Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

What is a standardized test? It is any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same question, or selection of questions. Students shouldn’t have to take standardized tests because they can place a huge amount of stress on students and teachers, standardized tests are make students feel identical, standardized tests don’t provide any feedback on how to perform better.

Would you like to take a test that is unfair, expensive, and unreliable? Chances are you already have. Standardized testing in schools is not only bad for the students, but also bad for our country’s future. Some might think standardized testing is a good thing, because it is the only way to measure all students the same across the country. However, this thought is wrong for many reasons.

A Teachingabout.com “Examining the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing,” Standardized testing allows students located in various schools, districts, and even states to be compared. Without standardized testing, this comparison would not be possible. Public school students in the state of Texas are all required to take the same state standardized tests. This means that a student in Amarillo can be compared to a student in Dallas. Being able to accurately analyze data is invaluable and is a primary reason that the Common Core State Standards have been adopted in many states. These will allow for a more accurate comparison between states.Yes, standardized tests allow students around the world to compare their scores. Although Connectusfund.org “10 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Testing,” The tests do not really assess skill as the questions have to be generalized for the entire population. In short, the test items are not in conjunction with classroom skills and behavior. What standardized tests do is assess the general knowledge and understanding of students rather than their actual ability. Now would we really like to make students miserable by making them suffer through standardized test. So ask yourself do really think that students should take such horrifying things like standardized

One reason why standardized testing should not be used to measure students’ educational abilities is that it does not accurately reflect what students have learned in the classroom. Every student in a classroom has their own way of learning, thus they are not on the same learning level. It might take one student to slowly understand a topic in class, while the other picks up the concepts right away. Standardized tests are usually in a multiple choice format; having quick answers to superficial questions. The pressure of needing a high score on these tests leaves the student to become stressed. This results to them not performing as well and can affect their scores, positively or negatively. There are students who get good grades in class

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.

Standardized tests should not be required because of all the time preparing for it, could just be spent on teaching more on what the grade level requires. Students begin to receive extra help when it comes to the time preparing for these test, it just starts to get them unhappy and dislike school. Standardized tests should not be required because it an extra item in school that requires more time to be prepared for and does not relate to the school, so teachers are not permitted to help a student in need.

The use of standardized tests is not something new. Everyone should know about their importance and the emphasis put on them, along with the stress that follows. There are multiple choice tests, high-stakes tests, and the dreaded time-limited tests. It is true to say not all tests are created equal; however, every one of these tests has serious flaws. Standardized tests are unfair because they fail to measure students' abilities, they cause an unnecessary amount of stress, and there are too many incentives to teach the test.

Standardized testing allows for something schools can compare students’ knowledge with. Although this may be true, testing is actually harmful. Standardized tests are an unfair way to be accessed because they do not accurately represent a student’s abilities. Many people don’t perform well on tests; they are smart, and understand the subject, but they don’t show it on the test. It is easy to forget something on a test, even if you studied for a while and normally understand the topic. Many students experience nerves or anxiety when taking a test. Feeling nervous has been proven to affect a student's performance for the worst. Students panic if they run into a question they aren’t sure of the answer to which decreases their score even more. 50% to 80% of test scores were fluctuated and had nothing to do with the actual growth in learning of a student. This shows that tests are an unfair analyzation because the scores are not accurate.

To start off, standardized tests take up too much class time. Class time helps prepare students for opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges. Without more class time, students will not be prepared for later in life. Plus, the students have almost all day to take the test. So, after they are done with the test then they do not have any class time left.

Schools and the state should not make students take standardized tests. First of all, for most of the test, the students have not learned the material. Also, it only examines how someone does that one day and not of the whole year. Lastly, some of these tests rate the school and teacher’s performance, and not actually seeing what the students are learning in class.

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 tests work along the lines that all students learn at the same rate, which is not true. It's unfair to compare students from different districts, states, and countries when they all have different curriculums, and work at different paces. Standardized testing only looks at the book material that is taught in school, and does not put any value on any of the arts programs; and does not look at any personal aspects such as social skills, creativity, team working skills, or work ethic; and therefore is not an accurate measure of improvement in young adults. Standardized testing is not in place to test the skills necessary to succeed in life, standardized testing is in place to measure how good students are at mindlessly consuming information, and then regurgitating it back up in the form of bubbles filled in with a number 2

Diane Ravitch once said “Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” Standardized test “is any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way.” Different students will take the same test and then the test will be evaluated by professors to see how students did. Standardized tests also provides teacher evaluation, to evaluate if the professor is teaching the students in the right way and if students are understanding what the professor is teaching. Like many issues in education, standardized test is a controversial topic among professors, voters and parents. A lot of people believe that standardized testing is good for student and they show student’s achievements. Others disagree and believe that standardized tests don't measure student’s learning.

Standardized tests are based around a curriculum a student should be learning from their teachers. This allows the state and national Boards of Education to

Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.