How Is Standardized Testing Affecting College-Bound Students?

Currently, standardized tests do not improve the education of students in America. Standardized testing is not an accurate measure of student’s knowledge because they are designed to test an extremely broad amount of students who do not have the same educational background. This makes it incredibly difficult to test students across the world on the same level and expect their scores to reflect their education. Standardized testing, by definition, is any test containing the same questions that is administered to a vast group of people for the purpose of comparing different student’s test scores. This issue is important because it affects the entire academic community, positively and negatively. Therefore, all teachers, students, school staff, and test administrators have some involvement with standardized testing. The vast majority of people in America have taken a standardized test sometime in their life, which makes these tests vital in the

Standardized testing is known to improve students’ education, but is it really needed in school? Standardized testing determines whether a student is prepared for the next grade based on their test scores. While some students do great on their test others struggle a lot. Not all students are good test takers; majority of the students do good in school but struggle when it comes down to testing. While many agree that standardized testing helps improve students education, it shouldn’t be necessary in school because one test score shouldn’t determine a student’s readiness or academic level.

Although standardized testing has been a major part of schooling it has also had a negative impact on effective education. Standardized has made a huge impact on public schooling so much that not only does it affect the students but also the teachers. With the teachers now beginning to get raises or having their jobs on the line if their students fail the test, many students have not been getting the fullest education process that they could get. Students may not realize the impact that it has had on the type of teaching style that they receive because they are so used to it. With so many teachers not having a lot of time to teach what is on the test and the other things that they feel are important to students to know, a lot of

Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.

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.

Standardized testing has become a controversial topic in recent years, parents, students, teachers, principals and almost anyone who has a relationship with education is affected by this topic. People are either for or against standardized testing, some believe it is the only fair way to compare students others believe that the tests are too greatly stressed in school and are a nuisance to education. Standardized tests are stressed greatly, students learn testing material all year not focusing on anything else deemed unimportant by the test makers. Every student has the same amount of time and question on tests; they also are tested on the same subjects which the test makers believe are most important for children to learn. Standardized tests are used for many things such as ranking students on a national basis and government funding for schools.

Standardized tests are hurting our educational future. They were implemented for reasons such as evaluating teachers, schools, districts, and so forth, and to determine if students should advance to a higher grade. What standardized tests are actually doing is taking over students’ education. Different levels of the educational system are continuously requiring more tests to assess various objectives, without any evidence that these tests are benefiting students. The effects these tests are having on the education are crippling. Teachers are under a surmountable amount of pressure for their students to achieve high scores, since their careers are in the hands of them. Teachers are reverting to unethical practices to protect their careers. Valuable education time is lost with preparing for and taking of these tests. Students could advance their education further and quicker with less preparation and tests. These tests are not an accurate assessment of students’ abilities since they only assess few subjects. Comparing students’ on only a portion

Standardized testing has many positive effects such as getting used to standardized tests. Some say that they are more reliable at measuring student achievement. Without standardized tests the policy makers would have to rely on tests scored by individual schools and teachers

It also gets students prepared to take important exams after all, they will be taking them their whole life. It also gives confidence to minorities. Standardized testing is a positive thing that has many benefits to it. Standardized testing assists a teacher in assessing their students knowledge and help them know

In various ways, standardized test are beneficial from tracking students’ progress over the years to not allowing teachers emotions to get in the way of the testing process. Standardized testing sets expectations high for students and it does hold them accountable for the same standards, which may lead to achievement gains. By looking at the students’ performance they will be able to determine how well they retain information. Also the school is able to learn what their students are able to do and what they cannot do compared to other school districts, so they would be able to improve their education system. When giving more personal assessments, it is very possible “that the teacher or person assessing the student can let their emotions or biases affect how they score that student” (Young). In most cases, standardized tests are objective. There are wrong or right answers, and there is no room for feelings or emotions. Standardized testing gives teachers guidance to help them determine what to teach students and when to teach it. Tests are highly accountable and reliable as they judge the candidates on a common platform across states and nations. Standardized testing is “a simplified way of timeline management” (A Look at the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing). Standardized testing gives parents a good idea of how their children are doing as compared to students across the country and

Standardized testing has many cons but it also has its pros. Standardized Testing can be a guideline for teachers on what to teach their students and what they are learning and if they need help If they are falling behind. Since all students around the state and county take standardized test such as the ACT the SAT or the FCAT it can let parents know where there child stands compared to other students around the state. One major cause standardized testing has to helping teachers is that it allows us to track the students progression. For example it tells us if the student has improved over the years , stayed consistent, or has fallen behind. We can track this because students take test like the FCAT year-round which lets us calculate the progression of the student. Standardized test also lets us compare how boys are doing compared to the girls.(Margie)

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.

There are many pros and passionate arguments as to why standardized testing is an important tool in the school system. One of the greatest benefits to standardized testing is that teachers and schools are responsible for teaching students what they are required to know for these standardized tests. Standardized tests are also helpful because they provide

My research validated my beliefs on how standardized testing narrow curriculum and teaching to the test methods that teacher adhere to keep their jobs and get their students to pass the tests (How Standardized Testing Damages Education , 2007). The research allowed me to validate my beliefs on standardize teaching taking away teacher abilities to teach with creativity and promote critical thinking in the classroom. What I discovered implicates that something should be done about the negative effects that standardized testing has on students or they would continue to be major consequences on the academic success of students in the United States. Furthermore, I have found one of the major reasons that people support standardized testing is because of its ability to provide accountability to students and teachers, however my founding indicated that an alternative should be found to standardized testing. The consequences to not finding an alternative to standardize testing its continuing to dominate the education system not allowing creatively and critical thinking to flourish in the minds of young students. Furthermore, when used properly standardized assessments can be used to help students in the classroom. For example, when assessments are used to determine what strategies and lesson plans are most beneficial for

The first reason why standardized testing is beneficial is because it will be helpful to students. David Deming, a professor at Harvard, did a study of the effects of standardized tests on students. Their analysis revealed that the pressure the No Child Left Behind Act set on schools to reach proficiency led low-scoring students to score significantly higher on a high-stakes math exam. In addition, according to Deming, “these students were also more likely to accumulate significantly more math credits and to graduate from high school on time.” Adding onto that, later those students were more