The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

High-stakes testing has resulted in a shift from educational input tracking (e.g., per pupil expenditures, teacher salaries, class size, required courses, seat time) as indicators of educational performance, to an increased emphasis on testing as a means to hold schools accountable for educational outcomes. Less emphasis is given on a student’s actual growth in terms of knowledge and more on how well they score in the test. No matter what is leading to the scores. This also creates incentives for cheating. Cheating on a single critical exam may be easier than either learning the required material or earning credit through attendance, diligence, or many smaller tests, more examinees that do not actually have the necessary knowledge or skills, but who are effective cheaters, may pass Standardized test results have become the indicators of school and student performance, with public reporting, monetary or nonmonetary rewards, and a range of interventions for low-performing schools as consequences for excellent or

High-test taking has initiated major controversy. For example, it will hold many relevant significances for students, teachers, and schools. The score of a student who took the uniform test will determine whether that student will advance to the next academic level or not. Meaning either going to the next grade level or a senior testing to get into college. Furthermore, the failure of the student(s) will also lead to the blaming of the teacher or educator, resulting in discharging them from their job or closing of the school. Subsequently, educators prefer to replace these tests with collections of students work throughout the year, like portfolios. Another disagreement of these

I was reading this article not to long ago that stated, “ Teacher's change answers on tests in order to raise the schools testing scores and maintain the required testing average”. With this said, teacher's, not all of them, are no longer the resistance to cheating, instead, the participant. But teacher's cheating to meet a requirement does no happen all the time. Students are the ones who, not only cheat but plan to cheat. For instance, Tommy Raskin, states, in his article, “ Cheating Students”, “ I also see students preparing to cheat in elaborate ways in order to minimize the chance of getting caught”.

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.

Tests are called "standardized" when all students answer the same questions under similar atmosphere and their answers are

There are two types of standardized tests. The first is an aptitude test. These are your SATs, and ACTs. The tests are supposed to predict how a student will do in college. There are also achievement tests. The achievement test are used to evaluate

standardized tests is that they lack a level of comprehension and are incapable of succeeding in the educational system. This belief is especially prevalent in regards to high stakes tests such as college entrance and high school graduation exams because the focus is on the test score. The perception is that these scores are the sole indicator of the student’s knowledge of a subject and their ability to succeed at a higher level of education. Therefore,

Also, these methods of test score fluctuation results in a false impression of the schools educational quality. Many parents seek to send their children to a highly ranked school district – often judged by standardized test scores – however, when educators partake in test day activities that raise their reputation as a “great teacher”, they are misrepresenting the true value of their classroom, and parents are sending their children into a classroom with high expectations in mind, and are ultimately being misled and deceived. This cycle also results in honest schools and districts loosing high performing students to these cheating misrepresented schools, causing the authentic schools test scores to lower, and for its funding to eventually be cut.

For instance, “A June 2006 Public Agenda survey of 1,342 public school students in grades 6-12 found that 71% of students think the number of tests they have to take is “about right” and 79% believe test questions are fair” (Education Insights). This shows that many students believe in the idea of these tests. These tests also create a harder way for teachers to be biased against students due to the machinery grading the tests. These tests seem like the easiest and fairest way to go when including the idea that all students would be tested over the same curriculum and the same questions along with the same time allowed and creating a harder way for students to cheat. For example, It prevents subjective grading. This helps eliminate marking bias and ensures rationale behind each test question” (“Pros & Cons of Standardized Tests”). This is also one of the easiest ways to test such a large crowd. The ACT and SAT are the fastest, easiest and most cost efficient forms of standardized test that examine students on their current level of education on behalf of their acceptance into those colleges. These test are able to test students mental strength and endurance. These tests are still being proven to this day why it is still the most used testing form word wide.

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.

Rather the types of questions students will see on the tests already correlate with the curriculum being taught, along with basic skills students need to have mastered. However, if a teacher is aware that a potential test question has not been covered in the curriculum they most often will incorporate it into the lesson plans in order to successfully prepare students. Standardized testing is simply used as a way to determine if students are able to answer cumulative questions based on the curriculum they have

The decisions made from students test scores are ones that will not only effect their future as students, but individuals as well. Decisions like which students pass or fail, what teachers or fired or given raises and how funds are to be allocated amongst schools. Every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of their socioeconomic background. As a result of exploring different claims of the standardized testing being biased,

With such high stakes involved, standardized testing has become less about the student’s progression, and more about the survival of the educational institution itself. Legislations such as No Child Left Behind and Race to The Top have resulted in the very thing they have tried to overcome. Children who score low are being left behind due to instances of teacher intervention during testing or exclusion, and students who excel in schools are being developmentally held back with curriculums being narrowed to focus on the tested materials to ensure they pass as

Standardized testing has been around for a long time and recently, these tests are on the rise. One of the main reasons why standardized testing has become so popular is because these tests provide a fair chance to all individuals. These tests assess students based on a set of consistent questions that feature “multiple-choice or open-ended questions” pulled from similar content areas (Concordia Online Education, 2016, p. 1). Therefore, standardized tests are not biased and are objective in nature. Not only are the questions consistent, but educators have no influence whatsoever when it comes to standardized tests.

However, it seems that all money being poured into this specific industry is a waste, because there is no method to determining whether the child has a genuine understanding of what he or she is being tested on, or if his or her knowledge is enhanced by a form of cheating. In March of 2013, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing issued a report claiming that 37 states nationwide were noted to be cheating on standardized tests. The cheating not only comes from students who feel pressured to excel academically, but also from teachers who want to reap the benefits of their students who perform well on the tests. The added bonus that teachers receive encourages them to help students achieve a certain grade on the standardized tests. In 2015, a major standardized cheating scandal came to light when an Atlanta jury convicted 11 teachers of helping students cheat on their tests. Through this specific example, it is evident that the scores of standardized tests are often enhanced, making them pointless when using them to help decipher a child's