Churchill's Arguments Against Standardized Testing

To many students standardized testing has become another part of schooling that is dreaded. Standardized testing has been a part of school since the nineteen-thirties; in those days it was used as a way to measure students that had special needs. Since the time that standardized test have been in American schools there has been many programs that have placed an importance on the idea of standardized testing such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Evans 1). Over the years the importance of standardized testing has increased tremendously and so has the stakes, not only for teachers but also students. All states in the United States of America have state test in order to measure how much students learn, and help tell how well the

Standardized tests are unnecessary because they are excruciating to the minds of many innocent students. Each year, the tests get tougher and stricter until the students cannot process their own thoughts. The tests become torturous to the minds of those only starting in the world of tests. The students already battling in the war are continuing to fall deeper and deeper into the world of uncreativity and narrowness. As the walls narrow in on them, they are lost and unable to become innovative thinkers. Moreover, the implementation of standardized tests into the public school systems of the United States of America has controversially raised two different views –the proponents versus the opponents in the battle of the effectiveness of

“…only twenty-two percent of those surveyed said increased testing had helped the performance of their local schools compared with twenty-eight in 2007” (“Public Skeptical of Standardized Testing.”). Furthermore the poll indicated an eleven percent increase, compared to last year, towards the favor of discontinuing the usage of students’ test results for teacher evaluations. William Bushaw, executive director of PDK International and co-director of PDK/Gallup Poll also stated, “Americans’ mistrust of standardized tests and their lack of confidence and understanding around new education standards is one the most surprising developments we’ve found in years” (“Public Skeptical of Standardized Testing.”). All in all, not only are these tests a concern for students, who are forced to sit through them, hoping to get a decent enough score to place into a class, receive their diploma, or even get accepted to the college of their dreams, but they are a concern for parents as well, who only want the best for their children and to see them succeed.

The use of standardized examinations have long been debated in American society. In fact, the last several years have seen an immense shift from the prioritization of standardized testing to more holistic measurements of student achievement. Despite this shift, many school districts across the nation and college/university entrance requirements still place a significant, if not pivotal, emphasis on test-taking and standardized exam results. Throughout this paper, I will explore 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) arguments for and against its practice, as well as 3) situate the consequences of its use in one of the three philosophical goals of schooling. All of this will subsequently paint an investigation into the purpose of schooling in American society.

What once began as a simple test administered to students yearly to measure understanding of a particular subject has, as Kohn (2000) has stated, “Mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to swallow our schools whole” (p.1). Today’s students are tested to an extent that is unparalleled in not only the history of our schools, but to the rest of the world as well. Step into any public school classroom across the United States and it will seem as if standardized testing has taken over the curriculum. Day after day teachers stress the importance of being prepared for the upcoming test. Schools spend millions of dollars purchasing the best test preparation materials, sometimes comes at the cost of other important material. Although test

Welner (2014) states that “standardized assessments are linked to curriculum standards and performance standards and tied to specified consequences” (p. 39). Welner discuses that the standard-based testing in American schools are a mess and need to be untangled because of the consequences of underperformance. Schools are defunded, teachers and principals are laid off, and schools are marked as ‘failing’. There needs to be a reform in schools that need academic improvement and the way to figure out which schools need development is by testing the students. Jones & King and McLaughlin & Overturf provide different feedback on standard-based testing. According to McLaughlin & Overturf (2012), “Using formative assessments is not only an effective way to monitor student progress, but also a viable way to glean information for planning future instructions” (p.157). In order for teachers to know if their lessons are effective or not, teachers give standard-based tests and assessments to their students. Without tests, student progress cannot be tracked in a concise manner. Jones & King (2012) agree that by building new assessments and curricula, American schools are redefining success (p.37). That success can also come at a price when dealing with more rigorous standards that are new to the

A lot of people think that there are too many standardized tests in a school year. Teachers, students, and even parents are stressed out with school testing too much. I think there are too many standardized tests also which is why I think the government should modify them. This essay will persuade the reader that the government needs to cut down on standardized tests because they take up too much time, cause a lot of stress for students, teachers, and parents, and there are too many.

There has been a debate regarding whether the use of standardized tests is improving education in America. Proponents say standardized tests provide a fair and objective measure of student achievement. On the other hand, opponents argue that the tests are neither fair nor objective, that the harms these tests cause outweigh the benefits. Though there are valid arguments on both sides of this issue, those who approve standardized tests as a reliable method of evaluation have a strong case for the following reasons:

The amount of issues with standardized testing is astounding. One big issue that has gotten out of control in the past years is the excessive use of testing. Rizga stated, “A child entering prekindergarten today will take, on average, 113 standardized assessments by the time he or she graduates from public school.” (40). Between grades 3 to 8, public school students take about 10 to 20 standardized tests per year (Rizga, 40). In America, students attending public schools take more standardized tests than others in any other “industrialized” country (Rizga, 40). Also, urban students spend far more time on district-mandated tests than their suburban counterparts (Rizga, 41). To be exact, a recent study demonstrated that urban high school students

While some view standardized testing as a bad measure of students academic ability, there are some good qualities the tests have to offer. Looking at a student's academic performance prior to testing, can tell a completely different story when standardized testing comes into play. After standardized testing hit an intercity school, author Almagor had conferences with parents, and what one parent had to say was shocking, ““I don’t understand,” her mother told me. “She does all her work in school. She does her homework. She does extra. I stay on top of her grades from the beginning. Always, she is getting As. Always, I think she is doing well.” (Almagor, 2014). Though turning in assignments and doing homework can look promising on an A-F grading scale, when putting students up next to tests a whole other story is told.

Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.

Those in favor of standardized testing suggest that test taking sets them apart from their fellow peers. Furthermore, they argue that standardized tests provide consistent evaluation for college review, providing relevant data of the academic abilities of a student. Some states also tend to connect student performance to teacher evaluation. The involvement of standardized testing impacts

“More than 200,000 third through eighth grade students sat out New York’s standardized tests this year, education officials said…” Standardized testing has become more and more popular in schools recently, and New York is not the only state with many students opting out of the tests. With lots of parents and teachers opposed to the amount of standardized tests at school, some may wonder if standardized testing is benefitting students at all. Though some people may not be sure, it is clear that standardized testing has gone too far in many schools for three main reasons: students are not receiving the amount of instructional time they need, teachers and students may feel the need to cheat on tests, and finally, students are not learning from

Around the time of 1914, a professor of Kansas State University began to develop the idea of standardized testing. Within these tests, it would provide an opportunity for teachers to chart the growth of their students throughout the years. As the teacher's plot our prosperity, the state officials are watching their abilities on how they are informing students. From a student's perspective, the testing should be banned as it causes stress and anxiety towards students.

Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the