Standardized Testing Has A Negative Impact On The Students

With the added pressure to do well in school, standardized testing becomes a means to added stress, anxiety and further complicates the pressure to succeed in a student’s life. Rather than a focus on learning and understanding, school has become a massive rope skill memorization test designed to have students memorize subjects to pass the test, and forget the material the next minute for the next test. When asked to speak about standardized testing, education chairman, Larry Taylor, said “It’s heart-wrenching, and it’s also insanity when you see the level of achievement these kids are already doing and yet they can’t even pass this test.” (Smith). The utilization of standardized testing further exemplifies and validates the idea that no matter how hard or long you work in school, your work will never be worth the few answers you write for the

While a few standardized tests over a student’s school career can be helpful to make sure students are on track and teachers are educating their students, the United States education system has far too many standardized tests. The U.S should reduce the number of tests given to students each year. The current amount of testing stresses students and forces teachers to “teach to the test”. Standardized testing has not and will not improve the American school

Students are overwhelmed with school, work, extra-curricular activities, family, etc. Perhaps standardized tests are a major contributor to students’ stress. A standardized test is any test scored in a consistent manner and requires test-takers to answer identical questions. Among the most common include the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT). According to the article “Standardized Testing Has Negatively Impacted Public Schools” from Opposing Viewpoints in Context, the beginnings of standardized tests occurred during World War I when the American Psychological Association developed a “ground-administered test” to eliminate inefficient recruits (Solley 3). Today, standardized tests are necessary for college admission. Just last month, in March of 2016, College Board, the non-profit organization responsible for administering the SAT, altered the format of the test. It is now formatted more similar to the ACT and includes an optional essay reducing the score from 2400 to 1600. Many advocates argue standardized tests accurately measure academic intelligence and hold teachers and schools accountable. In today’s society, standardized tests have become the norm, and unfortunately, people overlook their negative effects despite research substantiating arguments about their disadvantages. Standardized tests are disadvantageous because they hinder education and contain bias.

Did you know that the average student spends more than twenty-four hours a year on standardized tests? These twenty-four hours only include the time taking the test. It does not include any time for prepping, or classroom tests given out by teachers. The standardized tests students are taking are mainly used for showing growth of students, and how well teachers teach lessons. From Pre K- 12th grade, students all over the US take at least 112 tests, yet we still show no growth of improvement. This shows that we need to cut down the amount of these tests. Today, this essay will explain that the amount of standardized tests needs to be cut down because (1) too much class time is spent towards the test, (2) the amount stresses out teachers and students, and (3) the quantity of tests do not mean better results.

”Between pre-K and 12th grade, students take about 112 mandatory standardized exams" (washingtonpost). There are numerous negative effects following this shocking statistic that cause a stir with schools all over. For the majority of students, standardized testing is burdensome and loathed. Scores give an inaccurate representation of students' abilities and the system is often corrupt. They pose as a type of analysis that is designed to administer and record information in a consistent method. However, as years have passed, these commercially prepared tests have destroyed the idea of school being a safe learning environment. The stress of the test have also been found to push trusted educators to neglect the goal of maximizing each student to their full potential. Not only are millions spent on

Each year many high school students are encouraged to take standardized tests. They are told how essential the tests are and to spend vast amounts of time preparing for them. Although many people think that standardized tests are a useful tool for the measurement of students’ aptitude and intelligence, they are ineffective to represent the true proficiency of their understanding.

Standardized testing has for so long been the determinant of success and progress in many school systems around the world. Students get exposure to standardized tests at one point or the other, and the result from these tests are used to determine if a student can advance to a higher level or not (Moore, 2014). The school system in the United States has in place standardized tests for students who wish to join college and this need to be taken and passed for one to be sure of a college education. Even at lower levels of learning standardized tests remain to be the primary determinants of one’s performances, and in many instances, failure of standardized tests may be the reason why one is retained in the same class for a second consecutive

The clock ticks on, and the school day drags slowly. As the pencil hovers over the four answers, the student sighs heavily in distress. This is how many students feel while taking standardized tests. Standardized exams have been a major part of the American education since the mid-1800s. The use of the tests shot up after President George W. Bush signed a bill known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” on January 8, 2002. The act required all fifty states to have their students take the tests. Although, the purpose of the exams was to measure a student’s and their school’s academic improvement, but this idea is incredibly flawed. Many times the tests graded unwell and many people believe that the exams are a waste, which is just a few of the many reasons that students opt out each year. However, eliminating standardized tests from a student’s educational school year is necessary because the tests cause great stress, they are unfair and the tests

42% of high school seniors in Ohio are not set to graduate because of their poor scores on standardized tests. Students all over the United States are forced to take statewide standardized tests each year. Many claim that standardized testing allows for teachers to help their students easier, and that it holds school districts accountable. While school mandated standardized testing can be useful, statewide standardized testing is ineffective and negatively impacts students.

Just about every student dreads that time of the year when educators urge students to study their year long or semester notes for a big test coming up. “Eat breakfast. Be on time. Make sure you have number two pencils that are sharpened. Bring a calculator if you need to. Sleep well. Do not forget to check back over your answers. If you do not know the answer, skip the question and come back to it.” Those are just a few of the long, dreadful rehearsed list of “test taking skills” teachers urge their students to follow for standardized testing. Standardized testing is a method used by states and colleges to prove a student’s mastery in various school subjects.Tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT) are a burden on students. Students, who have

According to Linn, “Americans have had a love-hate relationship with educational testing”, and the controversies on the use of standardized tests will probably continue long after the twenty-first century (29). How can people see the ‘love’ in this use of testing that has negative long-term effects on students? Why should the controversies live on beyond this modern century? Standardized testing is negatively affecting the quality of education given to the students; most likely caused by teachers teaching more to the favor of the test, and youth feeling marginalized by the unequal education opportunities given and standardization.

Moreover, teachers are evaluated by the standardized test scores because of the necessity for schools to be able to get grants and waivers from the state, which ultimately should not be allowed. The number of standardized tests given to the students in public schools has drastically increased in the past decade and to this day students spend hours upon hours being taught to the test, followed by numerous amounts of hours actually taking the standardized tests (Layton “US” 1). In a recent study it has been determined that approximately, between the grades of kindergarten and 12th grade the average student is tested about 112 times (Cox 1). It is reported that the heaviest test load comes onto 8th graders that spend an average of 25.3 hours

Bob Schaeffer, a public education director once said, "You don’t make a sheep fatter by weighing them more often." (Nagourney, 2) This represents the process of Standardized Testing and one of the risks it causes; testing too often. Standardized Testing is a process where all students take the same kind of test with similar questions all addressing the same subjects and are scored in a consistent way as groups or as individuals. Standardized testing has brought nothing but negative effects to schools since it was created. Standardized testing in schools has been around since the 1920 's starting with the SAT. There are many risks in Standardized Testing, that is why Standardized testing should be revised due to

Every year each K-12 student in the United States on average takes at least 6 standardized tests. They spend 8 and a half hours of their school year just taking those tests. These statistics are on the low end, with some students spending up to 25 hours and taking up to 10 tests (Washington Post). These numbers are absurd, and standardized tests even start happening in pre-K school. Standardized tests are a problem that all students who have gone through the public education system in the United States face, and this all started because legislators that had no idea about education and wanted to get the United States higher on the list of the most educated countries. While there are merits to standardized testing, overall the impact that standardized test have on students is more harmful than it is beneficial.

Although the standardized test has a negative impact on our performance, it also has some positive impact. One of the main purposes of testing is to set a standard: a performance baseline of progress for all parties involved in the educational process—students, teachers, and school districts, and to hold them accountable for achieving it. The idea is to detect areas where students usually fail, or fall behind and promote improvement, not punish them. Besides, tests help remove bias some teachers may exhibit towards students and make the evaluation process more objective. This is usually achieved by using special automatic machines that score exams. Also, due to the usage of these methods, the potential of human error is decreased or even