Controversy Over Standardized Testing

Standardized tests can place a huge amount of stress on students and teachers. Some students do well with certain levels of stress, others not so much. A lot of students suffer from what is called test anxiety which hinders performance. Studies suggest that too much stress is psychologically and physically harmful. Stress is so overwhelming that the brain shifts into a “fight or flight” response. Which means that it is impossible to engage in a higher order thinking process that

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

Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.

Standardized testing is used throughout every grade in school today. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of standardized testing to access students’ progress. Many teachers feel that they must teach to the test and parents feel that their child is spending too much time testing and not enough time learning. According to a new study, preschools spend an average of 4.8 hours, third graders spend an average of 20.6 hours, eighth graders spend an average of 25.3 hours, and eleventh graders spend an average of 22.5 hours on testing (Layton, 2015). Although, some parents, teachers, and schools feel that standardized testing have a purpose and show the growth of their schools and classrooms, many parents and teachers are fighting to have standardized test limited or removed from schools, because they feel that standardized testing are becoming harmful to students.

What is standardized testing? Standardized testing is a test which is given to students to evaluate the knowledge which they know. Testing can be in all subjects and topics in education. In Minnesota there is the MCA ( Minnesota Common Assessment). The MCA can be taken from elementary to high school, and the students are tested on subjects they have learned from the past. In Minnesota the MCA is a test which the government requires students to take. On a national level there is the ACT and SAT. These are usually taken as entrance exams to colleges and universities. ACT and SAT are two different types of test they have differ in grading systems and some colleges take both or one of the two. Why are standardized test given? The test are given so people in charge can evaluate the performance of the student and school; also gage the knowledge of the student. But standardized test like the ACT can not be an effective way to improve instruction and performance because it is a competency focused test. The reason why standardized test are competence: They test students on how well they can eliminate the incorrect answers to find the correct one. This is an inefficient way because what if the test taker crosses out the wrong answer, this forces the taker to choose between two wrong answers. There's needs to be tested efficiently and accurately gage their knowledge.

Stress, that is what all students go through when they have to take the Standardized Test. Kids stress out over these big Test called the Standardized Test because they determine students future class. It can go all the way up to the High School where students would take the SAT that would determine one’s future. Also the kind of job people would get in the future. Kids are getting tired of the standardized test. People should take action and giving no kids standardized test.

“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

Students can get so stressed out that they develop anxiety, cry, or even vomit because of these tests. According to ProCon.org, on Mar. 14, 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported that "test-related jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it" (Is the Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?). This quote specifically shows that people are aware of how negatively these tests impact students’ lives. How could any student perform well on these tests that make them so anxious they vomit? Not only are students stressing over standardized tests, teachers also worry because sometimes their jobs are on the line. Depending on how well students perform on these tests, decides if teachers and schools get praised or punished. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired 241 teachers Friday under a new evaluation system that holds teachers accountable for student test scores. She also put an additional 17% on notice that if they don't improve next year, they could lose their job” (Banchero). This evidence further portrays the idea that students are not only taking the tests to score high to better themselves, but they need to score

Did you know that kids take 20-25 hours on standardized tests. Sides of this argument are how they should change the test, while the other is keep the same tests. I think that we should change because there’s too much time spent on it, because government money can be spent to limit tests, and we don't need to many tests.

Many schools statewide are facing the contradictory topic of the exemption of standardized testing amongst their students. This format of assessing with American Education began in the middle 1800’s and grew when the NO Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated testing in the US in 2002. These actions taken were said to mainly have been put in place to keep teachers and schools accountable for the assurance of those paying taxes and what government money is being spent on. Despite these comments, the vast majority of people would say that the proficiency level aligned with the state’s reading and math, find it to be an impossible goal to aim for. And throughout the course of time, multiple days in the school year have been eradicated with test

Initially, standardized testing negatively affects students’ welfare. Susan Ohanian writes in her article, “Test-related jitters are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instruction on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it.” (¨Collateral Vomitage¨). Standardized tests hang over as dark clouds while stress is the cold rain showering the students. Tests negatively impacts students’ welfare, which is more disturbing since adolescence is a time for teenagers to grow. The amount of stress attacks teenagers’ growth and prohibits them from developing a healthy body and mind, which shows how damaging the tests can be.

. One source that supports this reason, "Standardized Tests Stress Students and System” by Arlo Kempf,

Overall, standardized tests are being used to make educated decisions they should not make, causing stress on students and their teachers and ignoring differences in learning styles. As a result of decisions being based on one test score, students stress to do well on the test. Everyone does not comprehend the same information the same way or at the same pace. As an alternative there should be a test based on each child’s reading and comprehending skills, not the same test for every

In public schools today standardized testing is what the teachers are most concerned with. In the educational system so much stock is placed in passing the required test to graduate and to move on that many educators feel as though they are no longer able to do their job. When faced with the pressure of the testing many students become anxious and worry so much about passing the test that in all reality they make their performance suffer. In high stakes testing about nine percent of students showed signs of high anxiety, this is about the same as the amount during low stakes in class testing. The big difference in high and low stakes testing is that 59 percent of students were

Standardized test cause high stress. Students will worry to much and get test questions wrong. If a student is worried about the test they won't focus on the questions. Their for standardized test cause high stress.