The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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.

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.

Each year high school students from around the country take the SAT or ACT. The ACT and SAT are both standardized test used by colleges to determine the knowledge of a student and predict what their performance will be in their first year of college. An immense amount of pressure is put on student to receive certain scores in order to obtain scholarships and admission into college. Even just one point on a student’s score can determine if they will be accepted into their dream college. However, the results from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are often inaccurate. Because of this one’s knowledge and academic ability are misrepresented, and they are denied certain opportunities. Standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT

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.

Colleges have long since used the SAT as a deciding factor of whether or not a student

Who pays for the standardize tests that just repeatedly test students over the same things? Is it the tax payers, schools, local, state, or are these tests government funded? Here are the exact words from an article from the eduFocus, “According to a study by Brown Center on Education Policy, a sufficient education isn’t the only thing that standardized tests are costing students, school districts, and tax payers. The study finds that 44 states spend upwards of a collective $1.7 billion on standardized testing each year of grades K through 12. The state of Pennsylvania alone spent over $58M on standardized testing, roughly $33 per student (assuming all students are tested every year).” (Strauss). Where else could that money go? It could make

42% of high school seniors in Ohio are not set to graduate because of their poor scores on standardized tests. Students all over the United States are forced to participate in statewide standardized tests each year. Many claim that standardized testing allows for teachers to help their students easier, and that it holds school districts accountable. While school mandated standardized testing can be useful, statewide standardized testing is ineffective and negatively impacts students.

The amount of issues with standardized testing is astounding. One big issue that has gotten out of control in the past years is the excessive use of testing. Rizga stated, “A child entering prekindergarten today will take, on average, 113 standardized assessments by the time he or she graduates from public school.” (40). Between grades 3 to 8, public school students take about 10 to 20 standardized tests per year (Rizga, 40). In America, students attending public schools take more standardized tests than others in any other “industrialized” country (Rizga, 40). Also, urban students spend far more time on district-mandated tests than their suburban counterparts (Rizga, 41). To be exact, a recent study demonstrated that urban high school students

School for 10 months each year, for 12 years of a person’s life. Students getting taught four main subjects each day: math, science, history, and science. Then, every year, students typically take one big standardized test, or even more. These tests are claimed to give educators an objective that’s unbiased. Standardized testing supposedly helps identify the natural tendency of individual students, identifying skill development and progress. However, are these things what standardized testing really do for students?

It was seventh grade when I took the math EOG and I was worried sick. Sweating from my palms, hardly being able to breathe and yes, an occasional nap were all symptoms I suffered from these tests. I’m sure you ask any kid if they want to take a standardized test, many would say no, with the small percentage that would approve of them. Parents are often split with these test, because they want the best for their child’s future but they also hate to see their child struggle. Based off of the opinions of both children and parents, a vast majority want to eliminate them. However, the standardized tests everyone hates to take, is a necessary evil that needs to stick around for years to come.

Standardized tests are not for everyone. Some students are naturally good at taking tests, while others struggle. These tests start as early as the third grade. Students should not have to worry about their future being determined by a test. Standardized testing also causes many problems to some students, such as lowering their confidence level. Schools and teachers have started protests, refusing to participate in in-school testing. ”Anti-testing protest is extending beyond Seattle. Across the country, 61 schools, including 47 in New York City, are refusing to participate in the latest round of tests” (Vogt). Most of these problems that occur, would stop if standardized testing was taken out of schools.

Our current president once highlighted my primary issue with standard testing, stating, "Too often what we have been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools” in a fireside-esque chat in 2011 (citation). I feel that standardized testing is a good metric to see both student progress, and feel that it should be used as a teaching tool to help teachers guide students to gather the essential knowledge that they might miss between classes each year, or have forget in the long summer months between classes. I also feel that the pressure put on students to perform well, and the resulting pressure put on teachers to have their students perform well on the tests for funding hinders progress that could be made

Being a student in today’s day and age is drastically different from the generations before them. Anywhere from how the curriculum is taught, the environment, and the number of subjects a student will learn. With that being said, every student is different in all most all aspects of how they approach school. But the majority can attest to saying that they all hate standardized testing and the week that it brings. Every student knows this week all too well. From having one to two tests a day and then shortly after not being able to function properly on the rest of the school day. Many students will say that they all hate the idea of standardized testing and wish it to be gone. The real question stands though: is standardized testing

Standardized testing was introduced by French psychologist Alfred Binet in 1905. The test originated because Binet was commissioned by the French government to create a tool to identify which students needed remedial studies. Over time, the standardized tests evolved into multiple different tests in multiple subjects for varying age groups of students. The tests were initially seen as a way to test a large sum of people with the same general questions to see an individual’s knowledge. Some people still view the tests in a positive way, but with new studies and information on the tests have made people question the test’s effect. In 2007, a study done by Au Wayne showed multiple issues in the tests and created controversy in the United

No matter an individual’s confidence or intelligence, all tests create amounts of anxiety and stress. In most students’ or previous students’ academic careers, an exam has stressed them out. But, are these tests without any reasoning? Do these tests prove a student’s true intelligence? Are they valuable to students further into their lives? Standardized tests are a widely debated topic globally, whether or not the use is beneficial, or really useless to students. Using standardized test results to determine a student’s future may not be a comprehensive indicator of a student’s full potential for success.