Persuasive Essay On High Stakes Testing

This article, "What Do Test Scores In Texas Tell US?" by the Rand Corporation looks at the pros and cons to high stakes testing in Texas. High stakes testing was meant to improve academic scores and motivate teachers, but unintended concerns have risen. Professionals and the media question exactly how beneficial these test are, and if we should continue to use them. Texas was looked at because students had made huge strides in statewide testing. "Gains in Texas Assessment and Academic Skills (TAAS) reading and math scores for both majority and minority have been so dramatic that they have dubbed the 'Texas Miracle '" (Rand, 2000). The success was so great that Texas students were put through further test to validate that these impressive scores. Students tested on the National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP) between 1994 and 1998. After comparing the scores for TAAS to the scores of NAEP many questions arose for the validity of statewide testing. Tables in the article show that the TAAS scores are differ greatly than those of the NAEP. Though the scores between the two test were much different Texas students who took the NAEP were higher than the U.S. average. Also, by 1998 the gap between the scores of white students and students of color got smaller. Questions about why the gap between the TAAS scores and the NAEP scores were so great were never directly answered. Suggestions were made that Texas teachers could more easily prepare students for the

The NCLB Act has obligated the government to find a way to keep track of progress, which, in their minds, is administering high-stakes tests. High-stakes testing is scrutinized all the time, since some believe it is the only indicator of tracking students and teachers. They seemed to have been ridiculed by many and favored by few; nonetheless there are significant disparities in the public’s and government’s opinion. According to Dunne (2000), “Tests aren't just tests anymore -- at least not high-stakes tests, which are being used in some states to determine which students stay back a grade, which high school seniors receive diplomas, which teachers get bonuses, and more.”

Albert Einstein once stated, “not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts.” High-stakes testing attempts to determine the knowledge a person has obtained throughout grades K-12. These standardized tests are being used to judge a person’s ability to graduate from high school and also judge if a child has enough knowledge to proceed to the next grade level. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing how these tests do not accurately portray one’s intelligence, how they have increased drop out rates, and also show the damaging psychological affects they have had.

Three times a year, hours spent testing, and for what? Standardized Tests. Some school staff members, or family, believe that Standardized Tests can increase the students’ educations. Students can say otherwise. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that Standardized Tests can be substandard for students. The evidence supporting this claim is that the tests can cause stress in young children, it’s overall expensive, and it takes away teaching time. I hope from reading this essay you will also believe Standardized Tests should be cut from schools programs.

One motivation behind why kids shouldn't take Standardized test is on the grounds that it is bringing about anxiety to both educators and understudies! As per Gregory J. Cizek, these "Test" are creating uneasiness for low/high class understudies and instructors (2002). These test are demoralizing understudies in light of the fact that these test figure out if or not you graduate or not. Case in point, my companion who was a senior a year ago was told he couldn't graduate in light of the fact that he didn't breeze through his english state test his sophomore year. Due to that, the school was compelled to hold his confirmation and he didn't graduate on time.

Testing accommodations for high-stakes tests have recently become a topic of conversation among state and federal legislators. In addition to those higher up, classroom teachers of exceptional students (special needs) have begun to question the validity of tests for their students. Due to the rising number of high-stakes tests that are administered, there have been a number of research studies completed in order to help prove whether or not accommodations are even worth the time. Accommodations can include extended time, read-aloud sessions, test response style, etcetera. In the studies that are mentioned, different types of accommodations were provided, different age groups in different areas of our country. These studies, while having a wide range of age in their participants, all agree on the fact that accommodations should be provided for tests. These studies provide important data

For every student wanting to apply to colleges, exempt classes, etc., standardized testing is put into use to measure the amount of knowledge about the subject. There are many biased opinions on why standardized testing should be banned. Many come from unscholarly critics. However, there are some critics who show both sides of a story when it comes to standardized testing. Over the years, standardized testing has shown a wide variety of grades that are not good enough for many students. Some students struggle with what they got on the standardized test simply because they are not adequate test takers. Some however have some critical advantages that “show” that they are capable of taking standardized test and knowing the material. In other words, standardized testing clearly demonstrates no abilities of what a student really has.

Every student knows what it feels like to walk into school on standardized testing days and having to sit in a desk for several hours and filling out multiple choice bubble sheets. Standardized testing has been around for years and standardized testing begins as soon as kindergarten. For a while now there has been a big debate on what standardized testing measures about a student and the effects on the student. To majority of people, standardized testing is a measure of their intelligence and has positive effects on the student. However standardized testing does not accurately measure your intelligence and only measures your ability to memorize and work under pressure. A large portion of the questions on these tests are things students have

These assessments have important consequences for students, teachers and schools; low scores can prevent a student from progressing to the next grade level or lead to teacher firings and school closures, while high scores ensure continued federal and local funding and are used to reward teachers and administrators with bonus payments. standardized testing in the US has been estimated to be "a multi-billion-dollar industry,". Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don't already know. Ask any teacher and she can tell you which students can read and write. That telling usually comes in the form of letter grades or evaluations that break ld give us as much information as we now get from standardized tests. Standardized tests don't always measure student learning as intended. Not every student learns or demonstrates

I first became aware of standardized testing when I entered third grade. I’m sure I was being tested as early as second grade. However, this is when it started to stand out to me. I finally knew the “importance” of this test and why I needed to take it seriously. Teachers, my parents, and even my peers stressed how these test’s would determine the classes I was placed in for the start of my school career. Statistics show that standardized testing is the leading cause of our public education to fail year after year. Should students in the United States be measured by bias standardized testing?

Along with the economic strain it puts on America, standardized tests put too much pressure on students to perform well on the tests. The students’ scores can affect their teachers and their community. Because of this pressure, students often times perform more poorly. As many as 150,000 students in New York had gotten permission from parents to opt out altogether due to how stressed they were becoming. Meanwhile, students across the country are choosing to opt out of these high-stakes tests. Students have also been doing so due to the lack of necessity of the

I understand standardized testing is to know where a student educational level is at but it’s not right to make it worth a huge part of our grade. Many fear if they lower the percentage students are more likely to try less on the test but it could actually improve how well they do. It makes students feel worse about themselves because of the low score they received. Standardized testing is not worth the pressure it places on students.

Standardized testing is a complex topic with two sides that can be argued if it’s good or bad. The two sides of testing with one being that It should stay in schools and it helps them for the future. The other side of the argument say that they should be abolished and taken out of school as it doesn’t prepare students for the future. Most of theses tests are used in many schools that believe that taking these tests will enhance how the students learn and give them a way to track themselves on topics. Standardized tests like the SATs and ACTs should be kept in schools for students who are planning on going to college to have a choice. I think an action for MCAs that should be taken is to have it stopped being used in schools. Standardized tests

Visualize a standardized test taken annually by millions of students in the U.S.A. that directly affects teaching methods, school budgets, and grade promotion. Presently, millions of schools are utilizing high-stakes tests to determine these major factors. The United States expects students to perform well on standardized testing, or school districts will suffer financial consequences under the No Child Left Behind Act (Au 502). This places pressure on everyone from administrators to students in a school district. Schools worldwide are stressed to succeed on these standardized tests when they only measure a fraction of a student’s intelligence. Standardized testing must be discontinued because it negatively affects school curricula,

What, how and why are all questions that ponder and ruminate the human mind. Most people want to know why things happen and how they can be solved. Science is what mankind uses to answer the many questions and problems that mankind propose. In this case science can and has been used to solve the many problems that mankind has gone through. The question we now have to answer rings in most scientists heads. Who and what should we use as test subjects to get the best, quickest, and most effective results to man’s physical and mental problems? Which way doesn’t risk and waste innocent lives? There is a way that large advances can be made in human research without having to hurt any human beings. A way to get the same, or better results to human research without using innocent lives. Eventually we can solve the many problems that take away lives without taking away any lives. Human testing is not the way to go however there is a new and very effective solution that won’t even hurt any living creature.