Standardized Testing Essay

After the No-Child-Left-Behind (NCLB) bill was introduced by the Bush administration in 2001, the use of standardized tests skyrocketed because all schools in the country were required to assess students using these tests to evaluate the student, teacher and school’s performance. A standardized test is any examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner (Popham 8). The use of these tests have not improved education in the United States because teachers teach to the test, which means that they only focus on what is going to be on the exam and do not spend time on other material; tests like the SAT which evaluate the student solely on the outcome of the test and upon the score the student is placed where “appropriate”; and that one assessment is not enough to evaluate students, teachers, principals

Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.

“…only twenty-two percent of those surveyed said increased testing had helped the performance of their local schools compared with twenty-eight in 2007” (“Public Skeptical of Standardized Testing.”). Furthermore the poll indicated an eleven percent increase, compared to last year, towards the favor of discontinuing the usage of students’ test results for teacher evaluations. William Bushaw, executive director of PDK International and co-director of PDK/Gallup Poll also stated, “Americans’ mistrust of standardized tests and their lack of confidence and understanding around new education standards is one the most surprising developments we’ve found in years” (“Public Skeptical of Standardized Testing.”). All in all, not only are these tests a concern for students, who are forced to sit through them, hoping to get a decent enough score to place into a class, receive their diploma, or even get accepted to the college of their dreams, but they are a concern for parents as well, who only want the best for their children and to see them succeed.

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.

Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.

Standardized testing has become a multi-million dollar business that has shown no substantial progress on the public school system across the nation. Our students and schools are being robbed of expressing creativity and critical thinking skills while major corporations are gaining more and more financial stability. Since the implementation of the harsh testing guidelines, it has forced

“The sale of a whole range of screening, intelligence, readiness, and other tests generates in excess of $100 million in revenues in the U.S. (Meaghan and Casas 44)”. Companies that administer these tests like the ACT are making hundreds of millions of dollars to make these tests. These are large corporations that are making money from distributing the test and then once again making more money from grading it. Governments look into ways to save money with education so why don’t they focus on abolishing standardized tests and just focus on a student’s grade point average. A student’s high school transcript gives a college enough information for them to make their selection, doing this may take them longer to choose their potential students. However, the students that they do administer would be better represented because they would have that student’s record of the past four years. Showing how they did in certain classes and even what they struggled in.

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.

Although California Department of Education would argue that the California High School Exit Exam is an effective way to evaluate student progress,some parents, teachers, and California public high school graduates wonder if this test creates a better education system or hinders a student's performance.

Former State Superintendent Jack O’Connell authored the legislation that created the exit exam when he was a state senator in 1999. The purpose of this exam as stated by the California Department of Education is “to identify students who are not developing skills that are essential for life after high school.” This determines if students’ knowledge and skills are relative to entry-level employment are adequate. Students are tested on

“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

According to the educators and parents, standardized testing, in its current form, is a bad idea for the following nine reasons — stakes are too high, test scores can’t accurately measure learning, teachers are “teaching to the test”, standardized testing eats up instruction time, high stakes have led to cheating and score manipulation, tests include cultural bias, poor timing keeps teachers from utilizing test results and the test anxiety impedes learning

For many years, schools all around the United States of America have required students in their public schools to take standardized tests. These schools administer at least one standardized test per nine weeks or every semester. In some cases, these standardized tests determine whether a student is getting accepted into college, going onto to the next grade, or even attending special tutorings. In all these situations, the outcome of whether the student passes or fails the exams is dependant on their future. The future of these students is not only in danger, but the future of our nation is also on the line. Schools should remove all the use of standardized test. These tests give students something to worry about, but it also may cause these

A very current and ongoing important issue happening within the education system is standardized testing. A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a calculated, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests. Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students might perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples are the SAT’s and the ACT’s. The SAT and the ACT attempt to estimate how well high school students will perform in college. But standardized test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness. Nationally, five such tests are in use: California Achievement Tests,

Standardized testing has become a prominent feature in most public schools. Standardized tests come in many different forms such as Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL), the ACT, and the SAT. These tests often predict if a student can graduate, if he or she will be accepted in his or her dream college, and how well he or she will be in the future. It seems as though a simple test with thirty questions could not be this substantial, but these exams often predict the lives of thousands of students yearly. It is crazyto believe that one test, one number, one letter will define the life of a student, but this is exactly what happens with standardized testing. The tests do not show the intelligence or potential of the students who take these tests. Standardized tests should be stopped immediately because they do not improve individuals; they often diminish the life of each individual involved with them.