Standardized Testing Pros And Cons

The standardized tests not only affect the students, but everyone else that is involved. It affects students by causing them stress and if they are unprivileged they do not get the tutoring and help that the privileged ones do (Reddell). Privileged children can get tutors to help teach them more about a topic. The unprivileged kids can get free tutoring at school but some are too embarrassed or scared to go ask for help. A kid should not be embarrassed about asking for help on a subject they are having troubles in they should be able to go to any teacher and not have other students around them making fun just because they are getting help because they do not know something. These tests have caused so much stress on not just students but also the teachers (Reddell). Students get more stressed over these tests than teachers do. They know that they need to try their best and it puts a ton of weight on them. Even though they can retake the test that does not mean a senior can. If a senior is to take these tests and fail then they have to come back either for summer school or back for a whole other year. It is not fair to a senior if they fail the test and have to come the next year or even during the summer just because he did not pass. A test should not be the reason he does not get to go to college that year and has to

Virginia requires all students to take year-end tests known as the Standards of Learning. Many people hate these SOL’s because they cause unnecessary stress. Other students love them because it gives them a goal for the year. Regardless of the various opinion there are many pros and cons, of the SOL’s.

Texas takes the STAAR, Alabama the ARMT, and Hawaii the HSA. Each state in the U.S. has a standardized test required of every student. From the ACT and SAT to the STAAR tests, standardized testing has become common practice for almost every student. The earliest records of standardized testing are when in China, anyone wanting to get a job in government had to fill out their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry in examination. As more and more kids began to go to school during the Industrial Revolution, standardized testing spread as a way to quickly and easily test a large number of students. But not everyone agrees with the tests, stating that they are unreliable, and that the stakes are too high. Standardized tests cause immense amount of stress for not only students, but teachers as well. And the tests might not even be effective, causing more anxiety than it's worth.

When people think of the education system, most can say that there are some problems, though they might not be able to pinpoint what needs to change first. If you ask most teachers, they will say that the first thing that needs to be changed in the schooling system to help the students more is the standardized testing. They will say that while it can be helpful it has a lot of faults and needs to be updated or changed to help its students. Standardized testing has often been a topic for discussion, between parents and people in the schooling system. It seems that a lot of people either hate standardized testing for not giving every child a chance to succeed, or love it for being a fair way to test whether a child knows what they need to know at their age. There have been many articles, books, and documentary’s debating on whether or not standardized testing is doing more harm then good. There was a comic made that shows the brutality and bluntness of what standardized testing is really like. Standardized Testing causes too much stress by putting unfair expectations on teens and doesn’t give every single student the chance to succeed.

Since Middle School, I was not opposed to standardized testing. I thought of it as a way of testing us of what we have learned. Although, after reading some articles about standardized testing I am re-thinking the pros and cons. From personal experience, I thought of it as a challenge to pass them. But now that reminisce about it, I noticed some of the cons of standardized testing. I remember having a week or two dedicated for testing, and in case of students failing they had to take time to redo it. It would take a while for all the students to finish their tests. And after remembering how it was back in those times I was more on the opposed side.

Each year high school students from around the country take the SAT or ACT. The ACT and SAT are both standardized test used by colleges to determine the knowledge of a student and predict what their performance will be in their first year of college. An immense amount of pressure is put on student to receive certain scores in order to obtain scholarships and admission into college. Even just one point on a student’s score can determine if they will be accepted into their dream college. However, the results from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are often inaccurate. Because of this one’s knowledge and academic ability are misrepresented, and they are denied certain opportunities. Standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT

The use of standardized examinations have long been debated in American society. In fact, the last several years have seen an immense shift from the prioritization of standardized testing to more holistic measurements of student achievement. Despite this shift, many school districts across the nation and college/university entrance requirements still place a significant, if not pivotal, emphasis on test-taking and standardized exam results. Throughout this paper, I will explore 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) arguments for and against its practice, as well as 3) situate the consequences of its use in one of the three philosophical goals of schooling. All of this will subsequently paint an investigation into the purpose of schooling in American society.

Standardized tests have a natural connotation of being negative, useless, or time wasting. They take away valuable classroom time from teachers and their students. Most of the time, assessments are given before the material supposed to be taught has been presented to the students. Therefore, students are at a disadvantage when it comes to taking these “fail or pass” tests. However, tracking students’ progress was the original purpose and push for having standardized tests. Standardized tests should be given for their original purpose, but not in the multitude or manner they are currently presenting students with.

Today, it can be observed that society has shifted education drastically from the time schools were constituted, to now. Throughout history, schools have gone from private, where only the elite can attend, to public schools where virtually anyone can attend. One of the factors that goes along with education is standardized testing. Frederick J. Kelly, father of the standardized test, once said, “These tests are too crude to be used, and should be abandoned.” Not only has this shift occurred within education itself, but it has occurred within the testing concepts found within standardized testing so much so that the founder of these tests has chosen to give up on it.

Should one's college acceptance be based greatly on their standardized college admission test scores? Though these tests are a way of measuring an individual’s knowledge to then compare the student’s score to all of the other applicant’s scores, there are many downsides of making the submission of the SAT or ACT test scores a requirement when applying to colleges. This paper focuses on both the disadvantages and advantages of making standardized college admission test scores mandatory as well as the value and history behind these tests. While some may not want to recognize the problem behind making these tests mandatory, it is safe to say that it is not going to go away, especially with many colleges slowly jumping on the bandwagon and making the submission of standardized test scores optional.

Over the years, a debate has emerged arguing the fairness and the reliability of standardized tests. The outcome of this dispute not only directly impacts students, but also teachers and administrators, many whose jobs are placed on the line when the test scores come back. There are many exceptional points for both why the tests should be completely eradicated and also for why the tests should stay right where they are. A main argument for the tests is that they place students that may not have similar opportunities on a level playing field. The ACT, SAT, and other akin tests are the best way to test not only content knowledge, but also students’ ability to perform under pressure, a skill needed to succeed in college and the workforce.

Dr. Harry Gold from Oakland University once said, “No one wins awards for standard mediocrity or for “most like everyone else”; so why do American schools push for standardization when American society only rewards the unique or inventive?” If the goal is to build successful individuals, American schools have it all wrong. I agree with Gold and I feel that standardization is an inaccurate test of a person’s knowledge and ability.

What do you think about standardized tests? Even though schools may need the standardized tests, they need to change or be fixed very soon. The standardized tests are needed but need to be changed because there are too many of them, the United States gets outperformed by other countries on the tests, and they are repetitive and redundant.

Its ironic how the SAT and ACT were instituted with the intent to bring equality, but in this day and age they bring the opposite. The primary reason for that and also the low performance of stellar students on these exams is the lack of consciousness in regards to standardized exam itself. I can testify to that. The majority of my community, the border city of Brownsville, perceives theses entrance exam as peripheral and are just as skeptical toward their existence as the presence of extraterrestrial beings. I also realize I didn't have the luxury of buying programs, books, paying for tutors or even sometimes the luxury of internet for the preparing of these exams.

No matter an individual’s confidence or intelligence, all tests create amounts of anxiety and stress. In most students’ or previous students’ academic careers, an exam has stressed them out. But, are these tests without any reasoning? Do these tests prove a student’s true intelligence? Are they valuable to students further into their lives? Standardized tests are a widely debated topic globally, whether or not the use is beneficial, or really useless to students. Using standardized test results to determine a student’s future may not be a comprehensive indicator of a student’s full potential for success.