Against Standardized Testing

Such pressure on students does not help them to become quick learners, or more adaptable, but instead it makes them confront the feeling of failure, which is uncalled for. Since the tests are also sought as a measure of a teacher’s performance, they also stress out teachers, even though the scores students get change based on what test they are taking which makes it difficult to judge a teacher. Standardized tests are also known to give younger students tons on stress in the form anxiety which can affect the brightest of students in such a strong manner that the Stanford-9 Exam has instructions on what to do if the student vomits on their test booklet. This clearly isn’t a sign that students enjoy and/or appreciate the

A never-ending issue has loomed over the head of our nation-- education. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, 63.7% of American students are below proficient in reading and 65.7% in math. In order to improve educational standards and increase student achievement, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 2002. Designed to increase the role of the federal government in education, it holds schools accountable based on how students perform on standardized tests. Statistics show that the average student completes about 110-115 mandatory, standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and end of twelfth grade (an average of eight tests per year). Standardized testing utilizes

The stress settled in once the word ‘testing’ echoed through the classroom. The students knew what it brought, and they knew how dreadful it would be; sitting in one room, hour after hour and day after day, silent and still, with only the sound of the clock resonating through their heads. Standardized tests are assessments that local and national governments may require their students to take. However, these tests do not properly evaluate their intellect, and only lead to tension and mental strain on a student’s attentiveness. Although many schools believe that these assessments are productive, it is proven that they are not beneficial to students because standardized testing leads to stress and anxiety, it is wasting valuable classroom time,

Students are overwhelmed with school, work, extra-curricular activities, family, etc. Perhaps standardized tests are a major contributor to students’ stress. A standardized test is any test scored in a consistent manner and requires test-takers to answer identical questions. Among the most common include the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT). According to the article “Standardized Testing Has Negatively Impacted Public Schools” from Opposing Viewpoints in Context, the beginnings of standardized tests occurred during World War I when the American Psychological Association developed a “ground-administered test” to eliminate inefficient recruits (Solley 3). Today, standardized tests are necessary for college admission. Just last month, in March of 2016, College Board, the non-profit organization responsible for administering the SAT, altered the format of the test. It is now formatted more similar to the ACT and includes an optional essay reducing the score from 2400 to 1600. Many advocates argue standardized tests accurately measure academic intelligence and hold teachers and schools accountable. In today’s society, standardized tests have become the norm, and unfortunately, people overlook their negative effects despite research substantiating arguments about their disadvantages. Standardized tests are disadvantageous because they hinder education and contain bias.

According to education researcher Gregory J. Cizek, these tests are not helping the child. They’re hurting them. He knows that teacher need to show off what their students know, but he just doesn't understand why we have to do these tests. He can tell by his work that more than half of kids have an anxiety toward testing. The student may know a lot, but will freeze during the test. “Standardized testing can create a lot of stress for both educators and students. Excellent teachers quit the profession every day because of how much stress is on them. Students especially feel the pressure when there is something meaningful tied to them. In Oklahoma, high school students must pass four standardized tests in various areas, or they do not earn a diploma, even if their GPA was a 4.00. The stress this can cause on a teenager is not healthy in any way,” he states. His plan is to show people that this is a wrong thing to do and is unhealthy for both educators and the

“There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old "accountable" for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years before,” quote Jonathan Kozol. As this quote apptly states many children are often robbed of simple childhood pleasures by standardized testing. These strenuous tests should be cut back to the absolute minimum. Standardized tests should not be required because they provide unnecessary stress, are often inaccurate because of computer and human error, and some students, particularly minorities, are at a clear disadvantage.

Today is test day, an obstacle that in time will falsely decide a student’s future academically and morally. He has one chance to portray his academic performance in such limited time, having to forcefully disregard whether or not he is in fact emotionally prepped on the given day. There is an unnecessary surplus of students who share such experiences, who too have had their dreams and talents ripped by automated grading. This tale is nothing new, such senseless obstacles have troubled generations. Standardized tests are not a valid measurement of academic success and should be discontinued due to their one-size fits all curriculum, inaccurate performance judgment on a given day, and inefficient test taking times.

“According to a review of testing research that has been conducted over the past century, over 90% of students have found that standardized tests have a positive effect on their achievement. Students feel better about their ability to comprehend and know subject materials that are presented on a standardized test. Even if a perfect score isn’t achieved, knowing where a student stands helps them be able to address learning deficits.”(12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Testing). This shows when students are pushed to their limits and they have been working hard in a certain subject they are prepared for test . Teachers in this situation are put to a test also (“Good teachers understand that test preparation drills and specific core instructions to “teach to a test “) . Teachers are put to the test by whether or not they can push students to their best ability to pass the exam. Students and teachers are given the same amount time to teach a specific subject and get judged off of it . This goes back to say all of the stress put on students and teachers is unacceptable because students and teachers should not be judged off of a test

There are too many external factors that could influence a child’s test score, yet, we’ve allowed standardized testing to determine a child’s future. “For example, test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do.” (Kohn, 2000) The high amount of value American society places on standardized testing can cause a high amount of anxiety, which can be associated with a fear of failure. “While the pressure to perform well can act as a motivator, it can also be devastating to individuals who tie their self worth to the outcome of a test.” (Test Anxiety) Test anxiety can manifest itself in the form of an anxiety attack, which can cause symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and brain fog, among a multitude of other uncomfortable manifestations. Anxiety, along with many other factors, can alter a student’s ability to display their full potential. (Test

Students spend a lot of time stressing over standardized testing when they could be focusing their energy on more important academic and social activities that could benefit them in the future. Standardized testing are stressful for students for one that it is timed, students often times can not focus knowing that they have a certain amount of times to take this very important test. And if they start stressing out from not having enough time left then they are gonna start writing or bubbling in random answers and then that can cause them to do worst. Teachers are being told to “teach the test”,the teachers don't want to teach us the same basic things every year, but if they don't then students will be unsuccessful when it comes time to taking the exams. Which can lead to consequences ad problems for both the student and the teacher. Some of those consequences may include students being held back, teachers getting in trouble or possibly loosing their jobs because they have failed to meet the standards set and what people think students should learn and what type of material the teachers should teach.” Brain research suggests that too much stress is psychologically and physically harmful. And when stress becomes overwhelming, the brain shifts into a “fight or flight” response, where it is impossible to engage in the higher-order thinking processes that are necessary to respond correctly to the standardized test

The current uproar over standardized testing is being battled by cultural minorities who demand equality. “Cultural bias” refers to the idea that the differences between scores of racial and ethnic groups are caused by a bias towards the “American-born, English-speaking majority” of the US population. From the simple IQ test to the SAT, standardized testing has become an unfair predictor and artificial decision maker for this country’s minority, especially those newly immigrated. Economic and cultural biases leave for little opportunity for these examinees to perform well, partially because of the failure of the government to prepare and assimilate minority students.

A new study by RAND Corp, in Santa Monica, California found that “between 50 percent and 80 percent of the improvement in a school's average test scores … was temporary and was caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning or productivity”(Olson). This shows that a student’s performance on standardized tests is too inconsistent to accurately display an objective evaluation of their education. Also, as the scores change each year, the ability to evaluate the teacher becomes difficult. In a high school in New Mexico a teacher found that “Students raced to see who could finish the test first, not who could get the most correct answers. … Former high school juniors interviewed this week said many students blew off the tests after being told that the scores wouldn't count toward graduation— unlike the required 10th-grade competency test”(Contreras). This shows that students do not take standardized tests seriously when it does not affect them directly. So, it does accurately represent students or teacher’s academic achievement. Standardized testing is not a consistent way to evaluate a teacher’s ability as well as track a student’s

Three times a year, hours spent testing, and for what? Standardized Tests. Some school staff members, or family, believe that Standardized Tests can increase the students’ educations. Students can say otherwise. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that Standardized Tests can be substandard for students. The evidence supporting this claim is that the tests can cause stress in young children, it’s overall expensive, and it takes away teaching time. I hope from reading this essay you will also believe Standardized Tests should be cut from schools programs.

Standardized testing creates a lot of stress on students and educators alike. Because of how much stress is put on them to prepare students for these tests, many excellent teachers quit their jobs everyday. In fact, in April, new federal data stated that 17 percent of new public school teachers leave their profession after four years due to stress and other reasons. Some teachers fail to teach students skills that go beyond the tests because they’re so pressured to get their students ready for these exams. This amount of stress can lead to feelings of negativity towards school and learning in general as well as cause negative health issues. Standardized tests places a large amount of stress on both teachers and students.

The No Child Left Behind Act should tremendously be re-examined and amended because the focus on the standardized tests decrease the quality of other subjects not on the tests, the tests are not an efficient tool to make certain that a student is receiving an excellent education and the tests create unnecessary stress for the students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of No Child Left Behind is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a top-grade education. This is a great proposal to strive towards but, legislation plans on achieving this proposal by making schools responsible for their students’ proficiency and to measure their proficiency with the use of standardized tests. After the students take the