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
These tests will provide teachers and administrators a diagnosis of how the school is performing and in which areas the school needs to improve on. This will also inform policymakers which schools are doing well and why. Then that technique can be applied to schools in which the scores were not meeting standards. President Bush and the U.S. Congress have challenged educators to set high standards and hold students, schools and districts accountable for results. (Dept. of Ed, 2004)
To many students standardized testing has become another part of schooling that is dreaded. Standardized testing has been a part of school since the nineteen-thirties; in those days it was used as a way to measure students that had special needs. Since the time that standardized test have been in American schools there has been many programs that have placed an importance on the idea of standardized testing such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Evans 1). Over the years the importance of standardized testing has increased tremendously and so has the stakes, not only for teachers but also students. All states in the United States of America have state test in order to measure how much students learn, and help tell how well the
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.
“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
Standardized testing is a topic that has been discussed for multiple years, among students, teachers, and many government officials. Standardized testing has been around for more than 150 years. Proposed by Horace Mann, standardized testing was a more appropriate way of testing a student’s ability than the oral exams (Gershon). Standardized testing is “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions” (“Standardized Test Definition”). Originally, the idea for the tests was dismissed, however, around eighty years afterward, the “most important test of ability”, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, was started
Standardized tests are tests that have been prepared with questions specially aimed at the identification of achievement levels. These types of tests are created with a great deal of research that has been aimed at identifying what areas of knowledge and skills are typical at what ages and education levels. Standardized tests have been debated for years. Some will argue that standardized testing will improve student achievement and is an overall significant indicator of a student’s ability in the classroom. Others will argue that standardized testing is overused and shows no indication of a student’s ability in the classroom. There have been many different scientific studies that show the pros and cons of standardized tests and how they may
Teachers used to teach to students and for students, now they teach for test; today, “45 percent of National Education Association teacher members surveyed considered leaving the profession of teaching due to the adverse effects of standardized testing.” Testing has evolved over time from basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to curriculum based on standardized testing such as the ACT, SAT, and TCAP. Many years ago, students did not have to take as many tests, and there were not as many opportunities for different types of classes. Schools have evolved as standardized test evolved, and this has forced teachers to evolve as well. As time progressed, the frequency of these standardized test increased and the student scores were used more
Many different types of tests can be “standardized” in the same way. Test specialists consider the standardized tests to be a fair and objective methods of assessing the academic achievement of students, mainly because the standardized format, coupled with computerized scoring, reduces the potential for favoritism and subjective evaluations. Standardized tests could be used for different educational purposes. As an example, they could be used to determine the student’s academic performance and identify students who need academic support and place students in different course levels or award diplomas. Assessment tests are one forms of standardized tests and it has been designed to measure the skills and knowledge students learned in school, and determine the academic progress they have made over a period of time. For example the assessment test students need to take at the beginning of the first year of college or university. The assessment tests can be used to identify the academic placement for a student too. For educational purposes they can be used to hold schools and educators accountable for educational results and student performance, to evaluate whether students have learned what they are expected to learn, to determine if they have met learning
To achieve this goal, this paper is organized into five different sections, each explaining the viewpoint of different authors. In the first section, there’s an account of five important facts about the negative effects of standardized testing,the amount of information standardized testing really covers, student placement, important abilities that aren’t being found, the potential of tests, and the outcomes of these tests. The second section, discusses five distinct facts about how unnecessary standardized testing is and how radical it truly is, how standardized testing affects teachers, the competition involved, what test scores really reflect, what measures students take, and how scores affect improvement within teachers. The third section, discuss an account of five other different viewpoints about the psychological effects standardized testing causes, the time teachers waste teaching about these tests, the obsession
Standardized testing is a form of test that’s commonly used in today’s world, especially in here the United States. These tests check what your teacher taught students over the years they are in school, and the tests used constantly to assess our schools here in the United States. Aside from being used to evaluate the schools, colleges check the scores students receive to see if they would be willing to accept them. With how important these standardized tests have become, most states now require students to take them. The states have become dictatorial in determining what needs to be learned and what can be pushed over to the side to ensure that schools meet the benchmarks the states have made. These tests affect schools and education negatively and they completely eradicate the meaning of teaching.
Through the creation of the No Child Left Behind initiative in 2001, the government started requiring every state to set content standards for each grade level, as well as develop ways to assess student progress with meeting specified standards (Guide,22). The amount of standardized tests in schools have increased, but not everyone shares the belief that they are effective to students’ overall learning. Therefore, the purpose of this research, is to answer some of the toughest questions regarding standardized testing which include, is standardized testing an effective measurement of student ability? As well as, is standardized testing beneficial to students?
Every year in the U.S students all over the country have to take at least one standardized test. On average, a student from Pre-K to 12th grade will take about 112 tests in his or her whole school experience.What this means is that we take a lot of standardized tests and some people think this is a problem.We take a lot more tests than other countries.While we take about 112 tests a year,other countries have only half of that.I think the government needs to change the standardized tests.This essay will explain that the government needs to change the standardized tests because we take the most standardized tests, it stresses out people,and they take away learning time.
Primarily, standardized test makers have one mission: to measure students’ abilities. On the other hand, many schools use it to measure how
Standardized tests provide an easy and accurate comparison between results either within the school district or outside the school district, both locally and nationally. In fact, “tests are designed for a variety of purposes, and their results are used in a variety of ways” (Wiliam, 2010, p. 107). Once schools receive the results of individual performances, it is easy for administrators to compare the results to observe the content areas that need improvement. The results of standardized tests can help to better identify areas of strength and weakness which help schools develop programs and implement the correct educational services to improve and build upon the scores within certain content areas. This is important because often times, students are rewarded if scores fall within the advanced to proficient category.
Standardized tests are exams that are supposed to measure a child’s academic knowledge but have long been a controversial subject of discussion. Although it is one method to see how a child is performing, is it the best method? Standardized testing can be biased or unfair, inhibit both the teacher’s and the children’s creativity and flexibility, affect funding for schools, cause untested subjects to be eliminated from the curriculum, and cause anxiety for children and teachers.