The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

After the No-Child-Left-Behind (NCLB) bill was introduced by the Bush administration in 2001, the use of standardized tests skyrocketed because all schools in the country were required to assess students using these tests to evaluate the student, teacher and school’s performance. A standardized test is any examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner (Popham 8). The use of these tests have not improved education in the United States because teachers teach to the test, which means that they only focus on what is going to be on the exam and do not spend time on other material; tests like the SAT which evaluate the student solely on the outcome of the test and upon the score the student is placed where “appropriate”; and that one assessment is not enough to evaluate students, teachers, principals

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.

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.

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, standardized testing has been at the center of attention in the educational system. Several schools and teachers have been forced to drill children on the information they will be tested on. Teachers are forced to demonstrate other important topics in order to teach test material. Similar to majority of tests provided in the school system, standardized test have both pros and cons. Generally speaking, standardized testing is a great way to determine a baseline for a child. As Miller (2016) indicated, tests have a multitude of benefits, which include student enthusiasm, peer learning, self-improvement and retention, transfer of learning, student self-assessment, and teacher instructional guidance. Teachers are able to use the data from the standardized tests to build an entire academic plan around the results. Additionally, students and parents are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each child in order to determine the next steps needed to help bridge any gaps within their academic studies.

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

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

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.

Growing up in Chesapeake every student is forced to take a standardized test at the end of every class they take. Standardized testing has been a part of the educational system for so long that everyone is just accustomed to taking these tests or giving them out. Standardized testing does not just effect the students but it also effects the teachers. Chesapeake School Board should get rid of standardized testing in all grade levels because of different learning style, it limits the teachers to what they can teach and poor test scores.

Since the mid-1800s, standardized tests have played a part in America’s education system. In 1969, the Federal Department of Education began focusing on the educational achievement of students. In 1994, the Clinton administration revised the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, created during the War on Poverty, to reduce achievement gaps in kindergarten through twelfth grade public education. The Clinton administration made every state that received money from the federal government for high-poverty schools begin testing their students annually. In 2002, President George W. Bush created another reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - the No Child Left Behind Act; which focused on giving all children the opportunity

The purpose of standardized testing is to help guide the teachers teach students the basics of what they need to know in order to move ahead in school. These tests are standard for core classes in any grade but differ from state to state. For Virginia it’s SOLs (standards of learning) in Arizona it’s AIMS (Arizona’s instrument to measure standards), although the name differs the purpose it the same in all states. These tests are to measure how much the students have learned throughout the year. To help improve the results from these tests, the no child left behind act was created in 2001. The bill does this by making the states and schools more accountable for the student’s progression. It improves the academic achievements for

Over 50 million students attended public schooling in 2006 (Fast Facts, n.d.), and per Kamenetz (2014), students in the 3rd grade to 8th grade take an average of 10 standardized assessments per year. The Education Testing System defines standardized testing as a test used “to provide fair, valid and reliable assessments that produce meaningful results. Standardized testing…can eliminate bias and prevent unfair advantages by testing the same or similar information under the same testing conditions” (Purpose of Standardized Tests, n.d.). With the introduction of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, these assessments became mandatory. The debate arose about the use, effectiveness, and adverse effects of the tests. Proponents of standardized testing

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.

When the “No Child Left Behind Act” was signed in 2001, schools were required to meet state standards (Myers, 2015). One way to assess if schools are meeting state standards is through a series of high-stakes tests, also known as standardized assessment tests. These assessments hold instructors, districts, schools, states, and students accountable for the students’ performance. The students’ scores can have a dire effect on the school itself. For instance, if a school showed that no progress was achieved, they may lose financial funding (Myers, 2015).

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

whose purpose is to ensure fairness and accuracy in student test taking, said: "The widespread