Standardized Testing: Beneficial Or Harmful?

“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”, I slammed the snooze bar for the final time in a sleep-deprived fit of rage. “5:45” The red numbers illuminated the dark bedroom and I am hit with the depressing realization that the first day of school has begun. Staying in bed any later would award me with a traffic jam and tardy slip, so I dash out the door.

Standardized tests are a waste of time and money. Have you ever sat in a classroom for hours on end stressed until everyone in the school is done taking a test? If you said yes you have probably taken a standardized test. Students shouldn't have to take standardized tests anymore for the following reasons. Standardized test are very expensive and you would also have to pay for the prep. They are also unreliable and are not a good source for the administration and school. Lastly they cause a ton of stress on students, teachers, and the school.

When people think of the education system, most can say that there are some problems, though they might not be able to pinpoint what needs to change first. If you ask most teachers, they will say that the first thing that needs to be changed in the schooling system to help the students more is the standardized testing. They will say that while it can be helpful it has a lot of faults and needs to be updated or changed to help its students. Standardized testing has often been a topic for discussion, between parents and people in the schooling system. It seems that a lot of people either hate standardized testing for not giving every child a chance to succeed, or love it for being a fair way to test whether a child knows what they need to know at their age. There have been many articles, books, and documentary’s debating on whether or not standardized testing is doing more harm then good. There was a comic made that shows the brutality and bluntness of what standardized testing is really like. Standardized Testing causes too much stress by putting unfair expectations on teens and doesn’t give every single student the chance to succeed.

First, Standardized tests help show teachers what they need to teach students. Throughout the years' standardized test that students take to follow the when they go to the next grade. By the test tracking students, it shows the teacher what they need the students to learn to get to the next level or get better. According to source B,"Standardized test also help show the students progress, growth, and what the students have learned. By showing the students progress and growth it helps determine if the student should go on to the next grade or stay behind. Theses things provide an accurate comparison between groups." This tells is that without these types of tests, it would be difficult to measure student achievement in different subjects.

Each year high school students from around the country take the SAT or ACT. The ACT and SAT are both standardized test used by colleges to determine the knowledge of a student and predict what their performance will be in their first year of college. An immense amount of pressure is put on student to receive certain scores in order to obtain scholarships and admission into college. Even just one point on a student’s score can determine if they will be accepted into their dream college. However, the results from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are often inaccurate. Because of this one’s knowledge and academic ability are misrepresented, and they are denied certain opportunities. Standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT

One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.

Even though there are many downsides to standardized testing there are still viable reasons why they are still being used today. One of the main reasons includes the easy and quick access of testing students. Standardized testing allows schools to quickly access a large amount of students at one time. This is also one of the cheapest ways to tests such a large crowd due to machinery that grades which results in low tests costs for students. These tests also help by setting a national curriculum for all high school teachers to teach in schools. “It provides guidelines for curriculum. Standardized tests give teachers a structure of what needs to be taught. This helps keep classroom material consistent across the country” (“Pros and Cons of

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

Standardized testing help get students ready for college exams. In college you take a lot of stressful exams every day in all your classes. The exams in college are possibly harder than you expect. Even though many kids won’t even go to college there will still be many tricky things to get into without

Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.

High-stakes standardized tests are tests that determine awards, punishments, compensations, and advancements for a school. These tests hold standards that students are expected to reach and that the teachers are expected to bring the students to reach. Emergent bilinguals are the students we refer to as English Language Learners in American Schools: students whose primary language may not be English. According to the book Educating Emergent Bilinguals, “It has been widely demonstrated that as a result of inadequate high-stakes tests, emergent bilinguals experience more remedial instruction, greater probability of assignment to lower curriculum tracks, higher drop out rates, poorer graduation rates, and disproportionate referrals to special education classes (103). All of these are negative results associated with high-stakes tests and emergent bilinguals.

It was seventh grade when I took the math EOG and I was worried sick. Sweating from my palms, hardly being able to breathe and yes, an occasional nap were all symptoms I suffered from these tests. I’m sure you ask any kid if they want to take a standardized test, many would say no, with the small percentage that would approve of them. Parents are often split with these test, because they want the best for their child’s future but they also hate to see their child struggle. Based off of the opinions of both children and parents, a vast majority want to eliminate them. However, the standardized tests everyone hates to take, is a necessary evil that needs to stick around for years to come.

Taking standardized is very popular when trying to evaluate a student academic achievement. These test are usually taken once you hit junior year in high school or when trying to apply for college. Some students argue that one test is harder than the other, therefore taking these test has both benefits and drawbacks. When picking which test to take you should always consider the following, which suits you best, are you good in science, and are you better at solving problems or remembering the material. The two most common standardized tests in the USA are the SAT and he ACT. The SAT evaluates skills in vocabulary and mathematics, while the ACT test your knowledge and also includes science. The purpose of this test is to be able to look at the

Standardized test are a good way to help a teacher see what their students need help on. It also can be quickly scanned which students could quickly see their score and saves teachers time. These test help teachers determine what to teach their students. Standardized

Imagine sitting in a cold classroom in the last month of school filling bubbles in on an answer sheet instead of playing outside with some of your friends because you haven’t finished your test yet. What do you think? Should we take standardized tests?