Should Schools Do Away With Standardized Testing

High school students have to take a standardized test to graduate. This requirement should be reclassified. Students shouldn't need to pressure over something that shouldn't even be mandatory and is irrelevant to graduating. Some people agree standardized tests should be a requirement for high school graduation, whereas others think standardized tests shouldn't be a requirement for high school graduation. Many things can go wrong with standardized tests. For example, students who have trouble with English might fail. Hence, preventing them from graduating. Additionally, since it's a standardized test, all schools tests correspond to one another and are exactly the same. Therefore, if students didn't learn about a certain topic, which was on the tests, they're gonna fail due to something that's not their fault, at all. Students who have flunked the test, have to attend summer school or get held back and are not allowed to graduate! It's not fair because just for a test that might not even show what you truly know, will cost you a grade. Consequently, high school students shouldn't be required to take a standardized test to graduate.

In the mid to late 1800s, the secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts, Horace Mann, began the standardized testing age of America’s school systems. According to Thomas C. Hunt, et al., “A standardized achievement test is a test that measures students’ knowledge of a domain of related content…. These achievement tests put emphasis on what has been learned by the students, and students are scored as either proficient or not proficient in the content area” (Hunt, et al 888). Standardized testing was very well-liked in the past and still is by some people today. Many education systems encourage the continuation of these standardized tests because it measures how much knowledge a student has gained and how well the teacher’s instruction has taught the student throughout the year. Many teachers and administrators also approve of the

Schools around the world have a hard time with standardized tests. Students either don’t take them seriously or simply just do not know the material. Teachers try to prepare their students for these tests but it takes away valuable class time to teach useful information. Many students fail these tests because of the environment they live in at home. These tests put schools into shame when getting their scores back each year. Schools should eliminate standardized tests because the test has not improved student’s achievements, it is an unreliable measure of student performance, and these tests only measure a small portion of what makes education meaningful.

Such pressure on students does not help them to become quick learners, or more adaptable, but instead it makes them confront the feeling of failure, which is uncalled for. Since the tests are also sought as a measure of a teacher’s performance, they also stress out teachers, even though the scores students get change based on what test they are taking which makes it difficult to judge a teacher. Standardized tests are also known to give younger students tons on stress in the form anxiety which can affect the brightest of students in such a strong manner that the Stanford-9 Exam has instructions on what to do if the student vomits on their test booklet. This clearly isn’t a sign that students enjoy and/or appreciate the

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

"If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guaruntee you that." said Michelle Obama, according to brainyquotes.com. Standardized testing is everywhere. Children as young as eight years old take these tests in which all test takers are given the same test no matter what their specific needs are. At some schools, these tests determine whether you move on to the next grade and even if you graduate. However, is this really fair? While some students perform exceptionally, others do not. I think students should not be required to pass a test at the end of the year to move on to the next grade or to graduate because not all students test well. These tests can also add additional stress and anxiety to a student's life, and they are unfair to non English speakers and students with disabilities.

Many schools are based on the students academic scores and many of them don't do well so here's the real question "Should schools with low score on standardized tests be closed?.

It's 8 A.M. on a Saturday, and masses of students around the United States wake up and head to their testing sites in order to take the SAT. This is a common occurrence that happens multiple times a year, but it raises the question as to how seriously should society take these tests and other standardized testing, such as the Regents examinations in New York State. The answer to this is obvious, clearly these exams, and all standardized tests, must be taken seriously, due to the fact they provide vital information for colleges such as which students are the best, they provide ample data for high schools and state governments to prove that the academic standards are being upheld, and they also provide useful information to various institutions

Many schools statewide are facing the contradictory topic of the exemption of standardized testing amongst their students. This format of assessing with American Education began in the middle 1800’s and grew when the NO Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated testing in the US in 2002. These actions taken were said to mainly have been put in place to keep teachers and schools accountable for the assurance of those paying taxes and what government money is being spent on. Despite these comments, the vast majority of people would say that the proficiency level aligned with the state’s reading and math, find it to be an impossible goal to aim for. And throughout the course of time, multiple days in the school year have been eradicated with test

There are many issues with standardized testing. The article mentions, “But don’t count on students to stand out if they are constantly being trained to fit in.” Students are being taught how to test and prepare for what might be on the tests compared to just learning the subject out of the book. “Cheating” is done by not just students on these tests, but also school districts. Some change the test answers or give them to the student ahead of time, so the students would score higher. Another issue is that people in the education field use the scores to define the student. Standardized tests completely disregard a student’s learning ability and a student’s background.

Throughout their whole lives, students go through numerous tests. Some of these tests are just simple, mind tests they perform on themselves and there are others that are very hard, semester review tests. However, what people do not realize is the amount of standardized testing that children go through nowadays.

Standardized testing takes valuable time away from students to learn about lessons that will actually be useful in the future. They are expected to remember criteria learned in middle school and/or grade school, and the more time spent on trying to equalize the students, the more creativity is being taken away from them. Creativity is what makes people individual and unique, why would we want to live in a world where everyone is alike and boring? For example, between 20-25 hours in the entire school year for the average eighth grader is spent preparing and taking standardized tests, according to the Council of the Great City Schools. With all the time spent on studying for those unavailing exams, teachers could be educating students on how to survive in the real world, and guide them to be themselves through inventive activities.

One reason to eliminate standardized testing, is that standardized testing takes away from creativity and innovation

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

College admissions are crucial a student’s senior year of high school. There are many requirements that need to be satisfied in order to qualify for admissions at certain schools, as well as the checklist to apply to each school. Hopefully, as a junior the student prepared by taking the SAT/ACT, and visiting at least a handful of potential colleges. By the start of senior year, the student must complete a separate application for each college which is quite tedious, then submit high school transcripts, shot records, admission essay(s), and SAT/ACT scores. Although it may be optional additional letters of recommendation and proof of volunteer work should be submitted as an extra precaution. These things show the college more about the individual,