Imagine if you or a friend had a talent for art, music, or foreign languages, but the school you attend cut back on the time spent focusing on these multiple subjects and decided to focus on more “important” subjects. Standardized test scores show the academic standing of an individual student and are used to compare that student to others across the U.S. This can create an immense amount of pressure on students to do well. Standardized tests focus on the core subjects of math and reading, with a smaller emphasis on science and writing. If the tests only focus on four main subjects than how can they measure other important traits or skills? We all have so many talents beyond the core subjects that do not show up on a test. Standardized tests …show more content…
Schools across the country are offered different course rigors, allowing some students to be more prepared for tests such as the SAT and ACT. The SAT and ACT are standardized tests that high-school students are required to take to get into college. According to College Board, a private nonprofit corporation that owns the SAT, the test is designed to, “measure the essential ingredients for college and career readiness and success.” The ACT test is designed to measure college and career readiness as well. College Board also recommends students take challenging courses in order to do well on the test. According to College Board an AP class “gives you the academic skills you need in college.” If students are able to take AP courses, they have a higher probability of performing better on these tests compared to students who have not taken AP courses (“The College Board”). An example of this unfair advantage is between Indian Hill High School and Cincinnati Public Schools. Indian Hill High School offers a total of 27 different AP courses to their students (“Academics”). At Cincinnati Public Schools, there are only 13 different AP courses offered to high school students (“AP-Blended”). Indian Hill High School offers 17 more AP classes compared to Cincinnati Public Schools. The number of AP course offered to students at Indian Hill provides an unfair advantage compared to Cincinnati Public, to do well on both the SAT and ACT and learn the academic skills needed to get into college (“Academics”). Both schools released their average composite ACT scores, and while Cincinnati Public Schools had an average composite score of 22 on the ACT (“AP-Blended”), Indian Hill’s ACT composite score was 26.9 (“Academics”). The students at Indian Hill High School did significantly better on the ACT than the students at Cincinnati Public Schools. If students across the country are
Since Middle School, I was not opposed to standardized testing. I thought of it as a way of testing us of what we have learned. Although, after reading some articles about standardized testing I am re-thinking the pros and cons. From personal experience, I thought of it as a challenge to pass them. But now that reminisce about it, I noticed some of the cons of standardized testing. I remember having a week or two dedicated for testing, and in case of students failing they had to take time to redo it. It would take a while for all the students to finish their tests. And after remembering how it was back in those times I was more on the opposed side.
Standardized tests allow different kids from all over the United States to have a fair and equal chance to prove their academic intelligence in
Schools all over the nation have introduced standardized testing as a way to evaluate what the students have learned over the course of the school year. Exams can be administered online or on paper, depending on the subject. Test can be taken at different points of the school year; results can be used as a way to determine what areas are weaker than others. Most results are viewed by the school board, administrators, and teachers. In some schools students take one end of the year test with different subjects, other just takes one test. These tests can be graded by groups of people are computers. Standardized testing has become a part of America’s educational system and many don’t see the benefit of the test at all.
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.
Michelle Obama once said, “If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” Standardized testing is, “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” (edglossary.org, Standardized Test). Standardized testing is used in most schools and is used to determine the futures of many student’s educations. These tests usually have sets of multiple choice, or true or false questions that are to be answered within a limited amount of time. Many people think that this is the only way to accurately measure a student’s individual intelligence. Even though almost all schools make students
The consequences of the SAT have been seen as physically and mentally deteriorating for students. However, not only does the stress affect the students preparing for the SAT, but it also affects the instructors who are required to teach the material. Many students are being “forced into their respective testing rooms for up to three hours per day, slaving away on exams that most of us have struggled through (Ayers).” Likewise, “due to the pressures faced by administration, teachers [are] essentially [forced to] teach students how to approach and solve problems expected on standardized exams (Kokoszka).” Furthermore, according to Thomas Kellaghan et al, “testing pressures teachers into teaching for the test and thus leads to a narrowing of the
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
Do you think standardized testing is harmful or helpful? A lot of people are really stressing out over standardized testing, including me. I think that standardized testing is harmful for kids. A lot of other people think that it is helpful though, For example teachers, and administrators, and other people think it is helping our students. Standardized testing is harmful but some people think it is helpful, like me.
Diane Ravitch once said, "sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds" (Diane Ravitch). This quote shows that standardized testing does not meet the needs of all students, only a select few, who may not even be the brightest. A standardized test is an exam that determines a student's achievement, and aptitude over the course of years. An aptitude standardized test determines how well a student will perform after receiving some sort of education. For example, the ACT test you take your junior year of high school. An achievement standardized test determines how a student is performing and evaluates the schools effectiveness, similar to the AZMerit test. These tests cover math, science, language, and reading and was
Standardized tests are a positive way to look at student growth and if students are reaching national benchmarks. Many standardized tests are a useful tool when deciding what college to attend, for example, the MCAT is a medical standardized that is required for all admittees into medical school. Around the country, many children are able to conform to teacher-made tests and how to navigate through them, although with standardized tests, they are raw and able to show if a student is really struggling in a specific area. Standardized tests are useful in schools across the country because they help enforce growth and how students are meeting benchmarks, while making it an equal playing field for all students.
Standardized tests. Like them or not, they are everywhere. And everybody has their opinion about it, whether they are useful or not. Many say that they are harmful as they put kids under pressure and stress. Others say they help kids learn and scale kids with other school systems and nations. Lots of evidence shows that they are indeed useful, but I believe there are also several weaknesses, and improvements that can be made to fix them; the biggest being a pre and post test. Standardized tests can also have more focused lessons that lead to more undemanding goals, which can let teachers use their own teaching methods to eventually meet with the same goal.
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
I think the schools is putting to much emphasis on the Standardized Test. I think the government is trying to make the standardized test hard and hard each year I think the government wanna make the students in the school's fail there test's. Because it's no point they making the test hard and hard for the students to pass I think they should be making the test easier for the students to pass and get out of the school early so they don't have to worry about school no more. I think the parents of the kids that fail the Standardized test should have a protest go up to Washington D.C go to the white house and stand by the gates and protest. The government would listen to the kids that's not a factor to them government only care about the money
Tenth grade standardized testing in Pennsylvania is so unnecessary that makes a student complete in order to view their progress. This testing technique produces unpredictable results that allows one to review and come across their own judgment when accessing these tests. High school teachers sometimes tell students how their job depends on the results of the test. High school administrators tell the students that if they do not pass these tests, then they can not graduate on time. They make it seem like these tests are very important and make it a mindset to students that they need to try to conquer these tests just to meet the necessary graduation requirements. The shadows of the tenth grade Pennsylvania standardized testing needs to be overlooked
What’s your ACT score? Students are branded with their ACT and SAT scores in society. Today’s education is heavily leaning on standardized tests. An average students takes over one hundred standardized tests in his or her school years. Standardized tests are used to measure and test the knowledge of students in a particular subject in a quick and easy way. These tests are also used to see the extend and skill of students for qualifications of certain colleges and scholarships. Some of these standardized tests include the ACT and the SAT. But do these test fully measure the strength of knowledge these students have practiced for their whole lives? Standardized testing does not allow students to fully and completely show their strength in education and instead results in breaking down students mentally and physically.