school’s organization is based off of the results of standardized tests taken by students (Walberg). Standardized tests are a guide to the board of education on how a school can improve its curriculum in a way that is most beneficial to students (Walberg). “The scores of standardized tests are not the same as student achievement” (Harris). In spite of the people who believe that standardized tests are a key factor to determine a student’s academic abilities, standardized tests distract students from their current studies, they are only designed for one way of learning and comprehending material, and they are biased to students.
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
Standardized testing can come with huge consequences for students and even teachers. A student who was a junior from Arlington, Texas got suspended because he took a picture of a STAAR exam. This standardized exam which had to be taken to allow there state to determine what a ninth grade student needed know going into high school. That student named Kyron Birdine did not find this test necessary just like majority of the other students. Many feel this way about most tests which are given each year that don’t count as a grade or don’t get sent to colleges. Birdine definitely felt this way too, he decided he would take a picture of his exam and post onto his twitter account which he did not seem to think
Increasingly today in America’s school system, there is a recognition of tension between individuality and conformity. The struggle between students’ personal needs and the needs of the whole continues to grow. This can be seen though the controversial issue of standardized testing. These are tests that are designed in a way, which are administered and recorded in a consistent method. In standardized testing, all test takers are required to answer the same set of multiple-choice, true or false questions, short answer, and essay questions. Standardized testing is usually used to compare the performance of individuals in a relative manner. Many people consider standardized testing as an objective way of grading a student, however, it is evident
Standardized Testing hurts children who think in different ways. This is quoted by Valerie Strauss, who makes a great point by saying children can only learn by the way it 's taught and it cannot be learned from other sources. Standardized Testing limits what children can learn and how they learn. Schools also spend an extraordinary amount on testing that could be going to better education and more funding to arts and extracurricular activities. Although, some say standardized testing is beneficial to the way students learn, statistics show that this is simply not true, standardized testing adds unnecessary stress on students, suppresses their creativity, and limits the creativity of teachers.
Standardized testing in not as amazing as it is proclaimed to be too all the students and schools around the country in today 's society”Standardized testing has swelled and mutated,like a creature in one of those old horror movies.”(Kohn 1). The amount of testing that is going on in the united states is some of the highest rating in regards to how much they test and to the degree in which they test. When people think of school they know testing is a part of it,but not to the degree in which it is currently at today in America school systems. It is a known fact that people learn at different paces and with different aids. With that being said,how and why do the school systems think that standardized testing is a good
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). The tests have multiple categories but in the main courses students need to take are Reading/Writing, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science. These tests are scored in a predictable way which
Standardized Testing is not effective nor reliable due to its inability to effectively measure a student’s intelligence or ability, the pressure it applies to both the student and the teacher, and its negative impact on teaching curriculum.
Due to the fact that standardized testing provides an opportunity of change from a world of fantasy into a reasonable one, this method should be enforced throughout the nation. Although some may beg to differ that children are too young to face the torture of testing, they fail to realize that if children don’t develop these skills at an early age, they will struggle in the future. By exposing children to the new concept of testing at an age where