Standardized Testing Research Paper

“Standardized tests do not value diversity (15 Reasons) .” Standardized tests treat every person as if they are identical when in reality they are not anywhere close to it. There are many differences in people, like cultural backgrounds, thinking and learning styles, different family backgrounds, and different levels in the English language. Not everyone is the same, they are all different in some way (15 Reasons). Schools around the world should not have standardized tests because they are time consuming and they do not show where a student is on an assessment.

Thesis: The effects of standardized testing have negatively impacted students across the United States. High Stakes testing has led to a decrease in student motivation, high retention rate, and a notable change in early dropout rates.

Standardized tests are completely unfair. In The Washington Post, Marion Brady argues this issue. She states that students that do not speak English or have special needs take the same tests as every other student. Also, non English speakers are taking these tests without mastering the language first. Special needs students

The purposes of standardized tests are to instruct decision making, establish program eligibility, evaluate course goals, evaluate program goals, and examine external curriculum. When a teacher gives and assesses a standardized test, they gain information about their students that helps them realize what concepts they have learned according to the agenda for the subject at hand. If the assessment is performed in a sensible amount of time and given according to the directions, this purpose should be fulfilled; however, it is a common belief that standardized tests do not work well in establishing where a student stands in a specific curriculum. The test uses a general curriculum that is the basis for the tests

There are many valid arguments, deeming it unfair to multiple parties. For example, those who speak a different language or have immigrated to the United States cannot easily be equipped to handle the standardized testing well known to our community, because they do not have enough time to master our language before being thrust into the testing realm. Special education students are also discriminated against, having to take the same standard of testing as their peers who do not have special needs. Standardized tests also don’t measure anything outside the scope of what is deemed meaningful education. “According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include "creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity."” (ProConorg). There is also the argument that teachers are just “teaching the test” rather than instilling our young generation with predominant qualities needed to be successful in life. These tests, according to studies done, are narrowing the curriculum taught, and increasing the price on testing, making it difficult on our educational system’s budgets. Some believe that

Standardized tests are often unfair to a wide range of students. Students coming from high-poverty schools often have fewer resources and weaker teachers (Layton A1). “People are sick of the overkill of test volume and the consequences, ridiculous things like rating art teachers based on the reading test scores in their schools” quote Robert Schaeffer (Layton A1). “Fort Myers, Florida, gives 183 tests during the year!” quote Sen. Patty Murray (Layton A1). There is many ways students can be evaluated more

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

At a glance scatter plots show whether a relationship exists between two sets of data. This data will determine correlations between students taking the SAT and ACT. Because this scatter plot is falling from left to right it has a negative slope, so therefore there is a negative correlation between these two sets of data. Although these points are falling, it is not a clear negative relationship since the clustered points are not in a straight line. Therefore, this relationship is a weak, negative relationship.

Standardized tests are biased to certain students whether it is race, or even how much money the parent(s) earn. According to Standardized Testing and Its Victims by Alfie Kohn, the tests are a lot easier for children coming from richer communities like Dublin for example,

Evaluating individual students through standardized tests is a poor means and should be replaced with performance-based assessments. An average student spends most of their early life inside a classroom, submitting to a sequence of tests and preparation for further exams to finally graduate and continue with further education, constantly struggling and striving for the highest marks. Through a strict series of standardized tests however, students instead form the idea that there is a single answer for all of the problems that face our world.  You are taught not to think logically or creatively at all, but to mindlessly memorize. As a student, you lose interest in the different disciplines you

The SAT is unfair to students of color due to its racist background. Originally this test had been created by Carl Brigham (Prois). This man believed that whites had superior traits to other races across the world. By making this test he believed it proved

In standardized tests I always get a good grade and in some occasions I have got some high scores on them. I think that I consider myself a good test taker because when I have a test really important I always sleep early, practice things that might be on the test, and the most important for me is to try my best in every question no matter if I never practice doing that question. I also consider myself a good standardized test taker because in the past couple of years I have gotten good grades and it has made me proud. I never been this way because I used to think that school was just a joke because I was going to become a pro soccer player, but now I can see that in order for me to become a soccer player I have to study a lot specially science

In the commentary ‘The Value of Standardized Testing” (2013), Dr. Gail Gross, an educator specialized in curriculum and instruction, asserts that despite the influx of negative reviews, standardized testing has a positive impact on student performance, curriculum evaluation, and education integrity. Gross develops her implication by utilizing a three-pronged argumentative structure to analyze both the short term and long term advantages that standardized tests have on student growth, both individually and collectively. The author’s purpose is to persuade the readers to transform their opinions about the subject and emphasize the importance of these assessments on a student’s success in school in order to respond to and criticize an article

Standardized tests are discriminatory because they don’t take cultural backgrounds, experiences, or personal lives into account, which leaves students at a disadvantage, which is why standardized tests are more damaging than beneficial to students. According to www.commondreams.org, in New York City, ELL students make up 14.4% of the student body population, and are expected to take a standardized exam between 7 and 8 times before passing. Only about 39.1% of these students end up graduating from school because the test doesn’t take their backgrounds into account. They haven’t fully learned the language, or properly know the full american schooling system yet. When students are put at this kind of disadvantage, this throws them a curveball,

Academic demand on adolescents is on the rise. The future of America, the children, is burdened with standards too difficult to satisfy. From Kindergarten to senior year of High School, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 impacted lives of many students by offering equal opportunity to education. It was reauthorized in 2001 and is now known as The No Child Left Behind Act . The concept of this act focuses on the idea that schools will held accountable if a student is not able to perform well academically (Klein). However, it is ultimately a failure because the pressure for students to perform well academically transcends to a backfire . Each state has its own standards, but with the Common Core there is a nationwide set of