The Importance Of Standardized Testing In America

In the mid to late 1800s, the secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts, Horace Mann, began the standardized testing age of America’s school systems. According to Thomas C. Hunt, et al., “A standardized achievement test is a test that measures students’ knowledge of a domain of related content…. These achievement tests put emphasis on what has been learned by the students, and students are scored as either proficient or not proficient in the content area” (Hunt, et al 888). Standardized testing was very well-liked in the past and still is by some people today. Many education systems encourage the continuation of these standardized tests because it measures how much knowledge a student has gained and how well the teacher’s instruction has taught the student throughout the year. Many teachers and administrators also approve of the

Getting an education is the main goal for everyone, although it is easy to obtain there are some obstacles to it. One of the main obstacles students face at the beginning of their education is standardized tests. Schools have started to adopt this type of tests as their main way to evaluate students’ intelligence and teachers’ effectiveness to educate the students. The way students used to learn has changed, in order to get them ready for the tests they have to spend much of the school time preparing for it instead of learning something they can use in their future life. According to Bruce Jacobs in No Child Left Behind's Emphasis on 'Teaching to the Test' Undermines Quality Teaching, a 2007 study by the University of Maryland teachers were put in much pressure and had thoughts to teach the test […]. This shows that teachers have also been affected by standardized tests in a way they have more pressure to make students pass. Having teachers ‘teach the test’ means their way to educate has been corrupted. In most cases when teachers’ ability to educate has been changed leads them to practice methods not convenient for scholars. One of these methods is memorization, in Relying on High-Stakes Standardized Tests to Evaluate Schools and Teachers: A Bad Idea by Hani Morgan describes how students start to adapt to an “inferior type of learning, based on memorization and recall students gain when teachers

Additionally, Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” There are different forms of intelligence that go beyond what our school system measures. Students are not a unit to be measured, and students cannot be assigned a numerical value to identify their intelligence. Students are diverse—they learn at different speeds, and they learn in different ways. Focusing solely on test scores is hurting our students and deviating away from building our society on success and excellence. Critics are slowly realizing the problems associated with standardized tests—they create anxiety, they are extremely biased, and they do not measure the ability to think deeply.

There is a strong irony in our emphasis on standardized testing in a country that promotes diversity among career options for students. Tests are mandated throughout the country and students spend days preparing for the multiple exams they have to complete. Many students pay hundreds of dollars for tutoring and prep materials to improve their scores on these standardized tests. Even school syllabuses have shifted to help prepare for the big standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT.This frenzy behind standardized testing is understandable however, since colleges put a lot of weightage on standardized test scores and the government hands out thousands of dollars of scholarships to both students and schools based on the results of these exams. The Washington Post estimates the market to be a two billion annual business.

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.

In 1845, educational pioneer Horace Mann proposed that Boston Public School children should be tested through written examination. At the time, Mann had not only envisioned that this would provide a more efficient method of measuring schools' effectiveness, but he also saw this as a mechanism for schools to "become vehicles for social advancement” for citizens (Gallagher, 84). His assessment model ultimately proved to be so successful that it was adopted by school systems in nearly all U.S. cities in the years following its initial implementation. In particular, New York State used it as a basis for its Regents Examination. Furthermore, although there were many developments in standardized testing during the next

The use of standardized testing to measure students’ knowledge is an inaccurate reflection of their capabilities. By being forced to take a test that does not effectively show their abilities, students become overstressed, and the tests themselves do not promote true academic achievement. Rather than learning about subjects in order to gain knowledge, students simply memorize facts and formulas to get a decent test score. Standardized tests are not an appropriate measure of student performance, only benefit certain groups of students, and do not prepare students for the real world.

Standardized testing has been practiced in schools across America since the mid-1800’s. Today, they are used to assess where a student is placed in their educational career. Standardized tests commonly test students in the subjects of math, reading, writing, and science. Colleges also partially base their admissions on standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT. According to the Pew Center on the States, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million to almost $1.1 billion in 2008. (standardizedtests.procon.org) With states spending this much money on these tests, many question how well they actually work. Students are essentially being judged on what they know on the spot, and to many that determines

Standardized testing has been around since the mid 1800’s. Numbers went up when President George W. Bush enforced the No Child Left Behind Act and stated that testing will be annually in all 50 states. That is when education became more about being able to pass the test then actually trying to learn the subject and truly understand. Ever since students have always dealt with trying to get a certain score on test so they can know what schools are willing to accept them. That score just does not apply to the student it also involves the educators and the school as well. If schools do not achieve a certain goal they have budget cuts and cut teachers. Are test scores the determining factor of how much money a school will receive for that year? Is that fair to the students who want to get a great education and want to thrive to try to go law school or medical school?

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 first statewide education system was built in 1837 by Horace Mann. His beliefs behind creating a system through standardized testing was to create a purposeful lasting common-school movement for professional teachers to educate the youth in creating social efficacy, civic virtue, and character. Today, students repress the idea of tests and idolize these exams as simple memory tests instead of knowledge/skill based tests. The blame and pent up anger students rile with teachers about exams breaks the whole purpose of learning. Today, students look at tests and exams as a point-based competition. Whoever gets the highest score is presumably deemed the smartest in the class. Students might know nothing about the info and how to apply their knowledge to real life applications but

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

Living in the United States the emphasis on testing is extremely high. Testing has been around for years , however has increased to an all-time high since 2002 when the Bush administration brought about the No Child Left Behind Act and mandated standardized testing in all 50 states. Since initiation of these annual tests, the degree of student success the US has shown compared to other countries has declined. With the No Child Left Behind Act all students, as in 100% of students, were supposed to be at or above grade level in testing as of 2014. However, the US is two years out and its students are nowhere close to that 100% goal.