Essay about The Problems With Standardized Testing

To many students standardized testing has become another part of schooling that is dreaded. Standardized testing has been a part of school since the nineteen-thirties; in those days it was used as a way to measure students that had special needs. Since the time that standardized test have been in American schools there has been many programs that have placed an importance on the idea of standardized testing such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Evans 1). Over the years the importance of standardized testing has increased tremendously and so has the stakes, not only for teachers but also students. All states in the United States of America have state test in order to measure how much students learn, and help tell how well the

begun their education and the tests that are sure to come with it. The road

Standardized tests are unnecessary because they are excruciating to the minds of many innocent students. Each year, the tests get tougher and stricter until the students cannot process their own thoughts. The tests become torturous to the minds of those only starting in the world of tests. The students already battling in the war are continuing to fall deeper and deeper into the world of uncreativity and narrowness. As the walls narrow in on them, they are lost and unable to become innovative thinkers. Moreover, the implementation of standardized tests into the public school systems of the United States of America has controversially raised two different views –the proponents versus the opponents in the battle of the effectiveness of

After the implementation of the “No Child Left Behind Act” high risk standardized testing has become a pressure cooker of corruption in the United States due to often unrealistic expectations, abundant incentives, and harsh punishments placed upon educators and administrators, overall resulting in the essential need for reform. The concept that every student’s academic ability can be assessed by a single universal exam is a misguided notion.

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

“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

Students shouldn’t be measured by what they get on standardized test since it doesn’t show other things that the students are good at. The author wrote, “ Contrary to popular assumptions about standardized testing, the tests do a poor job of measuring student achievement. They fail to measure such important attributes as creativity and critical thinking skills.” (Opposing viewpoints in Context pg.1) The author’s main argument is that standardized tests do not show the other skill that students, schools or programs have that isn’t shown just through a test. That Standardized testing doesn’t effectively measure the achievement of students. In his or her article, the author puts what achievement is but what is based on standardized test and not other things. A lot of attributes are not measured from the standardized tests. There are some places that have rewards for “shallow thinking” (Opposing viewpoints Pg.3)

Over the years, many have debated over the fairness and reliability of standardized tests. This dispute not only impacts students, but also teachers and administrators, many of whose jobs are placed on the line when test scores come back. Some say that these tests should be done away with while others argue that they are necessary for determining knowledge gained in the classroom. Another argument for tests is that they place students that may not have the same opportunities on a level playing field. The ACT, SAT, and other similar tests are the best way to test not only content knowledge, but also students’ ability to perform under pressure, a necessary ability needed to succeed in college and the workforce.

A very current and ongoing important issue happening within the education system is standardized testing. A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a calculated, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests. Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students might perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples are the SAT’s and the ACT’s. The SAT and the ACT attempt to estimate how well high school students will perform in college. But standardized test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness. Nationally, five such tests are in use: California Achievement Tests,

Many states and school districts mandate testing programs to gather data about student achievement over time and to hold schools and students accountable. Certain uses of achievement test results are termed “high-stakes” if they carry serious consequences for students or educators. Schools may be judged according to the school-wide average scores for their students. High school-wide scores may bring public praise or financial rewards; low scores may bring public embarrassment or heavy sanctions. For individual students, high scores may bring a special diploma attesting to exceptional academic accomplishment; low scores may result in students being held back in grade or denied a high school diploma. (Marchant, 2004, p. 2)

These standardized tests can show how some people have excelled in high school and learned a lot and that shows on their tests scores. However there are some students that do very well in high school but are not very good at taking standardized tests. These students should not be penalized just because they are not the best when it comes to taking tests. These tests that every teenager has to take does not show or prove if you should go to college. The ACT and SAT are used to judge if someone is ready for college but no test can prove that. The former Dean of Administration for Bates College William Hiss lead the study which tracked the grades and graduation rates. “ The evidence of the study clearly shows that high school GPA matters. Four- year long- term evidence of self-discipline, intellectual curiosity, and hard work; that's what matters most. We need to see evidence that the student can bring something to a high level or skill” Hiss said. It is more important what a student proves in 4-years if high school then four hours on a test.

Tests are short written examinations given to someone to show their proficiency or knowledge. Finals are an exam at the end of a term, academic year, or particular class. It is a large test of all the learning requirements you have learned in that particular class. I believe we should get rid of all tests and and final exams. They bring much unneeded stress for the students, they are a waste of paper, and aren't accurate on how much a student has learned. School isn't about learning anymore, it’s about passing.

The best possible education is crucial to a growing society. Unfortunately, students in the United States have been continuosly bogged down by an outrageous amount of standardized testing with assessments such as MCAS, Parcc, and the infamous SAT. Education should be completely focused on constantly engaging students by making kids critically think, not by sitting kids in a room, and teaching them how to fill in bubbles for multiple choice standardized tests. Barack Obama’s amendment to the already passed No Child Left Behind Bill was not necessary because the Every Student Succeeds Act did not do enough to eliminate teacher’s- teaching to a test- and standardized testing.

To test or not to test, this is currently a subject of an intense debate amongst parents, educators, and administrators in the domain of education. Unfortunately, providing teachers in the K-12 system the freedom to teach for the simplistic joy of teaching, does not typically hold educators accountable. Standardized testing is one of the necessary evils when it comes to the measurement of student achievement. While there are arguments on both sides of the subject concerning high stakes testing, there must be at least a designated method of standardized assessments in order to ensure students are prepared for their future, increase parents or guardian of their child’s academic measurements, and increase teacher accountability with respect to

Inductive Reasoning: Inductive reasoning is looking at a wide variety of facts to find commonalities that will allow constables to come to their own conclusion based on other pieces of information they know to be true. The PATI examines a candidate’s inductive reasoning skills by testing classifications and series