Standardized Testing Argumentative

When a student has the ability to pursue classes that interest them, combined with teachers that enable the students to understand more and push themselves, the students will be more inclined to continue to go to school and find a topic that they are passionate about, that they would then hopefully be able to make a career out of. Students that are surrounded by negativity and a setting that distracts from the importance of learning and pressures the student is one that ultimately reduces the output of education that the politicians are so concerned with. Students can tell when they are being taught for a test. In NJ, all the way from the NJASK through PARCC testing through the SAT/ACT, it is obvious that there is an underlying issue in the education system. From 3rd Grade everything becomes a means to an end. What happens, though, if what a student is capable of and what they are good at is not on a test? Those students can be left behind or thought lesser of. Frustration sets in when a person becomes bored as well as when they are not properly understanding the material. Albert Einstein stated that “If you judge a fish based on how well it climbs a tree it will always feel stupid.” Standardized testing is good for creating a basis of knowledge and a starting point for the school system to make sure that each citizen can have a basic level of understanding, but there are many people that are not wired for standardized testing and traditional education. So many people have so many different skill sets, innate and developed. Those that can paint and have a vision like Picasso may not show this on their testing. This is the same as how those that are taking high level calculus and then the math section of the SAT. The questions are not the same. The thinking is meant to be misleading. This does not provide a fair

First, standardized testing helps us to see growth of students. We can see growth as compared to other students and other countries. Students take the test more than once and it’s different every time. Growth can be seen from these tests throughout the year telling teachers what to teach.

We shouldn’t have to take standardized tests because they don’t provide any feedback on how to perform better. The tests treat everyone who takes them feel identical, they don’t make you feel different. These tests make create a huge amount of stress on teachers and students. Most test takers can handle certain levels of stress but others can’t handle any amount. There should be other options that schools and colleges could use or get rid of the tests all

“When we began the map test I knew my students were gonna dread it, I myself dread it, and I am not even taking it. So I decided how about a reward for these kids, if you got above your past score you got 7 extra credit points for the test, which made a lot kids eager to get a good score. They went to sleep early, read before bed, and got a good meal beforehand, everything the test recommends the students to do before taking it. These kids fully ready to take it, mindset clear. When they got their scores back most were shocked because the did not score the same or higher, they got a lower score. All across the room I saw devastated faces because they wouldn’t receive their 7 extra points, and all their hard work was a complete waste. I decided to start an investigation so I called the test company and explained the situation and the only thing they told me was ‘well maybe they lied to you.’ this could not be true, 90% of these kids were A average students in an honors class.

Overall, my thesis is superior to these opposing sources as it lacks logical fallacies. While these sources made good points, they contained sweeping generalizations, hasty conclusions, circular reasoning, and other logical fallacies that nullify the validity of their arguments.

It is true that standardized tests are being used to evaluate whether our schools are doing their jobs. Our schools prepare our students for life in the workforce and college. If we do take away standardized testing, it will seem as though we have no way to evaluate our schools by, but the fact is we already have a way. What is it that students are typically evaluated by? Their volunteer work? Their extracurricular activities? Their clubs? Students are typically evaluated by their grade point average. Scholarships, school rank, and colleges take GPA into account. Everything that is important to a high school student, scholarships, school rank, and college, is in some way determined by their GPA. Some corporations use GPA as a cut-off point

I agree that standardized testing is fair, because it is the only way of knowing what students are learning. I believe that standardized testing is the best way of knowing if students across the country are learning what is being taught to them, and how they are being taught. If, everywhere else, students are achieving at a certain level, and in one area they are not performing as well as the others, then it allows us to look at what needs to be corrected in that area.

These tests have held back too many students based on their performance on them. Numbers have shown that nearly one-third of all fourth and eighth-grade students in another state may be held back this following year. These numbers that the students get for taking these high-stakes shouldn’t determine if a student passes a grade. It shouldn’t have the power to do that because teachers across the country have voiced their opinion saying, “These standardized tests take away from meaningful learning time for the students.” The time that is spent on the students taking these test has taken crucial learning opportunities away from them.

There are too many external factors that could influence a child’s test score, yet, we’ve allowed standardized testing to determine a child’s future. “For example, test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do.” (Kohn, 2000) The high amount of value American society places on standardized testing can cause a high amount of anxiety, which can be associated with a fear of failure. “While the pressure to perform well can act as a motivator, it can also be devastating to individuals who tie their self worth to the outcome of a test.” (Test Anxiety) Test anxiety can manifest itself in the form of an anxiety attack, which can cause symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and brain fog, among a multitude of other uncomfortable manifestations. Anxiety, along with many other factors, can alter a student’s ability to display their full potential. (Test

The topic of Standardized Testing is not only critical to the lives of students but also to parents, educators and those in control - government officials. The public has voiced its displeasure with today’s education system and a subject being discussed in the government and also the very popular presidential debates is the Common Core Standards and No Child Left Behind Act of modern America. These government issued Acts are mired in controversy as they have led to an education system governed by politics, with opposers claiming that education is now more focused on a school's’ statistics than an individual’s knowledge. Those involved with the introduction of the Acts, although they may have thought it would have brought about positive change,

Do you want to know why standardized tests aren't important.Some people support standardized tests (st’s) and some people are against them.I don't think they are important but some people do.

In today’s day and age, the key to success is achieving a higher education after high school. The steps in which we take to graduate high school and attend college, where we will be furthering our education, is all about jumping through hoops. We spend 12 years of our lives in school— five years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and four years of high school. During these 12 years of school, we are subjected to many standardized tests to see if we are up to standards and to measure our achievements. Standardized testing doesn’t showcase every student’s potential or intelligence. Not all students test in the same ways, therefore they should not be treated as if they do. To help cater to students variances, the government should administer a new type of testing that varies upon the students abilities.

Many school districts compare their results, to see what are they need to concentrate more on. Standardized testing starts as early as third grade, in which students are about 8 or 9 years old. Many students stress over the standardized testing, stressing over the things creates anxiety. Anxiety at such a young age is horrible.

Our children are the most important resource in this Country. Our way of life could forever change, by the changes that are put into our schools by the federal government. The decline in meaningful learning because of the many standardized tests mandated, first accepted into our state from the federal government, which can degrade the lifestyle we enjoy today. “Standardized Tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful”, and they are taking too much out of the learning time. This is detrimental to our children’s Education. Retired teachers and grandparents in a group called United Women’s Forum, meet every week. They are working to improve civic issues regarding the Education of our children. There is need for more

If someone was to ask you “how do you define student achievement?” what would your answer be? Would you say student achievement is measured by state achievement tests? Or would you say that student achievement is too complex a subject to be objectively measured? There are many important skills students must be taught, and we need a way to effectively measure if they are in fact learning those skills. However, standardized tests cannot effectively show the learning of all students, especially those that are not good test takers. And of those skills that are tested, there are an endless number of arguably more important skills that aren’t being valued because they cannot be calculated. Furthermore,