The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

These standardized tests are used by schools because they find that it is an easy way to test a student’s ability. However, the

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

President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as part of the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty campaign in which largely the original goal remains today. With its main purpose to improve education fairness by providing federal funds to schools aiding students from lower income homes, this act has been reauthorized seven times over the years with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 revision the most recent.

For many years, standardized tests have been a pillar of college admissions. Students are persuaded to take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) because colleges believe the scores can predict an applicant’s academic success after high school. However, an increasing number of colleges have made reporting test scores optional due to inconsistencies with the tests, many of which have been emphasized by students. These inconsistencies and other problems with test distribution have led to increasing demands for standardized testing to be reformed or become optional in the admissions process. Standardized testing should be eliminated as a criterion for college applicants because the tests have made education less significant, have made scores vary among students with similar academic abilities, and have not contributed a noticeable improvement to children’s intelligence.

The federal government found a need to get involved with the educational system putting an emphasizing on math and science to help further advance our technologies. The government did that with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965. The ESEA was part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons “War on Poverty” and the first part of the program allocated funds to primary and secondary schools. The second part of the Act aimed to created equal availability of education to all with no discrimination and to create higher quality of learning.

Many know the stressful feeling of having to take the ACT. The exam room fills slowly with worried faces and remains quiet until the test stars. Students grasp their pencils tightly, their palms sweating with the thought of their future at stake with this single test. In order to get into any college, an ACT or SAT score is required. These required scores for admission vary from school to school which can make it difficult for every student to attend their dream school. A single test will determine who can and cannot attend a certain college. With this system, it can deny students with potential in certain fields a place in a college because they might not test well. College admission should not be based on

Colleges and universities such as Iowa State need ways to evaluate applying students which really show their potential as college students. A three hour-long test cannot reveal many traits of successful students. Qualities like good study habits, a positive self-concept, the ability to set goals, and real world knowledge are not shown in a test like the SAT (Fairness). Another problem with the SAT is that today so many preparation methods exist; the tests aren’t really a true showing of what a student knows. There are many companies who claim their product can be that miracle teacher that boosts a student’s score and get them into the college of their dreams. Should colleges really be base this large decision on knowledge that can be just "picked up" in four short weeks or an entire twelve-year education?

Albert Einstein once stated, “not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts.” High-stakes testing attempts to determine the knowledge a person has obtained throughout grades K-12. These standardized tests are being used to judge a person’s ability to graduate from high school and also judge if a child has enough knowledge to proceed to the next grade level. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing how these tests do not accurately portray one’s intelligence, how they have increased drop out rates, and also show the damaging psychological affects they have had.

It demonstrates why the SAT does more harm than good in admitting students to universities and colleges. Although racial inequality and high school GPA versus SAT scores can account for some variation in why we should eliminate the SAT, I found that the test-optional approach offers a better understanding in the choices behind my reasoning. Scholars argued that the test-optional approach gives the less privileged students a better chance; as shown at Bates and UC. It allows for a more diverse student body because the requirement is not strictly based on test scores but on other factors, and it allows for a broader pool of applicants hailing from different socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities. It also gives students who do well on testing, the opportunity to submit their scores if needed. Thus, the test-optional approach does not restrict either party, but rather accommodates both types of students without affecting their

Because instructors are teaching directly for the test, the data collected may not be an accurate representation of the student’s true abilities. As standardized test grow in popularity among the school system, the pressure to achieve high scores rapidly builds. The importance of high scores goes beyond individual students’ performances, and teacher evaluations. Serious repercussions could result from poor scores, or performances. For example, “schools that continue to fail to improve may be closed, and districts that continue to fail may be subject to state takeover” (Posner). With the weight of the success of the school on their shoulders,

The issue with the SAT test is a dilemma when it comes to certain subgroups in this country, even though it seems to maintain its effectiveness for others depending upon race, ethnicity, and gender. Colleges and universities administrators, testing agencies and psychometricians should reassess the use of the SAT’s as the only means of admissions and develop new criteria for admissions for higher education.

In 1965 the US government determined that our low-performing educational system needed to undergo significant change in order for our society to prosper and for the US to remain relevant and competitive within the global economic landscape. Thus, creating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

However, many people feel that these tests do not measure any sort of knowledge, but rather indicates the economic background the child came from. According to Kohn, a major spokesperson on the damaging effects of standardized testing, ?What standardized tests actually measure best is the economic backgrounds of the groups that take them? (Gallagher). If you broke down the income of the test takers family and measured it in increments of $10,000 you would get a graph where for each increment of income the students score would undoubtedly increase directly. This is because higher income areas have more teaching resources readily available which gives the students a varied and comprehensive learning environment and also attracts more qualified teachers. The high salaries and vast resources available attract many well-qualified teachers vying for the space. Therefore, the school district has an advantage of a larger pool in which to choose the most qualified teacher. These factors can give the students an advantage which makes the standardized tests a poor scale of students or schools progress but rather a good scale of their economic background.

The educational system in the United States has gone through many changes over the last century. These changes are a part of a constant movement toward educational excellence for every child in this nation. One of the most recent acts placed on public school systems by the government is to create more accountability for schools in order to ensure that all children are receiving the proper education. Part of this mandate is that public schools will require students to take tests in order to gather information about their academic achievement. Although educators and administrators claim that the mandatory ability testing programs being initiated in America’s public schools will hold students and teachers accountable for academic

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)