Standardized Test Scores An Accurate Representation Of A Student 's Abilities

standardized tests is that they lack a level of comprehension and are incapable of succeeding in the educational system. This belief is especially prevalent in regards to high stakes tests such as college entrance and high school graduation exams because the focus is on the test score. The perception is that these scores are the sole indicator of the student’s knowledge of a subject and their ability to succeed at a higher level of education. Therefore,

The use of standardized testing to measure students’ knowledge is an inaccurate reflection of their capabilities. By being forced to take a test that does not effectively show their abilities, students become overstressed, and the tests themselves do not promote true academic achievement. Rather than learning about subjects in order to gain knowledge, students simply memorize facts and formulas to get a decent test score. Standardized tests are not an appropriate measure of student performance, only benefit certain groups of students, and do not prepare students for the real world.

Welner (2014) states that “standardized assessments are linked to curriculum standards and performance standards and tied to specified consequences” (p. 39). Welner discuses that the standard-based testing in American schools are a mess and need to be untangled because of the consequences of underperformance. Schools are defunded, teachers and principals are laid off, and schools are marked as ‘failing’. There needs to be a reform in schools that need academic improvement and the way to figure out which schools need development is by testing the students. Jones & King and McLaughlin & Overturf provide different feedback on standard-based testing. According to McLaughlin & Overturf (2012), “Using formative assessments is not only an effective way to monitor student progress, but also a viable way to glean information for planning future instructions” (p.157). In order for teachers to know if their lessons are effective or not, teachers give standard-based tests and assessments to their students. Without tests, student progress cannot be tracked in a concise manner. Jones & King (2012) agree that by building new assessments and curricula, American schools are redefining success (p.37). That success can also come at a price when dealing with more rigorous standards that are new to the

A new study by RAND Corp, in Santa Monica, California found that “between 50 percent and 80 percent of the improvement in a school's average test scores … was temporary and was caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning or productivity”(Olson). This shows that a student’s performance on standardized tests is too inconsistent to accurately display an objective evaluation of their education. Also, as the scores change each year, the ability to evaluate the teacher becomes difficult. In a high school in New Mexico a teacher found that “Students raced to see who could finish the test first, not who could get the most correct answers. … Former high school juniors interviewed this week said many students blew off the tests after being told that the scores wouldn't count toward graduation— unlike the required 10th-grade competency test”(Contreras). This shows that students do not take standardized tests seriously when it does not affect them directly. So, it does accurately represent students or teacher’s academic achievement. Standardized testing is not a consistent way to evaluate a teacher’s ability as well as track a student’s

Do you feel that standardized testing has benefited the way that students learn in the classroom? Has it hindered their learning?

High school students across the United States stand by their mailboxes, waiting anxiously for the envelope containing the score that will seal their academic fate. College admission hinges on how well students perform in standardized testing. However, standardized testing has long-standing problems of bias, inaccuracy, coachability, and misuse. Because of these flaws, the college admission process places too much value on standardized test scores, such as the ACT and SAT, and are therefore insufficient predictors of a student’s potential and future success.

Each year many high school students are encouraged to take standardized tests. They are told how essential the tests are and to spend vast amounts of time preparing for them. Although many people think that standardized tests are a useful tool for the measurement of students’ aptitude and intelligence, they are ineffective to represent the true proficiency of their understanding.

Standardized tests are one of major steps that helps students get admitted to college. For more than 50 years in the United States, standardized testing has been a “scourge to student life” and pressured students to do their best. Questions that are designed for standardized tests are based on finding an individual’s aptitude to determine how they can solve problems in the real world. With lurking opinions of whether standardized testing should continue to be enforced or abolished, standardized testing has made an impact to students around the country by setting an educational background.

Standardized testing has for so long been the determinant of success and progress in many school systems around the world. Students get exposure to standardized tests at one point or the other, and the result from these tests are used to determine if a student can advance to a higher level or not (Moore, 2014). The school system in the United States has in place standardized tests for students who wish to join college and this need to be taken and passed for one to be sure of a college education. Even at lower levels of learning standardized tests remain to be the primary determinants of one’s performances, and in many instances, failure of standardized tests may be the reason why one is retained in the same class for a second consecutive

This issue of standardized testing is an ongoing debate that has been argued about for decades, with strong support coming from both sides. These assessments are used all across the national education system to evaluate educational performance. Some believe that they are a vital resource for success, while others view them as a predisposed technique in assessing intelligence. Standardized testing is an inaccurate method of measuring a student’s intellectual abilities because it fails to present students with the content they have been taught and are familiar with, it restricts students with its limited subject matter, and it only measures knowledge based on a student’s ability to memorize proficiently.

“The case against standardized testing: raising the scores, ruining the school.” Teacher Renewal. (N.p.), 2000. Web. 2 May 2017.

Standardized testing is used throughout schools in America to measure a student’s ability to understand the material and take a test. Consequently, these tests are being used to determine a student’s future by allowing a student to pass a grade or graduate. Various amounts of students have had to retake courses or grades because of the way they scored on a standardized test. Students feel a tremendous amount of pressure to perform well on these tests. The drawbacks of standardized testing include an administrator teaching the curriculum based on the test, and the lack of reflection of education.

Over the years, many have debated over the fairness and reliability of standardized tests. This dispute not only impacts students, but also teachers and administrators, many of whose jobs are placed on the line when test scores come back. Some say that these tests should be done away with while others argue that they are necessary for determining knowledge gained in the classroom. Another argument for tests is that they place students that may not have the same opportunities on a level playing field. The ACT, SAT, and other similar tests are the best way to test not only content knowledge, but also students’ ability to perform under pressure, a necessary ability needed to succeed in college and the workforce.

Several different standardized tests are in use, but the nerve-wracking achievement tests have caused the most controversy. However, the assessments carry devastating penalties for schools with low scores, including teacher firings, and school closures. One 2006-07 study of an urban school district in the western U.S. researched the effects of closing a high school for low performance. A choice of attending another school within the district was an option. The other was to exit the district through other means like a charter school, to students of those schools.. Of 558 students, 175 exited the district by leaving, while 380 went to 17 different schools. All 380 had suffered appalling test scores. Conditions like this could encourage teachers to cheat the system for their own gain. Correspondingly, those scores prevent progression to the next grade. However, the tests are neither fair nor objective, because of their excessive

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.