Detrimental Consequences Of Standardized Testing

As the year ends, children all over the country pull all-nighters, take medication to help them focus, and spend countless hours studying. All this fuss because of standardized testing. A standardized test is a required national test in which students are tested on what they’ve learned throughout that school year. This method of testing has been around for some time and just recently, people have questioned whether standardized testing challenges students or is just a waste of time. Standardized testing does not help a student’s education and the U.S. should stop using this method of testing that, in many eyes, is holding our students back.

Everyone dreads standardized testing. Standardized tests are tests required by law. They are supposed to measure effectiveness of the teachers, and improvements made by students. But do standardized tests really do that? Many people agree that standardized testing should be put to rest. I’ll show you why many people believe that.

Standardized testing has for so long been the determinant of success and progress in many school systems around the world. Students get exposure to standardized tests at one point or the other, and the result from these tests are used to determine if a student can advance to a higher level or not (Moore, 2014). The school system in the United States has in place standardized tests for students who wish to join college and this need to be taken and passed for one to be sure of a college education. Even at lower levels of learning standardized tests remain to be the primary determinants of one’s performances, and in many instances, failure of standardized tests may be the reason why one is retained in the same class for a second consecutive

The clock ticks on, and the school day drags slowly. As the pencil hovers over the four answers, the student sighs heavily in distress. This is how many students feel while taking standardized tests. Standardized exams have been a major part of the American education since the mid-1800s. The use of the tests shot up after President George W. Bush signed a bill known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” on January 8, 2002. The act required all fifty states to have their students take the tests. Although, the purpose of the exams was to measure a student’s and their school’s academic improvement, but this idea is incredibly flawed. Many times the tests graded unwell and many people believe that the exams are a waste, which is just a few of the many reasons that students opt out each year. However, eliminating standardized tests from a student’s educational school year is necessary because the tests cause great stress, they are unfair and the tests

On most normal mournings, students can be found showering and eating breakfast before school. This is the normal routine. However, students in Ohio who wake up in March or April find another item added to their routine, stress. These two months are testing months. Tests like the Air, SAT or ACT help determine if a student passes jr. high or high school or gets into college. On these mornings, students worry on their way to school. Most even worry when it comes time to take the test. Stress is just one of the unintended consequences of standardized tests. Even though Standardized tests were made to help keep the classroom teacher and schools accountable, the unintended consequences of them have been hurtful to teacher and students.

I am planning on doing my causation essay over the effects standardized testing has on a students attitude and outlook on their impending future. Majority, if not all, have taken a standardized test and this life-altering questionnaire has been the source of hatred towards schooling and negatively impacts our mindset due to a simple number never being high enough to truly show what one is capable of. I recently received my SAT score and was highly disappointed that I did not achieve the score I felt I worked for. This, in turn messed up my plans for attending my top choice college because I was thrown into the “average category.” This conforming test pushes you to the limit on stress and time and is the loathed obstacle that greatly determines

Believe it or not, standardized test are not meant to torture you. Physicians, lawyers, real-estate brokers, doctors, and pilots all take high-stakes standardized tests to ensure they have the necessary intelligence for their careers. Also, Standardized tests hold teachers and schools accountable for actually teaching the students and if they teach them well. It also gives the teachers a guide on what to teach the students. The results that are sent home give the parent a good idea of how well their child is doing in class and on tests.

Another scenario when standardized testing wins the debate is when defenders state that a single, annual score helps schools to create a more efficient and higher quality of analysis and comparison. According to Aldemain,

A high school student wakes up knowing today is the big test day. It will determine whether he graduates and has the chance to go to college. At the turn of the first page, his stomach drops; his best subject is not even covered on the test. If this is true for many students across the nation, why and how are standardized tests able to measure their capabilities? Testing has consumed the time and attention of schools, teachers, and students. It has controlled classroom curriculum, changed the nature of teaching, and has decreased critical thinking: an essential for students heading into any career. Standardized testing should not be used for student learning assessment because it has a narrow accuracy of student abilities and limits the education in classrooms.

In Florida, there is a huge concern among teachers, parents, and students regarding the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). They view the impact of standardized testing in fear as it harms the future of their students. Tracy A. Sumpter, who has six years of experience in youth service and public administration says that “For the most part I have seen more of a negative effect of standardized testing on youth’s emotional and social development. Children of testing age seem to suffer from stress in result of worrying about passing the test; and negative results more often than not yield low-self-esteem, higher incidents of seclusion and lower academic progress. Children who pass the test are just happy to be done with it and gain no

A final perspective is through those that are opting their kids out from testing. “As standardized testing increases in public schools, so do concerns about its consequences. In a recent national poll, 60 percent of parents agreed there was too much emphasis on standardized testing in schools. And in cities across the country, those concerns are turning into a live political issue. Some are calling it a movement — the opt-out movement.” (Sanchez). Parents react to standardize testing due to the experiences of their child(ren) and the schools their child(ren) attend. It affects a parent as much as it does to their child(ren) because naturally they worry about them. But parents’ do get a report card every six weeks, and can follow their progress

In the United States, formulating changes around the results of standardized testing has placed increased demand on school administrators, teachers, and students (von der Embse, Kilgus, & Segool, 2013). The results of these once a year tests have astounding effects on the student population, teacher salary, and how schools receive subsidies (von der Embse et al., 2013). Considering the reach that standardized testing has on all aspects of the educational system, ensuring that the final product effectively embodies the desired skills is vital for all stakeholders (von der Embse et al., 2013). Educators can identify text anxious students through classroom assessments and data driven interventions in order to decrease the influence on student

Bob Schaeffer, a public education director once said, "You don’t make a sheep fatter by weighing them more often." (Nagourney, 2) This represents the process of Standardized Testing and one of the risks it causes; testing too often. Standardized Testing is a process where all students take the same kind of test with similar questions all addressing the same subjects and scored in a consistent way as groups or as individuals. Standardized Testing has brought nothing but negative effects to schools since its commencement. Standardized testing in schools has been around since the 1920 's starting with the SAT. There are many risks in Standardized Testing, that is why Standardized Testing should be revised due to negative effects.

Standardized testing had become a norm throughout the entire nation. From grade level students to high school students, college admittances tests and post-secondary exams, tests have all been standardized. While it may seem like the most logical way of evaluating students, the problem with these tests is the way that students are now being prepared for them and what the scores are being used to measure. For some schools, they become the sole factor of grade promotion, graduating, funding, admittance, and other important events in a student’s educational career. Standardized tests should not be used in any other place other than a classroom setting for

Growing up as a kid I took many timed standardized tests: Such as, the infamous MEAP, Aspire and ACT tests. These test are used to measure the students’ progress through hours of testing over the course of a few days. Although, the test are a good indicator of how well we are learning there are some negative cogitation with standardized testing. On average a student’s takes a total 112 mandated standardized tests in their school career (Layton, 2015). This number is significant in the fact that this is over the course of just 12 years. Furthermore, “research has demonstrated that some of the adverse effects of high-stakes testing on students include illness, anxiety, and heightened levels of stress.” (Colwell, 2013)These test should be held