Essay on Standardized Testing

Most standardized test do not measure emotional or mechanical intelligence, actually a lot of educators argue that standardized test do not measure comprehension or actual intelligence but rather memorization. While others may believe that standardized testing just needs a few improvements, others believe that it is impossible to have a test that measures accurately the capability of a diverse student population. Today’s schooling depends heavily on the test scores from standardized test. Standardized testing should not have so much weight put on them because they have a negative impact on effective education, students’ self-concept, and learning styles.

Standardized testing has been ruling over the lives of students, making or breaking them in their education without fair judgement. Tests like the SAT and the ACT count for way too much when applying to colleges, which in turn limits the student 's capabilities to thrive in an environment that would benefit them. There are many problems within a standardized test that deems them to be unreliable as a true test of knowledge. Although designed to test groups of students on intelligence, standardized testing neglects to fairly acknowledge the abilities of each unique student which reflect their true capabilities.

“No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning” (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents Exams, and the ACT. “Three kinds of standardized tests are used frequently in schools: achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude” (Woolfolk 550). Achievement tests can be used to help a teacher assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses in a

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

Standardized tests have historically been used as measures of how students are compared with one another or how much of a particular curriculum they have learned throughout the semester or year. Consequently, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and higher education evaluation. Various numbers of students across America have had to repeat classes because of the way standardized tests are used to pass or fail students. Although

Even at an early age, students are taught the importance of standardized tests which come later down the road and have the idea of constantly studying and preparing for standardized tests instilled into his or her minds. I myself, did really well in almost everyone of my classes in high school due to my dedication and devotion to the courses and although I was able to graduate with a fairly high GPA, my ACT and SAT test scores were not high enough for the university's I was applying to, thus not meeting the requirement to even be considered for acceptance. This occurrence made me wonder whether the use of a single test is fair or valid, considering someone can do exceedingly well in their courses and have a solid understanding of the material but simply do not have the proper test taking skills or other assets needed for scoring high on a standardized test. Furthermore, this issue is compelling to me since I believe that there are better ways to evaluate or assess a person's achievement, intelligence, and abilities as a student. Instead, the use of effective teacher observation, documentation of a students work, as well as performance-based assessments pertaining to the individuals courses, can all be a good source of directly evaluating real learning tasks and provide useful material for parents, teachers, and the

“‘Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid’”(Baskerville). This is a quote that is theorized to have been said by Albert Einstein and can easily be applied to standardized testing in our schooling system. Although some think that standardized testing is the best way to measure students intelligence levels, research suggests that it is ineffective due to factors such as not testing over all subjects, changing how schools teach, discrimination, and the mindset that it creates, therefore colleges should not use them in their admission process.

Standardized tests are biased, unnecessary, and opposing the youth, while they are still the main method of calculating students’ intelligence in the U.S. today. Standardized tests are currently used as the primary measure of student intelligence in schools. These are tests done by the state in which the schools reside, and are the same for every other schools in the state. They compare and label schools based on their students’ scores. Standardized tests should not be used to measure intelligence in schools because they are unfair to minority students, GPA is a more reliable method, and the testing takes away from actual learning time in school.

Which then takes away from the ultimate goal which is student success. There are many things wrong with standardized testing and they want to be able to get an understanding of a student's knowledge, but if they stressed and don’t understand what is being asked they will not perform their best. WH8ch impacts them in many ways just by taking a test in one day.

While it is true that people would say that standardized testing is a good way to help students learn and show their progress throughout the year. Many parents and even students disagree, measuring a person’s abilities should not be determined by a test or results on a page. A majority of students are not good test takers, therefore it's not fair to determine how smart a student is by looking at their progress on a test. What if a student was very smart but he wasn't a good test taker,

Standardized testing was created for a student to have to recall information previously learned by a teacher. They are made in an “artificial learning environment: they’re timed, you can’t talk to a fellow student, you can’t ask questions, you can’t use references or learning devices, you can’t get up and move around.” -

Growing up, I never really had a problem with tests. I didn’t necessarily enjoy taking them, however I—thankfully-- never got too apprehensive. I looked at them as a way to determine my intelligence, and would gladly share my scores—both good and bad—with my peers. Looking back on my perception of tests, I find that my point of view was ignorant to the fact that test scores—whether they are standardized or not—do not determine a person’s intellect.

Those in favor of standardized testing suggest that test taking sets them apart from their fellow peers. Furthermore, they argue that standardized tests provide consistent evaluation for college review, providing relevant data of the academic abilities of a student. Some states also tend to connect student performance to teacher evaluation. The involvement of standardized testing impacts

“I care more about the people my students become than the scores on the tests they take,” once stated by an unknown author. Students shouldn’t have to take standardized tests for many reasons some reasons being the tests take up too much time, also gives the students stress, and the tests put the students in moody tones.

While there are some good things to this type of testing style, standardized testing should not be a main and most important method of measuring a student's intelligence and knowledge. There should