Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing In The Education System

To many students standardized testing has become another part of schooling that is dreaded. Standardized testing has been a part of school since the nineteen-thirties; in those days it was used as a way to measure students that had special needs. Since the time that standardized test have been in American schools there has been many programs that have placed an importance on the idea of standardized testing such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Evans 1). Over the years the importance of standardized testing has increased tremendously and so has the stakes, not only for teachers but also students. All states in the United States of America have state test in order to measure how much students learn, and help tell how well the

Standardize tests can be used to evaluate a student's understanding and knowledge in subject area. For example, The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia Milestones) is a comprehensive summative assessment, which measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Standardize test have a positive effect on instructional decision making in the classroom. Standardize testing can help teachers diagnose student issues, evaluate student academic performance, form small groups, and develop instructional plans.

When people think of the education system, most can say that there are some problems, though they might not be able to pinpoint what needs to change first. If you ask most teachers, they will say that the first thing that needs to be changed in the schooling system to help the students more is the standardized testing. They will say that while it can be helpful it has a lot of faults and needs to be updated or changed to help its students. Standardized testing has often been a topic for discussion, between parents and people in the schooling system. It seems that a lot of people either hate standardized testing for not giving every child a chance to succeed, or love it for being a fair way to test whether a child knows what they need to know at their age. There have been many articles, books, and documentary’s debating on whether or not standardized testing is doing more harm then good. There was a comic made that shows the brutality and bluntness of what standardized testing is really like. Standardized Testing causes too much stress by putting unfair expectations on teens and doesn’t give every single student the chance to succeed.

Texas takes the STAAR, Alabama the ARMT, and Hawaii the HSA. Each state in the U.S. has a standardized test required of every student. From the ACT and SAT to the STAAR tests, standardized testing has become common practice for almost every student. The earliest records of standardized testing are when in China, anyone wanting to get a job in government had to fill out their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry in examination. As more and more kids began to go to school during the Industrial Revolution, standardized testing spread as a way to quickly and easily test a large number of students. But not everyone agrees with the tests, stating that they are unreliable, and that the stakes are too high. Standardized tests cause immense amount of stress for not only students, but teachers as well. And the tests might not even be effective, causing more anxiety than it's worth.

Since Middle School, I was not opposed to standardized testing. I thought of it as a way of testing us of what we have learned. Although, after reading some articles about standardized testing I am re-thinking the pros and cons. From personal experience, I thought of it as a challenge to pass them. But now that reminisce about it, I noticed some of the cons of standardized testing. I remember having a week or two dedicated for testing, and in case of students failing they had to take time to redo it. It would take a while for all the students to finish their tests. And after remembering how it was back in those times I was more on the opposed side.

Each year high school students from around the country take the SAT or ACT. The ACT and SAT are both standardized test used by colleges to determine the knowledge of a student and predict what their performance will be in their first year of college. An immense amount of pressure is put on student to receive certain scores in order to obtain scholarships and admission into college. Even just one point on a student’s score can determine if they will be accepted into their dream college. However, the results from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are often inaccurate. Because of this one’s knowledge and academic ability are misrepresented, and they are denied certain opportunities. Standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT

Jouriles, Greg. “Here’s why we don’t need standardized testing.” Education Week 33.36(2014). 36,40. Web. 22 February 2015.

One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.

1.7 billion dollars are spent on standardized tests each year, according to Pearson, by Steve Ferrara, a Ph.D. Research Scientist. All students in grades 3-8 are required to take state standardized tests. It does not even affect students’ grade, it just measures students’ intelligence, unreliably. One test taken in 10 hours determines how smart a student is as well as influence in getting into college. Standardized tests should not be taken anymore because these test are too expensive, too time-consuming, and cause unnecessary stress for students.

Many students have experienced the joy of test-taking. For some people, tests do not bother them. However, many experience test anxiety especially for these more high-stake tests. There are many different standardized tests such as: SOLs, SATs, ACTs, and college entrance exams. These standardized tests are not efficient tools for determining the knowledge of students. People respond differently on tests depending on the testing environment and how their day has been. However, others argue that standardized tests show grades each individual student has truly earned. Standardized tests are stressful, they do not represent a student’s understanding of material well, and they interfere with the way teachers want to teach.

Today, it can be observed that society has shifted education drastically from the time schools were constituted, to now. Throughout history, schools have gone from private, where only the elite can attend, to public schools where virtually anyone can attend. One of the factors that goes along with education is standardized testing. Frederick J. Kelly, father of the standardized test, once said, “These tests are too crude to be used, and should be abandoned.” Not only has this shift occurred within education itself, but it has occurred within the testing concepts found within standardized testing so much so that the founder of these tests has chosen to give up on it.

At the end of every school year comes testing season, these standardized tests have caused a great debate of whether or not they should be removed. For about 9 months students are graded by many different techniques and test and they earn those quarterly grades, then they take the test and are in fear of failing the class. The article Examining the Pros and Cons of standardized Testing by Derrick Meador he talks about the benefits of these test, he also adds the cons of them towards the end of his writing. I disagree with his writing because tests such as sats, acts, the eoc, and for Florida the Fsa, are test based on what you should know but you have already proved that with your grades. I believe these test are hurting students who are bad test takers, it's stressful for both students and the teachers, and the test bring on too much at one time.

Standardized testing- in any dictionary or any website, it can be described as "a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner". Though, if you go to any school and ask a student's definition of testing, it would probably sound something along the lines of, "the WORST kind of punishment a teacher can give a student." What the students don’t know is testing is helping them create their lifestyle, paving their life, and preparing them for their future. Standardized testing has been debated nationally; people who believe in standardized testing has a positive effect on students claim that, standardized testing provides descriptive information for thoughtful use by well trained teachers. Some reasons for this is: standardized testing has been around since the 1930s when students in public schools first started testing; testing has only progressed since then. Also, we are able to get more information from our students than just regular tests in classrooms. Last, but certainly not least, testing aids as a system to help for future development for any of our students.

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. The biggest test of his life is staring him right in the face, but all he can do is try to calm his breathing before he passes out. This young man is suffering from test anxiety, something countless students endure, but have to attempt to get over in order to take a mandatory standardized test, that in no way benefits them in the future. Standardized testing shrinks the curriculum; puts too much emphasis on specific subjects; lowers students’ motivation to learn; is used as an inaccurate comparison between students; includes insignificant information; gives inaccurate evaluations of students; teachers, and schools; and promotes cheating and conformity, and therefore should not be a required part of secondary schooling.

Quite a few opportunities are offered by different groups interested in finding the United State’s brightest children, but is selecting them by IQ tests and school grades still appropriate? IQ tests have long been outdated, originally devised to test those below average intelligence, not those who are far above. School grades are often also not an indication of someone who is an exceptionally bright student, preventing students that are maybe not the brightest in school for various reasons but may be bright in their own particular talent, including art, music, or a variety others.