Testing In Secondary Schools

David Gillborn and Deborah Youdell’s study (2001) adopts a different approach and instead shows how the school uses the belief of the teachers to decide which pupils have the ability to achieve the 5 A*- c grades at GCSE’s. Working class and black pupils are perceived to lack the required ability therefore ending up being entered in lower tier GCSE’s. This denies them the knowledge and opportunity to gain good grades as even if they get 100% of the test right they will still only achieve a C in lower tier exams.

A never-ending issue has loomed over the head of our nation-- education. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, 63.7% of American students are below proficient in reading and 65.7% in math. In order to improve educational standards and increase student achievement, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 2002. Designed to increase the role of the federal government in education, it holds schools accountable based on how students perform on standardized tests. Statistics show that the average student completes about 110-115 mandatory, standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and end of twelfth grade (an average of eight tests per year). Standardized testing utilizes

(2011). Rational responses to high stakes testing: The case of curriculum narrowing and the harm that follows. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(3), 287-302.

It's 8 A.M. on a Saturday, and masses of students around the United States wake up and head to their testing sites in order to take the SAT. This is a common occurrence that happens multiple times a year, but it raises the question as to how seriously should society take these tests and other standardized testing, such as the Regents examinations in New York State. The answer to this is obvious, clearly these exams, and all standardized tests, must be taken seriously, due to the fact they provide vital information for colleges such as which students are the best, they provide ample data for high schools and state governments to prove that the academic standards are being upheld, and they also provide useful information to various institutions

School Standards and Testing Everyday, schools all over America are pushing students to the brink of insanity. They are giving many quizzes and tests, along with anxiety and sleep deprivation. Teachers have very high expectations, leaving students to worry about keeping their grades up. Meanwhile, students have to juggle with five to seven different classes, learning new material for each class, keeping up with sports and other after-school activities, studying each night for tests, etc.

Pressure to succeed at these tests creates feelings of anxiousness and stress in students that can cause students to dread coming to school at all. Students should be able to enjoy coming to school and learning. Pressure from standardized tests does not allow students to further their education in a stress-free environment. This can be detrimental to the quality of education. Dawn Laborde is a mother of three school-aged children from Florida. She said, “My third grader loves school, but I can’t get her out of the car this year.” (“States Listen as Parents Give Rampant Testing an F”) This demonstrates how even children as young as eight or nine years old can feel the pressures given by standardized testing. It is worrying that young children and teenagers are spending so much of their time in school agonizing over standardized tests and other concerns that accompany them. The pressure to succeed at these tests can also cause students to feel physically ill. Education researcher Gregory J. Cizek states, “...illustrating how testing...produces crippling anxiety in even the brightest students and makes young children vomit, or cry, or both.” (“Is The Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?”) The fact that students are brought to tears or made physically sick due to stress from testing is very disturbing. Schools should be relaxed environments where students can freely learn and grow

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.

When I was younger I always saw my older siblings dread going into highschool and I never understood why. I mean, you get more freedom, you can drive, and you’re that much closer to graduating. What’s not to like? Well, let’s just say I was too young to understand everything that went along with high school. The loads of homework, being in sports, having a job, and trying to have a social life along with your busy schedules. On top of that, you can’t forget the horrid tests every high school student is forced to take. The SAT, ACT, ITBS, MAP, and COMPASS tests are just a few of the tests we have to take throughout our four years. Two of those tests are optional, but the rest are mandatory. You’re given a set amount of time

A new PDK/Gallup poll shows that most Americans oppose nationwide Common Core tests, and view other criteria such as engagement with classwork and feedback about school more important than performance in standardized testing in measuring the effectiveness of schools.

Junior year is often said to be the hardest year of high school. Homework gets harder, classes start to pile on, there’s more access to clubs and other extracurriculars. However, these things combined are not the reason that it is typically called the hardest. It is the stress and preparation that comes with taking a standardized test that year. Standardized tests are assessments of several specific skills of high school students, which will later be used in college. The two most common standardized tests in the U.S. are the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT). The standardized part means that when the general population takes this test, the score distribution should be a normal bell-shaped distribution with

The current period of learning is being determined by standardized testing, and has become the main focus of many arguments within the education system. Students all over the United States are being subjected to standardized tests often throughout their years in school due to legislation that has been set by Government over the past several years. While there are many upsides to the reasons for these assessments, there are also negative effects of this. Students are expected to make a certain score on tests to get to where they want to go. It is an unfair advantage for people who can pay their way through their education. From Star

Most students think that it is pointless to take these exams when they could be learning other stuff and they also have other import projects to worry about. “I think they are too much. Students have enough homework, projects, quizzes and other tests to worry about, and they don’t need to be pressured to take a test that contains things that they might’ve forgotten” (Ferroni). “Schools now teach their students only on what they think will be on the tests. It’s not fair to our education. We should be learning for ourselves, not for others” (Ferroni). These students show how it’s important to them and others about learning, rather than to be tested on subjects every single

Standardized testing is a large part of the education system today. Most schools take at least one every year. The tests were put in place with good intentions, but overall failed as a way of raising standards. Standardized tests should be removed from our schools because they have a negative effect on most school environments, effects both students and teachers emotionally, has yet to be proven to increase overall educational performance, have been proven to be biased in multiple studies, limit the creative ability that is used in the classroom setting, is not an accurate measure of a student’s intellect, it takes up valuable class time and results in overall counterproductivity.

Students are stressed. But, what is the goal of these tests? Are we trying to make students compete with one another to see who gets the higher score? Or are we preparing them for life outside of school? Maybe at one time these tests were used to measure how well the future leaders of our countries were learning, but now it is no longer like that. These tests seem to show no post-school value except to find the most successful kids and give them scholarships to college. Going along with this, everyone, depending on their grade, is required to take the same exact test. Despite their different ways of thinking, students are grouped together and the ones who are different are “wrong” simply because they were unable to learn it due to the way they were taught. Holding every single student to the same standards avoids the fact that everyone has a different mindset and each person may excel in different subjects. This poses a question: when will the system change? Students are held to such enormous pressure that when they meet the standards, they are convinced they’re stupid, and I struggle with this, too. However, it would be easier if all of the intimidation encountered when we are testing would just be withdrawn and students can be able to take a test, try their best, and if they don’t succeed, they can continue to work hard because, after all, a test shouldn’t determine how

A highly significant change to the national curriculum made at the 2014 update for KS3 is the introduction of assessment without levels (Department for Education, 2014). The system by which children were assigned a numerical level based on their attainment was ceased on the commencement of the new curriculum in September 2014 for all subjects, including science (Department for Education, 2013). This action was implemented based on a report by the Expert Panel for the National Curriculum review, which suggested that due to changes made to the curriculum over various reassessments, the concept of attainment targets, on which level descriptors were based, had been clouded, making levels difficult to understand and apply (Department for Education, 2015). This meant that level descriptors were no longer clear and should be removed to allow assessment to focus more closely on an individuals’ specific strengths and weaknesses on the content within the curriculum, rather than simply focus on ensuring that a child achieved a certain arbitrary level (Expert Panel for the National Curriculum Review, 2011). The abolition of levels has given schools more freedom to design their own assessment framework and address the perceived issue that emphasis of levels as a tool for measuring school performance had led to negative influence on the way individual pupils were assessed (Department for Education, 2015). Bell (2014) suggests that the introduction of assessment without levels is a