Purpose Of Standardized Testing In Public Schools

In an affirmative tone, standardized testing has failed to improve student achievement for a majority of schools. U.S.A, from the passing of the No Child Left Behind act in 2002 to 2009, has faced a decline in their rank in math in the Programme for

One reason for the creation of the NCLB Act was that the American education system was not internationally competitive. The United States wasn’t producing as well educated students as other countries. When the NCLB Act was signed into law in 2002, the United States was ranked 20th in the world for math on the newest (from 2000) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. In the newest results (from 2015), the U.S. was ranked 40th. Similarly, the U.S fell from 15th to 24th in science, and from 16th to 24th in reading, all over the same fifteen-year period (2000-2015). Some of the higher rated schools, such as Finland, have very few or no standardized tests. Creating more standardized tests doesn’t create a better education system.

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, standardized testing has been at the center of attention in the educational system. Several schools and teachers have been forced to drill children on the information they will be tested on. Teachers are forced to demonstrate other important topics in order to teach test material. Similar to majority of tests provided in the school system, standardized test have both pros and cons. Generally speaking, standardized testing is a great way to determine a baseline for a child. As Miller (2016) indicated, tests have a multitude of benefits, which include student enthusiasm, peer learning, self-improvement and retention, transfer of learning, student self-assessment, and teacher instructional guidance. Teachers are able to use the data from the standardized tests to build an entire academic plan around the results. Additionally, students and parents are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each child in order to determine the next steps needed to help bridge any gaps within their academic studies.

Currently, there are around 37 thousands schools in the United States. Each year, there are more than a million students that applying for college institutions (National Center for Educational Statistics). As an university admission office, it is often difficult to select students based on numbers and words that show up on their application without knowing the applicant. Since there are many factors and can impact a student’s high school experience and performance, it is unfair to be comparing every student in the United States with a same standard. In order to minimize these differences, standardized tests were invented along with the No Child Left Behind act in 2001 which enforced all students to participate. Ideally, standardized tests are objective and graded by computer. The test is expected to be evaluating all students with the same standards. While the educators and designers of the standardized tests focus on generating a test that allows them to compare all students fairly, they abandon the fact that all students’ resources and backgrounds are inevitably different. Assuming that all elements of an educational system serve to benefit students’ learnings, standardized testing is an inadequate method of evaluation due to its negative impact on students and teachers’ mindsets, inaccuracy in evaluation of students’ abilities, and the

Following the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, it has not only sparked fear in students but teachers as well. High stakes testing has taken a toll on student creativity and achievement as well as the closing of schools and termination of teachers and administrators. In 2011 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that “82 percent of schools could be failing by the end of 2012” (US News, 2013). Proponents of testing such as taxpayers and parents approve of this process as it increases accountability of the schools and teachers.

A never-ending issue has loomed over the head of our nation-- education. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, 63.7% of American students are below proficient in reading and 65.7% in math. In order to improve educational standards and increase student achievement, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 2002. Designed to increase the role of the federal government in education, it holds schools accountable based on how students perform on standardized tests. Statistics show that the average student completes about 110-115 mandatory, standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and end of twelfth grade (an average of eight tests per year). Standardized testing utilizes

Schools all over the nation have introduced standardized testing as a way to evaluate what the students have learned over the course of the school year. Exams can be administered online or on paper, depending on the subject. Test can be taken at different points of the school year; results can be used as a way to determine what areas are weaker than others. Most results are viewed by the school board, administrators, and teachers. In some schools students take one end of the year test with different subjects, other just takes one test. These tests can be graded by groups of people are computers. Standardized testing has become a part of America’s educational system and many don’t see the benefit of the test at all.

Every year, millions of students take long standardized tests, but do they improve the education of American students? In 2000, the US ranked 18th in mathematics worldwide. By 2012, the US dropped to 27th, with similar results in the remaining subjects. After passing the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001, the lives of thousands were academically changed. NCLB’s Mission Statement reads: “Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” Standardized testing is declining the education in America by placing financial burdens on schools, as well as reprioritizing school choices, unnecessary

More than a decade after President George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act in efforts to improve the United States’s performance in education, the nation is still only ranked 27th in math and 17th in reading internationally. Amazingly average. The question is, how can the United States improve its ranking? The federal government turned to standardized testing to assess students, as NCLB mandated annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight. However, overwhelming evidence and arguments clearly show that standardized testing does not improve education in the United States.

Students are getting tested in schools more often than ever before. This is an ongoing reaction to the “No Child Left Behind Act”, which was established in 2002. “The act is an attempt to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” (US Board of Education 1) “A typical US student takes 112 mandated standardized tests

With the introduction of standardized testing, the education system has become much more linear. When the “No Child Left Behind Act” was instated in 2001 by the Bush administration, the amount of

The biggest debate in education right now is whether or not standardized testing is beneficial or harmful to the educational needs of students. Teachers today feel that standardized testing has become excessive and is impeding the learning process of today’s students. However, legislators feel that standardized testing is imperative to the assessment of the achievement gap. Research suggests that excessive standardized testing is negatively impacting schools because of its emphasis on accountability and not on learning achievement, the ramifications it’s having on teachers, and the added stress and pressure it has placed on students.

"The average student in America’s big-city public schools takes at least 112 mandatory standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and the end of 12th grade — an average of about eight a year according to studies. That eats up between 20-25 hours every school year, the study says. As for the results, they often overlap. On top of all that are teacher-written tests, sometimes taken by students along with standardized tests in the very same subject" (Strauss, Valerie. "Confirmed: Standardized Testing Has Taken over Our Schools. But Who’s to Blame?" Washington Post. The Washington) Standardized tests have always been used to measure a student’s progress in core subjects. But recently, federal funding hinges test results. It all started with President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, which requires states to grade schools based on test results in order to receive federal funds.

The ongoing controversy revolving standardized testing within public schools continues as the correlation between student, along with teacher, achievement and the use of standardized testing is researched. Some deem standardized testing as an inevitable way to determine student progress, while others relate more towards negative effects from standardized testing.

The No Child Left Behind Act should tremendously be re-examined and amended because the focus on the standardized tests decrease the quality of other subjects not on the tests, the tests are not an efficient tool to make certain that a student is receiving an excellent education and the tests create unnecessary stress for the students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of No Child Left Behind is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a top-grade education. This is a great proposal to strive towards but, legislation plans on achieving this proposal by making schools responsible for their students’ proficiency and to measure their proficiency with the use of standardized tests. After the students take the