Standardized Testing Is A Crucial Part Of Today 's Federal Education Structure Essay

This alteration of the class curriculum results in a narrowing of the classroom focus to better take a specific test, but when the same material is tested in a different way, results show that information is not retained (“Why” 2). An 18-month study found that because of standardized tests, elementary school teachers had to give up on “reading real books, writing, and long term projects” because they had to spend more time reviewing material that was tested in the external assessments (Shepard 3). Barth and Mitchell insist that the overuse of standardized tests will distort the curriculum to only go over what is going to be tested (1), and the group Parents Across America support that claim because their children will miss out on important lessons like teamwork, being creative and learning to ask good questions (1). Barth and Mitchell clarify that teaching the format of the test with the purpose of preparing the student can be helpful, but only to the extent of a couple of weeks before the exam

Getting an education is the main goal for everyone, although it is easy to obtain there are some obstacles to it. One of the main obstacles students face at the beginning of their education is standardized tests. Schools have started to adopt this type of tests as their main way to evaluate students’ intelligence and teachers’ effectiveness to educate the students. The way students used to learn has changed, in order to get them ready for the tests they have to spend much of the school time preparing for it instead of learning something they can use in their future life. According to Bruce Jacobs in No Child Left Behind's Emphasis on 'Teaching to the Test' Undermines Quality Teaching, a 2007 study by the University of Maryland teachers were put in much pressure and had thoughts to teach the test […]. This shows that teachers have also been affected by standardized tests in a way they have more pressure to make students pass. Having teachers ‘teach the test’ means their way to educate has been corrupted. In most cases when teachers’ ability to educate has been changed leads them to practice methods not convenient for scholars. One of these methods is memorization, in Relying on High-Stakes Standardized Tests to Evaluate Schools and Teachers: A Bad Idea by Hani Morgan describes how students start to adapt to an “inferior type of learning, based on memorization and recall students gain when teachers

After the implementation of the “No Child Left Behind Act” high risk standardized testing has become a pressure cooker of corruption in the United States due to often unrealistic expectations, abundant incentives, and harsh punishments placed upon educators and administrators, overall resulting in the essential need for reform. The concept that every student’s academic ability can be assessed by a single universal exam is a misguided notion.

Recently, arguments have arisen over the issue of standardized testing. It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about the ACT, OGT, semester exams given by the district, or the recent implementation of PARCC tests, all are standardized tests that almost all Ohio students will encounter in their schooling career. In Aaron Churchill’s “Bless the tests: Three reasons for standardized testing,” Churchill gives his reasoning on why standardized tests are beneficial even past the assessment of students, teachers, schools, and districts. He argues, among other things, that the tests give parents a good comparison of their students to other students, hold schools accountable for student academic growth, and close the gap between different grading practices in schools. These assertions, along with the rest of the essay, are invalid.

First, comes the design. People supporting the standardized testing claim that it is perfectly created and meets all the criteria for objectiveness. They believe that multiple-choice tests are good because they are graded by machines and therefore “are not subject to human subjectivity or bias.” (Phelps, 2002) What these people seem to overlook is the importance of individuality. Multiple-choice questions

Since childhood it has been taught that education is key to being a successful and productive person in today’s day and age, but exactly how children should be educated is being debated heavily throughout the United States. I have decided to do my senior project on standardized testing (common core testing) as a way to shed light on this broken system. Standardized testing has been created in order to compare test scores around the country and decide exactly what needs to be taught in schools.While this may seem like a good idea on paper, the animation of this in the real world has been a complete disaster. Lately, students have been bombarded with standardized tests and it has been negatively affecting their education. In a quote from one of the most influential females of our generation, “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” (Michelle Obama). Now in this quote the first lady is saying that people should not be judged based off of one test that is going to determine the way that they are being educated, which is exactly what is

What once began as a simple test administered to students yearly to measure understanding of a particular subject has, as Kohn (2000) has stated, “Mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to swallow our schools whole” (p.1). Today’s students are tested to an extent that is unparalleled in not only the history of our schools, but to the rest of the world as well. Step into any public school classroom across the United States and it will seem as if standardized testing has taken over the curriculum. Day after day teachers stress the importance of being prepared for the upcoming test. Schools spend millions of dollars purchasing the best test preparation materials, sometimes comes at the cost of other important material. Although test

It's 8 A.M. on a Saturday, and masses of students around the United States wake up and head to their testing sites in order to take the SAT. This is a common occurrence that happens multiple times a year, but it raises the question as to how seriously should society take these tests and other standardized testing, such as the Regents examinations in New York State. The answer to this is obvious, clearly these exams, and all standardized tests, must be taken seriously, due to the fact they provide vital information for colleges such as which students are the best, they provide ample data for high schools and state governments to prove that the academic standards are being upheld, and they also provide useful information to various institutions

Standardized testing had only been added to America’s public education curriculum when “the common school movement began in earnest in the 1830s in New England as reformers… began to argue successfully for a greater government role in the schooling of all children” (“Common School”). “By 1845 in the United States, public education advocate Horace Mann was calling for standardized essay testing” (Mathews), because he believed that “political stability and social harmony depended on universal education” (“Common School”), and that these tests would help teachers “find and replicate the best teaching methods so that all children could have equal opportunities” (Gershon). There weren’t any other well known attempts at standardized testing until “the College Entrance Examination Board—… or SAT—began in the 1920s” (Gershon). Later “in the 1960s, the federal government started pushing new achievement tests designed to evaluate instructional methods and schools” (Gershon), because the Cold War “fueled a space race and increased pressure on U.S. schools to show improvement” (Mathews). However, it wasn’t “until the mid-1970s, when the College Board revealed that average SAT scores had been falling since 1963” (Mathews), that the country realized “public school standards were too low” (Mathews). This is the reason why “Congress created the National Assessment Governing Board” (Mathews), an organization which ”established new standards for the National Assessment of Educational

I t is well known that Standardized testing is not popular with students, but many teachers also do not agree with the method as well. Teachers see the testing as a burden and an end to creative and fun curriculum. Teachers teach all year for what will be on the test. Students are forced to learn by memorization quickly with so much knowledge being imposed on them at one time. Teachers have to teach so many core factors that they do not have hours to spend the wanted and needed lot of time on certain content. The article “It’s déjà vu all over again!” includes comments from educators on testing “The tests tend to measure factual memorization of names and dates, rather than important conceptual understandings and interpretations” (pg.199). Children can profess when and where The Battle of Gettysburg was, but could not express what the speech was about and the lasting impositions of the speech. They memorize a topic to pass a test. That is standardized testing. That is not learning.

Standardized testing has been a common tool used in schools for hundreds of years. However, since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed more emphasis has been placed on these test. There has been a new act passed since No Child Left Behind was passed and it is called Every Student Succeeds Act, also known as ESSA. This act did reevaluate standardize testing; however, many components stayed the same. The ESSA “ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards” (ESSA). The ESSA gave the states more control over their education system, but also required each state to submit their educational plans to ensure

Standardized Testing is one of the many issues currently plaguing the education community. Testing is a very touchy and controversial topic in the politics of education, particularly in the United States. There are many varying opinions debating on the successes and failures in the process of testing today. The controversies over standardized testing in the United State, and specifically New Jersey, stem from the testing process and the creation of these tests. Some claim that standardized tests are culturally biased, which is a disadvantage to minority students. These tests also are very costly, and affect the education budget. The tests also pose a large time commitment, with preparation for the tests, as well as the time allotted to take the tests themselves. Preparations for the tests can also have issues, with some educators teaching toward the test, to ensure a higher success rate for the students. The grading and processing of these tests also comes into question, because the tests might not be an accurate measure of student achievement. Standardized testing is a very controversial topic because of the extremely high stakes. The successes or failures of students on these tests affect the students and the schools. With the new obsession with high performance rates, standardized testing has become more high stakes.

According to Diane Ravitch, the author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education, after the No Child Left Behind Act passed, there began to be a lot more focus on teaching students how to be efficient test takers. In turn, knowledge has become second to test-taking skills (Ravitch 107). Edward Davis, the author of Lessons For Tomorrow, said “Kids are taught how to outsmart tests by recognizing trick multiple-choices” (Davis 95). There becomes more and more evidence proving how much curriculums at school are becoming centered around what will show up on the test (Ravitch 16). This causes students to learn only the basic facts and questions on the test rather than being encouraged to think and explore other ideas and concepts. Lynn Olson, author of Study Questions Reliability of Single Year's Test Score Gains, said in a study, “... 50 percent and 80 percent of the improvement in a school's average test scores from one year to the next was temporary and was caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning or productivity” (Olson 9). This shows that according to the study, tests are not helping students overall to improve their knowledge and learning. The knowledge teachers put into

When I was younger I always saw my older siblings dread going into highschool and I never understood why. I mean, you get more freedom, you can drive, and you’re that much closer to graduating. What’s not to like? Well, let’s just say I was too young to understand everything that went along with high school. The loads of homework, being in sports, having a job, and trying to have a social life along with your busy schedules. On top of that, you can’t forget the horrid tests every high school student is forced to take. The SAT, ACT, ITBS, MAP, and COMPASS tests are just a few of the tests we have to take throughout our four years. Two of those tests are optional, but the rest are mandatory. You’re given a set amount of time

Nichols, S. L., & Berliner, D. C. (2007). Collateral damage: How high-stakes testing corrupts America s schools. In this book, the authors (same authors wrote this article) document and categorize the manner in which high-stakes testing threatens the purpose and ideals of the American education system.