Should Students React To Standardized Testing Differently

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.

While a few standardized tests over a student’s school career can be helpful to make sure students are on track and teachers are educating their students, the United States education system has far too many standardized tests. The U.S should reduce the number of tests given to students each year. The current amount of testing stresses students and forces teachers to “teach to the test”. Standardized testing has not and will not improve the American school

Ever since standardized testing started being used as a way to evaluate the intelligence of students and the teachers’ ability to educate, the standard of actual education has been diminished immensely. Standardized testing is used in most public and private schools to analyze students’ knowledge. It has affected the way in which students learn and has corrupted the methods teachers use to educate. In some cases, English-Learning and disabled students face discrimination from teachers since teachers have more responsibility to have a high number of passing students. Some countries around the world don’t use standardized tests to rank their students or schools and yet they have been successful. Standardized tests are not efficient on making students learn, they should not be used to evaluate students’ knowledge.

Additionally, Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” There are different forms of intelligence that go beyond what our school system measures. Students are not a unit to be measured, and students cannot be assigned a numerical value to identify their intelligence. Students are diverse—they learn at different speeds, and they learn in different ways. Focusing solely on test scores is hurting our students and deviating away from building our society on success and excellence. Critics are slowly realizing the problems associated with standardized tests—they create anxiety, they are extremely biased, and they do not measure the ability to think deeply.

Imagine a world where the future of a particular child all depends on what they receive on a single exam score. Then, imagine having that score analyzed, compared, and shared with school officials statewide. In reality, this is happening, and in many times, for the wrong purpose and has largely contributed to falsely claimed assumptions of students due to the inaccuracy of these scores. Standardized testing, the definition is in the word itself; any test given in the same environment, to the appropriate age group, and based solely on specific standards that were hoped to be mastered by students. However, what really is gained from these particular exams? Perhaps it is the single digit produced that so

America’s educational system could improve nationally by removing standardized testing. American has recognized some of the flaws the education system has presented and chose to fix them; however, one of these problems has been standardized testing, which has not been identified nor changed. Standardized testing inflicts many problems to students that need to be fixed immediately. From inefficient teachers to poorer school systems, standardized testing needs to change because it deteriorates America’s education systems, it is an unfair disadvantage, and it cannot accurately measure a student’s amount of intelligence.

School testing is a very controversial topic. Many people believe that SOL testing is useless and unnecessary, while others believe it is very helpful. In “Problems With Standardized Testing” by Jasmine Evans, she states the issues and irregularities that come with testing. She explains how the stakes are too high, pressuring students harshly: “That pressure to succeed creates a poor environment for learning” (Evans par.

In the United States, standardized testing is being used everywhere around the country. There has been controversy on whether it is actually an effective way of testing. These tests are deemed to be important to schools, since teachers spend countless hours trying to get students to master what will be on the test. This interferes with engaging lessons in which students spend less time learning and spend more time memorizing. These tests require a certain amount of hours to be taken, which interfere with valuable class time. Not only do these tests do absolutely nothing except restrict the learning environment of a student, they are inequitable, they don’t adequately measure a student's

Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid.” Recently, there has been discussion about whether the method of standardized testing is best for our education system. There are a lot of flaws that come with the system of testing. Opposers argue that with all of the flaws, the testing significantly holds American citizens back from greater potential to success. Standardized testing weakens America’s education system, because it can cause teachers to “teach to the test”, does not truly measure intelligence or abilities, and cannot always reflect what a student has learned.

Standardized test have been in effect inside American schools for over 150 years (“Standardized Tests”). It has become a tradition to set aside multiple days out of the school year and test students over a variety of different material. But, having one student of a composed set of qualities and knowledge take an identical timed exam of a student on a different level is unfair and proves to be a matter of inequality. Learning is not how well someone can memorize all 208 bones in the human body, for instance. The average person is bound to be dubious on a topic like human anatomy. Undeniably, learning is not meant to be accomplished by remembering statistics and facts. Along with that, vital qualities needed outside of high

Standardized tests exist for administrative, political, and financial purposes, not for educational ones (institute4learning). Should teachers teach to a test? Are standardized tests worth the stress and anxiety they put upon students? All students don’t learn the same so, why test them the same. Standardized tests are damaging our education.

“Standardized testing has become the arbiter of social mobility, yet there is more regulation of the food we feed our pets than of the tests we give our kids ” (Schaeffer). Standardized tests have commonly been used to evaluate a student’s knowledge of a particular subject over the course of a class, or to compare students with one another. Therefore, standardized tests are being used to make serious decisions for students in 2014. Decisions such as grade promotion, high school graduation, and the college a student will or will not attend are among the life changing outcomes of a single standardized test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and are being forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure is being spent on preparing students for standardized tests. So much more is being sacrificed, for instance schools are cutting back on or even eliminating electives, programs in the arts and recess for young children. The focus on standardized tests is putting children in the 21st century at risk for emotional, psychological, and intellectual harm.

Students are stressed. But, what is the goal of these tests? Are we trying to make students compete with one another to see who gets the higher score? Or are we preparing them for life outside of school? Maybe at one time these tests were used to measure how well the future leaders of our countries were learning, but now it is no longer like that. These tests seem to show no post-school value except to find the most successful kids and give them scholarships to college. Going along with this, everyone, depending on their grade, is required to take the same exact test. Despite their different ways of thinking, students are grouped together and the ones who are different are “wrong” simply because they were unable to learn it due to the way they were taught. Holding every single student to the same standards avoids the fact that everyone has a different mindset and each person may excel in different subjects. This poses a question: when will the system change? Students are held to such enormous pressure that when they meet the standards, they are convinced they’re stupid, and I struggle with this, too. However, it would be easier if all of the intimidation encountered when we are testing would just be withdrawn and students can be able to take a test, try their best, and if they don’t succeed, they can continue to work hard because, after all, a test shouldn’t determine how

Standardized testing is bad for students. Testing shouldn’t be a way for a child of any age to have their capability or intelligence measured, and frankly it’s very unfair. Many people feel pressure and stress from the testing process as well as many other issues which might arise from a vigorous system. Standardized testing should be cut from the American schooling system.

The debate on standardized tests and its adequacy in testing a student’s knowledge about a subject has been going on for many years. Tests, in general, has been around for centuries and without them there would not be progress and no gleams of progress. Students ranging from elementary school to high school have experienced standardized testing. Teachers, educators, and parents are also involved in the students’ lives, which revolves around the tests, one way or another. There are many views on standardized test. However, the three most common views are: educators who are for standardized test which benefits students, educators who are at the other extreme of opposing standardized tests, and educators who view tests are a benefit if done in appropriate amounts.