Do We Take Too Much Standardized Tests?

Great controversy has arisen over standardized testing in recent years. The issue is whether or not schools should continue to administer standardized tests. These tests are dangerous to school systems and should be abolished as they are ineffective, punish teachers and students unfairly, and there are better alternatives.

While a few standardized tests over a student’s school career can be helpful to make sure students are on track and teachers are educating their students, the United States education system has far too many standardized tests. The U.S should reduce the number of tests given to students each year. The current amount of testing stresses students and forces teachers to “teach to the test”. Standardized testing has not and will not improve the American school

Standardized tests inhibit the ability for students to perform well on stress inducing tests; thus, students question their abilities to succeed, and they lack engagement in their educational learning. Standardized tests produce the feeling of anxiety as heart beats accelerate, bodies’ tremble, faces flush, sweat pores open, hands grip tighter, and muscles tense. As the test dates come closer, students are

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.

Are there too many standardized tests? Standardized tests are testing that students take so that teachers and the state know what level students are performing at. Standardized tests are taken across the nation. I think student don't take too many standardized tests because of standardized test help with many things. They help show what teachers need to t4each students, the test shows student's progress and how they are growing, and the Federal government is working on making standardized testing run easily without having too many errors.

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.

Schools all over the nation have introduced standardized testing as a way to evaluate what the students have learned over the course of the school year. Exams can be administered online or on paper, depending on the subject. Test can be taken at different points of the school year; results can be used as a way to determine what areas are weaker than others. Most results are viewed by the school board, administrators, and teachers. In some schools students take one end of the year test with different subjects, other just takes one test. These tests can be graded by groups of people are computers. Standardized testing has become a part of America’s educational system and many don’t see the benefit of the test at all.

Education has been an important part of society for centuries. Over the years it has slowly evolved into what it is today. The topic of education has been controversial since the beginning. It seems as though there is always someone that sees a need for change in how students are being taught and assessed. More specifically, many people think that standardized testing is not an effective way to assess students. While on the other hand, many also believe that standardized testing is the most efficient and effective way to assess people of all ages. The debate over standardized testing has been shown to effect students and the community in many different ways. Standardized assessments have had huge impacts with both teachers and students. Whether one thinks standardized testing is effective and efficient or misdirecting and unproductive it is a big part of the educational system. While the argument may present that standardized tests leads to simulated knowledge, others argue that standardized tests are very effective in assessing students.

While teachers are getting paid amounts from 35,000 to 90,000 a year. The school system is not making an effort to help them out But, they might be some progress. Teachers are not getting paid as much as they should. Which affects the quality of the teachers hired to teach. But schools to make an effort to change and help students and care for them. America’s educational system has both weaknesses and strengths that are greatly impacting the education students’ are receiving.

Why do we take so many standardized testing each year? That is a question that students at my school ask all the time. The end of the school year is the best and the worst time. Summer is right around the corner, but we still have all our standardized testing to take. It causes so much pressure and stress for all students, teachers and even some of the parents. It is one test for your subject to prove everything you know and have been learning the whole year. I do understand how there is pros and cons of standardized testing, But I believe that the cons overpower the pros. Standardized testing has not improved student achievement (Is the use of standardized testing improving education in America?)

Standardized Testing can be both a benefit to the educational community and a very serious problem. Standardized Testing is said to have negative effects on both the students and the teachers. Standardized Testing has created many problems and has become a very big factor in politics. Some people argue that the government is influencing the education system. While others believe that the government isn’t involved enough. There are many pros and cons to both but the cons outnumber the pros.

Students are spending increasing amounts of time preparing for and taking competitive standardized tests. Standardized testing has been a controversial subject of discussion. This does not improve student achievement or teacher performance. Some are for these tests because of how it provides students, parents, and the government with information on the student's progress. Although most schools make students take standardized tests, it does not measure the knowledge of a student, causes disadvantages for students and teachers, and can be bias or unfair.

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.

The first rationality I have is that the tests can cause unneeded stress among young children. The stress can be caused from teachers preparing for the tests, instead of teaching what the tests are examining the students about. This means that school corporations will make sure the test networks are working, wasting roughly an hour per class, this time could be rehearsing what the test is covering. Another reason stress can be caused is because some students don’t take tests seriously. The teachers are graded from their students so if some students are not taking the tests seriously the students who work diligently are given unfair work. In truth, this is why Standardized Tests cause stress in younger children.

The debate on standardized tests and its adequacy in testing a student’s knowledge about a subject has been going on for many years. Tests, in general, has been around for centuries and without them there would not be progress and no gleams of progress. Students ranging from elementary school to high school have experienced standardized testing. Teachers, educators, and parents are also involved in the students’ lives, which revolves around the tests, one way or another. There are many views on standardized test. However, the three most common views are: educators who are for standardized test which benefits students, educators who are at the other extreme of opposing standardized tests, and educators who view tests are a benefit if done in appropriate amounts.