Is Standardized Testing Necessary

The satirical news site The Onion did a pro and con list of standardized testing which highlights it perfectly. Some of the pros are, “Every student measured against same narrow, irrelevant set of standards” and, “Western tradition of critical thinking best embodied in bubble-sheet format”. One of the funnier cons is, “There are easier ways to measure parents’ income” (The Onion). In a sad way, these have some truth behind them. Which shows how much of a joke standardized testing

Standardized tests do not cover real-life topics. Standardized tests are less educational than parents think. States make schools take these tests in-order to get more funding and to see how the teachers are performing. These tests have many effects on the students and their grades. The Kansas Silent Reading Test is one of the first known multiple choice standardized test in America. This test was created to reduce “Time and Effort” in administration and scoring (Standardized). Although schools do use the standardized testing methods in the classrooms today that was not what it was originally used for. Standardized testing began in the United States during WWI because the Army needed a method to determine which soldiers were “Officer Material” (Billy 75).

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.

By World War I, standardized testing was a common practice in the United States. It started with the Chinese, filling out tests to determine job status among the workers. During the industrial revolution, children left the farms and land to sit behind a desk, which caused the need to test a large amount of children quickly. The most common and well-known in our society are the SAT and ACT, which became a common rite of passage into universities in our society. There are many different views on standardized testing, creating a rift in our society, whether it has positive or negative impacts on our educational community and futures of children in our country.

“There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old "accountable" for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years before,” quote Jonathan Kozol. As this quote apptly states many children are often robbed of simple childhood pleasures by standardized testing. These strenuous tests should be cut back to the absolute minimum. Standardized tests should not be required because they provide unnecessary stress, are often inaccurate because of computer and human error, and some students, particularly minorities, are at a clear disadvantage.

Some would argue that standardized tests test everybody on the same level and it shows how well the students are taught by the teachers. This is true but not everybody learns on the same level and some don’t take tests very well.

Michelle Obama once said, “If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” Standardized testing is, “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” (edglossary.org, Standardized Test). Standardized testing is used in most schools and is used to determine the futures of many student’s educations. These tests usually have sets of multiple choice, or true or false questions that are to be answered within a limited amount of time. Many people think that this is the only way to accurately measure a student’s individual intelligence. Even though almost all schools make students

Evaluating individual students through standardized tests is a poor means and should be replaced with performance-based assessments. An average student spends most of their early life inside a classroom, submitting to a sequence of tests and preparation for further exams to finally graduate and continue with further education, constantly struggling and striving for the highest marks. Through a strict series of standardized tests however, students instead form the idea that there is a single answer for all of the problems that face our world.  You are taught not to think logically or creatively at all, but to mindlessly memorize. As a student, you lose interest in the different disciplines you

A national study by the Center on Education Policy had said that since 2001, 44 percent of school districts had reduced the time spent on science, social studies and the arts classes by an average of around 145 minutes per week just to focus on reading and math (Ratvitch 1). Also, because teachers are pressured by the demand to help produce higher test scores, they often spend a lot of time having students practice things that will most likely be on the tests. Also, the tests not only determine all too much of the curriculum but might eventually become the curriculum. Such large emphasis on testing stresses other. Therefore, standardized tests tend to discourage effective teaching and engaged, meaningful learning (Krause). On the contrary, The US Department of Education stated in November 2004 that "if teachers cover subject matter required by the standards and teach it well, then students will master the material on which they will be tested and probably much more” (Mitchell 2). Even though these tests take up a lot of the time the students are given to learn other

In addition, these tests rates a student’s performance on simply one certain day and does not take into account outside factors. There are many kids who just don’t do good on tests. Many of these students understand the content and are intelligent, but it doesn’t appear on the test. Some students also develop test anxiety, which affects how well they

Standardized testing has been used throughout recent history for evaluation by companies and universities and to test capacity and intellect within the education system. Even in China, standardized testing was used in a basic form to control citizens’ suitability for positions in the government and society. Alfred Binet established the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, which is now known as the IQ test. During World War I, the armed forces used Army Mental Tests to regulate the best positions for new draftees. IBM industrialized a system of standardizing test scores by scanning bubbled in answers, and today we use those scantrons and scantron machines. The College Board presented the SAT test we use today almost ninety years ago. When it was

The stress put onto students during periods of standardized tests also worsens their grades. While small amounts of stress can heighten students’ ability, chronic stress can cause poor decision-making qualities, increased mistakes, and lowers productivity. These three characteristics are all important for test-taking strategies. Stress can also affect the ability to comprehend new material; therefore, impairing their learning. Also, not every class has a mandatory state test. While high schoolers may have three classes that have state tests, the rest of their classes are continuing as normal. This adds to their stress because not only do they have to prepare for a test, but also keep up their other classes.

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.

Standardized testing today is used in almost all schools and universities. These tests are designed in a certain way that are administered and recorded in a reliable method. Standardized testing is where all the test takers are obligatory to answer the same set of examinations. These exams sometimes have multiple choice or true or false questions, and the test takers are given a time frame to answer all the problems. Standardized testing is used to compare the performances of the individuals in a relative manner. People consider the standardized testing to be an unprejudiced way of grading a student, since the computerized scoring removes any kind of bias and subjective assessments. There is also a lot of money going into these tests every year. Millions of dollars to be exact. These tests need to be taken to be accepted in any graduate or undergraduate program. Even though most schools make students take these standardized tests, it does not measure the knowledge or the performance of the student. People assume that this testing is a good way of comparing the performance levels of numerous students from different schools and different locations. Without the standardized tests, performance levels will not be possible. People often do not realize is that standardized testing is not a reliable way measuring the performance levels and things of the students.

To begin with standardized testing creates several critical problems for students and for the education industry. These tests are created to test over particular things. In the end these types of tests are only limited in the amount of knowledge that can be tested toward students. For example, “Standardized exams offer few opportunities to display the attributes of high-order thinking, such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creativity.” (“Standardized Testing Has Serious Limitations”). Even though these tests are able to attack certain subjects at the core, they still leave out very valuable and critical information that all students should know. In