Standardized Testing: Improving The Education System

Ever since standardized testing started being used as a way to evaluate the intelligence of students and the teachers’ ability to educate, the standard of actual education has been diminished immensely. Standardized testing is used in most public and private schools to analyze students’ knowledge. It has affected the way in which students learn and has corrupted the methods teachers use to educate. In some cases, English-Learning and disabled students face discrimination from teachers since teachers have more responsibility to have a high number of passing students. Some countries around the world don’t use standardized tests to rank their students or schools and yet they have been successful. Standardized tests are not efficient on making students learn, they should not be used to evaluate students’ knowledge.

Microaggressions can be any commonplace comments that are intended or not, to offend another person. However, one might think individuals would be aware if they inherently said something offensive. Microaggressions are even apparent in standardized testing and academia as test writers and teachers can unintentionally degrade students with a seemingly innocent statement. Standardized tests are allegedly supposed to test student’s knowledge of what they have learned or previously known. The tests also reflect the academic progress of the school to determine the quality of education that the school provides. Standardized tests seem to be an unbiased way of determining skill, but the tests do not take into account student’s home lives, as well

That image made me laugh and understand all at one time. Th logic of standardized testing confused many students and they feel like they don’t understand the questions. But when you try and use images like this, it allows laughter in the classroom and a calm setting to learning. Many times, as the teachers we need to make the learning process fun, active, and interesting great job. You seem to be an inspiring type of teacher, to have fun with your students. According to our text, “our struggling and disenfranchised students, they believe (and perhaps rightly so) their schoolwork is disconnected from the “real work” of supporting a family, pursuing aspirations, tackling complex problems, and navigating the world (Blankstein, Noguera, & Kelly,

Almost everyone in the U.S. recognizes that standardized testing is a central part of the education system in our country. What many people don’t know though is the history of where it came from. Beginning in the mid-1800s prestigious universities decided they wanted to give more students across the country a better chance at going into higher education, but at the time there wasn’t a way to measure the capabilities of students in both high class and low class families. This is how standardized testing came into play. If a student could do well on these tests regardless of their financial position than their scores would hopefully speak for themselves. Although, now standardized testing

The purpose of education has shifted from learning & gaining knowledge to see how well students can show patience, obedience, and willingness to work, so that colleges can pick out people that are going to work hard (Brabeck).We memorize, study for the test and forget it and repeat the cycle all over again. That’s why when young children ask adults or parents for help with their homework, they struggle to help because they can’t remember it. Also if the purpose of school was to learn, than why do they make us do standardized testing ? Standardized testing is not used in any way to see how much we’ve learned, but rather how much we can memorize/remember. Which is creating a conformity within our learning, and destroying creativity (Brabeck).

36. 20. 18. These are numerical results from an important standardized test that can traumatize a student. Do you believe having students stress over whether to pick between answer choices A through D are effective ways in improving their education? Although standardized testing is an essential tool for teachers, it is a stress builder for students.

Another argument is that “School districts and teachers should have the autonomy to create their own standards and curricula at the local level, rather than being held to national criteria and impossible standardized tests (Embrace The Common Core).” One of the most controversial issues in public education, the topic of standardized tests has actually taken on a life of its own.

Education today plays a totally different role than it did 20 years ago. Today, education is available to everyone and is a clear, almost assured pathway to self-improvement and a better life. Yet, it seems that as of the last decade, education no longer provides the free range of unlimited interests it used to. It seems like today, the more students want to learn, the less opportunities they have. All due to the education standards created by the government that regulate learning through test-based reforms. Standardized subjects, tests, and classes are a very common function of this time. However, contrary to popular belief, test-based reform, overall, has not improved schools in the United States.

​I strongly believe that all teachers should be evaluated fairly. An evaluation is an important tool used both by administration and teachers to identify areas of strength and weakness and determine ways to increase effective instructional practice in the classroom. However, I do not believe that teachers’ pay and positions should be based on the performance of their students on standardized tests. Thinking back to the days when it came time for standardized testing, I knew that I would not do well. I never tested well no matter how hard I tried. I consistently received high scores on papers I wrote and did well on assignments, but my standardized test scores produced much different results. My sister, on the other hand was just the opposite. The teachers were not at fault because I did not test well and I do not blame them when I scored poorly.

Since the late nineteenth century, standardized testing has been a sustained facet within American schools (Is the Use). Usually, this kind of testing occurs one or two times within the school year. The use of these tests in schools dramatically increased after the passing of the No Child Left Behind act in 2002, which put the demand on schools to be responsible for the academic success of each and every student (Elementary). Recently, however, educational testing of this sort has been under much scrutiny. A lot of people feel that these tests are unfair, to both those who are poor and those who have disabilities, and that they force teachers to only teach material included on the test. Despite these beliefs, standardized testing is heavily

Although standardized testing plays a prominent role in education systems, these tests continue to spark controversy. Even “critics have long warned that a flood of standardized testing is distorting American education” (Rizga & Hernandez, 2015, p. 40). Many people feel as if standardized tests only measure a small portion of what truly make’s a student’s education meaningful (Concordia Online Education, 2016). One of the biggest disadvantages of standardized testing is that the scores of standardized tests are said to measure a student’s intelligence level. If students do not earn an expected score, “students are pushed into remedial classes that zero in on what’s measured on the tests, furthering limiting their opportunities to learn the

Recently I visited the Careerline Tech Center, located in Holland, MI, for an open house on the courses that they offered there for juniors and seniors. One course that caught my attention was the Teacher’s Academy class taught there. The high school students who enrolled in this course gave younger students the opportunity to have control over their learning and testing experience, which is unlike anything that I have ever experienced. These younger students were able to take tests in a variety of ways, which allowed them to reflect what they knew more accurately and share their knowledge of a topic better than they could on a standardized test. Since then, I have asked myself, “what would the impact be if all schools switched over to a system of teaching kids and testing them using their individual learning style(s)? I believe that switching to this system would help all students

Standardized tests don't inspire teachers nor students to go beyond what is expected, making them nothing but the common human being. Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE), Sheninger, Eric says” “Standardization follows in the footsteps of a century-old education model focused on industrialization, which influences teachers and administrators in a way where the artist in each of them never evolves. This entrenched system produces students that lack creativity, are fearful of failure, work extremely hard to follow directions (homework, study for tests, not question authority), and are leaving schools with undesirable skills in a post-industrial society.” Many artists, such as myself, have been forced to do long nights of stressful math homework, mix with chemistry or writing a haiku. These activities causes our brains to overload as well as our time, leading us artists to not be able to develop our talents and create the non-created. Artist are just an example, but there are many more

If I could change one thing in our school it would be standardized testing. Standardized tests are implemented at almost every grade-level and in all subject areas. The tests are administered to students of all academic, demographic and economic backgrounds. The results are used to determine the educational path the student should follow. However, I believe standardized assessments only give one snapshot of a student’s ability. Students work hard all year in class. One test should not determine the future for a student. The requirements of passing standardized tests for class credit and educational planning should be removed from schools.

Standardization in schools has become a large project. Standardized test are one of the things that schools are required to do. Students are trained to pass a standardized test for their school more than they are prepared for real life. Schools no longer teach anything new or anything that students will need, they only teach what’s on a test.