Sasha Zucker states in her article “Fundamentals of Standardized Testing” that standardized tests are unbiased because machines grade the tests to avoid human errors in grading. However, the bias that occurs on standardized tests is mostly found in the students taking the test, such as in their culture, disabilities, emotions during the test, and any other aspects in their life that would cause test scores to greatly differ from what they could be and the test scores of other students. Having machines grade the standardized tests removes a very small amount of bias in standardized testing and does not provide for an unbiased testing method. Zucker also states about viable tests that “For a test to solve this combination of challenges effectively, …show more content…
Valid – The test must be shown to measure what it is intended to measure. Unbiased – The test should not place students at a disadvantage because of gender, ethnicity, language, or disability.” Yet, all three requirements for a test to be viable do not apply to standardized testing. Results produced are not consistent, as the day to day lives of students are constantly changing; Issues in the students’ lives may affect their thoughts, emotions, and health that would affect the results of their tests, providing a variety of test scores for one person alone. The validity of the test is also in question as it does not account for differences in students’ backgrounds and personal life so test scores do not accurately measure student’s abilities, but rather, it measures their ability to memorize information and test taking skills. Standardized testing holds a very large amount of bias, as the students of different ethnicities, cultures, and languages, have to confront many biased questions that are present in standardized tests. Therefore, standardized testing, according to Zucker’s analysis of an effective test, should not be used as an effective measure for testing students’ intelligence as it breaks the three requirements that make …show more content…
For example, colleges and working establishments could look at standardized testing scores as a guideline in deciding whether a student should be accepted, rather than being the final decision maker. GPA can determine a certain level of maturity, intelligence, and self discipline in students because to achieve a high GPA students must maintain good grades in each class throughout 4 years of schooling, showing a high level of determination which will benefit not only the student but the college or workplace as well (Sheffer). Thus, GPA can be a good indicator of acceptance by colleges and workplaces and should carry a higher level of influence than it already does in society. To prepare students for tests, schools change the curriculum and how it's taught to match the material on the standardized test. So, while the curriculum might be a helpful for taking the test, it means that students will only be taught a limited amount of material, will not be given an explanation of why it works, and will not be taught material that isn't on the test but may be helpful in college or work establishments (Perrone). Students end up memorizing material for the tests that they don’t even understand and probably won’t understand until they have to relearn it in college. Thus, another method to help fix problems with standardized
These standardized tests are used by schools because they find that it is an easy way to test a student’s ability. However, the
Most standardized test do not measure emotional or mechanical intelligence, actually a lot of educators argue that standardized test do not measure comprehension or actual intelligence but rather memorization. While others may believe that standardized testing just needs a few improvements, others believe that it is impossible to have a test that measures accurately the capability of a diverse student population. Today’s schooling depends heavily on the test scores from standardized test. Standardized testing should not have so much weight put on them because they have a negative impact on effective education, students’ self-concept, and learning styles.
Standardized tests have historically been used as measures of how students are compared with one another or how much of a particular curriculum they have learned throughout the semester or year. Consequently, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and higher education evaluation. Various numbers of students across America have had to repeat classes because of the way standardized tests are used to pass or fail students. Although
In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses
Test scores are usually used when it comes to grade retention. Standardized testing can also lead to suffering a loss of interest in school and self-esteem. Teachers are also teaching to test since more schools are focusing on instruction on tests due to higher stakes. Thus, this narrows the curriculum being taught. Most of the standardized tests include topics that are not important and are formatted in ways that are not useful in most job settings. High-stakes testing drives out good teachers and the tests misinform the
In recent years Florida’s standardized testing program has taken a turn for the worst. After doing away with the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) the debate has only grown due to flood of new tests being created such as the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) or End of Course Exam (EOC). These tests are administered to test students’ abilities at the end of the school year. In spring of 2015, with only two months of testing between the EOC’s and the FSA, Florida’s legislature implemented the FSA. The main reason the testing was delayed was because the new tests had to be administered on a computer, so that scores could be calculated faster. Though most of the recent issues make it seem that testing is useless, there are still positives. Administering these tests allows the state to measure the level of improvement in the education students are receiving and it keeps the teachers adhering to the curriculum plan. The positive and negative points about testing bring up the question: Should standardized testing in Florida be eliminated or changed?
Another problem with standardized tests is that they are limited in subjects. When a child starts school from third grade the first standardized exams they take are math and English. In fourth grade they add a science. In fifth grade they add social studies. But what about if you are stronger in art, do they have an exam for that? No they do not. A person who wants to major in art does not have an exam for them but they still have to take a English and math exam, since they aren’t that strong in that area most of them will not do as well as the others who are stronger in that area. This proves it doesn’t test a student’s strength or what they know.
The first reason why standardized testing is beneficial is because it will be helpful to students. David Deming, a professor at Harvard, did a study of the effects of standardized tests on students. Their analysis revealed that the pressure the No Child Left Behind Act set on schools to reach proficiency led low-scoring students to score significantly higher on a high-stakes math exam. In addition, according to Deming, “these students were also more likely to accumulate significantly more math credits and to graduate from high school on time.” Adding onto that, later those students were more
Have you ever thought about the negative sides of standardized testing? Being a teacher you have to be able to talk to parents about their child. You also have to be able to make lesson plans for every school day and be able to assess your students too make sure they are learning from you. A big part in being a teacher now a days is to be able to prepare the students for the standardized tests. An average cost in how much teachers make per year would be about $55,000 per year. (“Summary” 1). Tim Walker from the Washington Post said, “Education policymakers and technology providers have joined forces to accelerate a longtime push for ‘test data-driven’ education interventions. Both sectors look to computer-based
When I was in my English class I wasn't realizing that I spend too much time preparing for the standardized test, I had atrophied time from school and my free time, and I realized that I wasn't spending my time in other classes that they de-stress me for example elective classes.
On the standardized test I scored on the below section. I do not consider myself a good test taker because I lose trust and confidence in myself so my mind goes blank. I haven't always been this way it normally started happening when I started middle school. To prepare for a standardized test I go to sleep on time but before I do that I always check my notes and reread them. Test questions I do best on are the ones where there isn't word problems. Normally just solving for x type of problems are easy if you know what correct steps to take. I struggle on word problems the most because you have to first understand it and then you have to come up with the equation etc. English seems a lot more simpler because you just have to read a passage and
Standardized tests are exams that measure a student’s academic knowledge throughout the course of a semester or year. Standardized testing has been a controversial subject of discussion for years, many believe standardized tests hold teachers accountable. Although it is one method to see how a student is performing, it is not the best method and to receive funding, schools have to test their students annually. However, standardized tests are unfair to students coming from a poor educational background, they restrain teacher's creativity, as well as affect funding for schools. Additionally, the scores are accustomed into making decisions about students such as passing a level grade, graduating from high school, and being acceptance into a university. While these tests are used to assure states are covering certain topics, it has shown to be biased. Classes are becoming more test based and less flexible.
In the United States, standardized tests have been given to students since the mid-1800s. Currently, students take standardized tests to measure their academic performance, and currently there is a discussion on whether they are an accurate representation of a student’s overall performance in school. Standardized tests should not affect a student’s overall performance in school to a significant extent because standardized testing focuses on cognitive factors dealing with comprehension and understanding of material taught in class while dismissing other critical factors in determining a student’s overall success in school.
Standardized testing is clearly a way to categorize young students into intelligence groups. Our nation uses this form of testing to separate superior students from average ones. “Testing has shaped curriculum and
I personally believe the standardized test is an unfair and subjective measure to evaluate the overall academic competency of a student. As students are evaluated on the basis of the multiple-choice format, which is a deficient evaluation tool, the outcomes of the tests are not reliable. The format supports a shortsighted state of mind with only correct and incorrect answers, unlike every rule that applies in real life. According to Danielle Rose, "the format of standardized tests is biased toward male students, who studies have shown adapt more easily to the game-like point scoring of multiple-choice questions." Students usually have the misconception that higher score on the