Standardized testing is a global educational practice in determining the academic level of students and in turn, the aptness of teachers. W. James Popham (2005), former president of the American Educational Research Association, defines standardized test as "any test that's administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner." In the United States, standardized testing became more prominent in 2002 due to the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act. All public schools were held to a high standard of education by measuring their students’ scores in statewide standardized tests (Couslon, 2009). Schools are deemed as effective if performance levels are high. Likewise, schools are considered to be ineffective if test scores are low.
In Belize, there are different standardized examinations for the different educational levels. For the primary school level, there are two examinations that are administered annually – the Primary School Examinations (PSE) and the Belize Junior Achievement Test (BJAT). The PSE is a paper-based exam administered in the final year of primary schooling and the Belize Junior Achievement Test (BJAT) is administered to all students completing the middle division of primary education. According to the Ministry of Education, the PSE “assesses achievement of curriculum content and skills in the four (4) areas of English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science of the National Primary School Curriculum” (2013, p.1). Each of the
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.
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.
What is standardized testing? Standardized testing is a test which is given to students to evaluate the knowledge which they know. Testing can be in all subjects and topics in education. In Minnesota there is the MCA ( Minnesota Common Assessment). The MCA can be taken from elementary to high school, and the students are tested on subjects they have learned from the past. In Minnesota the MCA is a test which the government requires students to take. On a national level there is the ACT and SAT. These are usually taken as entrance exams to colleges and universities. ACT and SAT are two different types of test they have differ in grading systems and some colleges take both or one of the two. Why are standardized test given? The test are given so people in charge can evaluate the performance of the student and school; also gage the knowledge of the student. But standardized test like the ACT can not be an effective way to improve instruction and performance because it is a competency focused test. The reason why standardized test are competence: They test students on how well they can eliminate the incorrect answers to find the correct one. This is an inefficient way because what if the test taker crosses out the wrong answer, this forces the taker to choose between two wrong answers. There's needs to be tested efficiently and accurately gage their knowledge.
One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.
Every year, millions of students take long standardized tests, but do they improve the education of American students? In 2000, the US ranked 18th in mathematics worldwide. By 2012, the US dropped to 27th, with similar results in the remaining subjects. After passing the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001, the lives of thousands were academically changed. NCLB’s Mission Statement reads: “Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” Standardized testing is declining the education in America by placing financial burdens on schools, as well as reprioritizing school choices, unnecessary
Standardized testing is used to tell students level in certain areas of academics; however, it is actually a waste of time and money.
The use of standardized testing is on the rise, with the intent of comparing the knowledge levels of large amounts of students. But is it a true and fair indicator of students overall knowledge?some may argue that it is the least expensive and most convenient way to compare mass amounts of students b having everyone test on the same data at the same time and under the same circumstances. Many believe that students learn and even test take at varying levels and performance is not consistent on any given day. Meaning ,students may have the exact same knowledge base, but some students simply are better at test taking, whereas others do not perform well under pressure and this may potentially affect the test results.
Michelle Obama once said, “If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” Standardized testing is, “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” (edglossary.org, Standardized Test). Standardized testing is used in most schools and is used to determine the futures of many student’s educations. These tests usually have sets of multiple choice, or true or false questions that are to be answered within a limited amount of time. Many people think that this is the only way to accurately measure a student’s individual intelligence. Even though almost all schools make students
How I feel about standardized tests is that they get me really stressed out and they are scary. I believe i'm a a bad test taker because when someone hands me a test I forget everything I learned over the year and just freak out and stare at the paper. Yes, I believe ever since Kindergarten iv'e been like this. Fun fact is that when I was taking my STAR test in second grade I peed myself thinking I was going to fail but it was a practice STAR test, I was bullied ever since. I prepare for a standardized test by going over what I learned at midnight, that way I don't freak out and stress or sometimes eating makes me feel more confident about myself. I believe that when they give you gum before taking the test helps, because it distracts you of
“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
Did you know that kids take 20-25 hours on standardized tests. Sides of this argument are how they should change the test, while the other is keep the same tests. I think that we should change because there’s too much time spent on it, because government money can be spent to limit tests, and we don't need to many tests.
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.
I am planning on doing my causation essay over the effects standardized testing has on a students attitude and outlook on their impending future. Majority, if not all, have taken a standardized test and this life-altering questionnaire has been the source of hatred towards schooling and negatively impacts our mindset due to a simple number never being high enough to truly show what one is capable of. I recently received my SAT score and was highly disappointed that I did not achieve the score I felt I worked for. This, in turn messed up my plans for attending my top choice college because I was thrown into the “average category.” This conforming test pushes you to the limit on stress and time and is the loathed obstacle that greatly determines
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.
Modern day schooling and its methods of assessing students are the issues presented in this paper. Schools today evaluate students mainly through standardized testing, which is not the right way to evaluate a person’s intellectual abilities and skills. Lisa Belkin, a senior columnist for the Huffington Post, believes that grades have taken prominence over the love of learning, which she thinks is the most important part of school because of the benefit that knowledge provides to a person in their lifetime. She also mentions the effect that grades have on the parent/child relationship, since grades become a goal for both of them and the pursuit of knowledge is left behind.