Standardized Test are Worthless

Don’t all students hate standardized tests. They waste lots of time and don’t influence your grade so then what’s the point of them. I think that students shouldn’t take standardized tests. First of all students take the test in May and don’t get the results until September so the test doesn’t do much. Lots of teachers also only teach to the test meaning they only prepare them to pass the test. Students might know the content but because of test anxiety they might not be able to show it on the test.

Although standardized testing has been a major part of schooling it has also had a negative impact on effective education. Standardized has made a huge impact on public schooling so much that not only does it affect the students but also the teachers. With the teachers now beginning to get raises or having their jobs on the line if their students fail the test, many students have not been getting the fullest education process that they could get. Students may not realize the impact that it has had on the type of teaching style that they receive because they are so used to it. With so many teachers not having a lot of time to teach what is on the test and the other things that they feel are important to students to know, a lot of

Standardized test cause reduced content knowledge. In other words, teach the test criteria and nothing more. The scores that everyone is trying to get only give a person a small amount of the knowledge that, without the test, they would obtain. Theses scores are drilled so hard into a student’s head that they do not know any other thing to do than to pass that test. Barber states in his article that there were three groups of people, elected officials from the school board, the press, and the public. He said that “All three groups were clamoring for something simple and repeatable to use to judge how well their schools were doing.” He goes on to say that they thought standardized testing was just that. They wanted to compare other schools to their school, that it gives them those bragging rights. This will eventually create a ripple effect, and come back on the schools in harmful ways.

“According to a review of testing research that has been conducted over the past century, over 90% of students have found that standardized tests have a positive effect on their achievement. Students feel better about their ability to comprehend and know subject materials that are presented on a standardized test. Even if a perfect score isn’t achieved, knowing where a student stands helps them be able to address learning deficits.”(12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Testing). This shows when students are pushed to their limits and they have been working hard in a certain subject they are prepared for test . Teachers in this situation are put to a test also (“Good teachers understand that test preparation drills and specific core instructions to “teach to a test “) . Teachers are put to the test by whether or not they can push students to their best ability to pass the exam. Students and teachers are given the same amount time to teach a specific subject and get judged off of it . This goes back to say all of the stress put on students and teachers is unacceptable because students and teachers should not be judged off of a test

In various ways, standardized test are beneficial from tracking students’ progress over the years to not allowing teachers emotions to get in the way of the testing process. Standardized testing sets expectations high for students and it does hold them accountable for the same standards, which may lead to achievement gains. By looking at the students’ performance they will be able to determine how well they retain information. Also the school is able to learn what their students are able to do and what they cannot do compared to other school districts, so they would be able to improve their education system. When giving more personal assessments, it is very possible “that the teacher or person assessing the student can let their emotions or biases affect how they score that student” (Young). In most cases, standardized tests are objective. There are wrong or right answers, and there is no room for feelings or emotions. Standardized testing gives teachers guidance to help them determine what to teach students and when to teach it. Tests are highly accountable and reliable as they judge the candidates on a common platform across states and nations. Standardized testing is “a simplified way of timeline management” (A Look at the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing). Standardized testing gives parents a good idea of how their children are doing as compared to students across the country and

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

In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act made the use of standardized testing skyrocket. From 2000 to 2009, the U.S. students slipped from 18th in math to 31st in the world and had a similar drop in science. A newspaper once reported on how anxiety before a

Standardized test are more reliable than just taking you regular classroom test that is graded by the teacher, which can change the grade accordingly. Another thing that could be argued as to how they are good is that, “93% of studies on student testing, including the use of large-scale and high-stakes standardized tests, found a ‘positive effect’ on student achievement.” This was according to Richard P. Phelps, a testing scholar. Standardized testing is also easier to collect data instead of having to go through and hand grade each test that is turned in by a student. When the test is just multiple choice a machine goes through and grades it and automatically puts the percentage correct on the test. After that all of the data goes into a database so that it is easier for the administration to look at the

One of the main reasons schools claim to use standardized testing is to compare performance levels of different students in different locations around the nation, but this is an unreliable way to do so. According to many studies, such tests decrease student motivation and increase their stress and anxiety. Far too much emphasis is put into standardized tests to the point where teachers are teaching to the test rather than making sure real learning is taking place. Students aren’t learning everything that is part of their curriculum. Too much focus is directed to

Schools should eliminate standardized tests. Standardized testing has many negative effects on the student body. Some of these effects are very noticeable and apparent, and some are not. Standardized testing causes negative things such as stress and anxiety(Too Much Stress). Testing like this is also not reliable 100% of the time(Standardized Tests Don’t Prove Anything). Tests also limit the imagination, creativity, and the way a student learns(11 Problems With Testing).

Standardized testing has been a major debate for over sixteen years and is still going on in some districts all over the United States. The debate is over who agrees with having standard tests in their schools and who doesn’t, although it’s mostly parents and guardians rather than students who

These tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful. Gerald W-Bracey Phd qualities that standardized tests cannot measure “creativity, critical thinking, motivation, honesty, courage etc.”(standardizedtests.procon.org) In school a teacher knows his or her students and they usually know their personality and truly how wise they are in and outside the classroom. On a standardized test this is something that cannot be proven. For example, if a student gets their classwork and homework done and turns it in on time the teacher knows he or she is diligently trying in their class. If they happen to not do well on a test it might not be that the student isn’t smart or didn’t study, but it could be that the student just wasn’t their normal self that day. On a standardized

Why do students think these are hard if you just think and do it things in life will be so much easier when you grow up but students think standardized tests are lame and boring because they just want to act cool around their friends. Some people think

It is a terrible and irresponsible way to privatize public schools. Standardized tests do not asses skills when their questions are generalized for an entire population. Most of the time, the tests are not in conjunction with classroom skills and behavior. These tests asses for general knowledge and understanding of students rather that their actual abilities. Since the questions are general in nature, it becomes very difficult for teachers to know how to improve the students understanding of a particular subject based on just general information. This leads to teachers “teaching to test” rather than educating students in a proper way based on the real needs of the classroom. Another reason these tests do more bad than good is the fact that teachers actually have a test booklet instructing them on what to do if a student vomits during a test. Students study so hard for these tests and simply cannot handle the pressure. So in the end, their final scores reflect not their abilities, but the influences of their surrounding factors instead.

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.