We exist in a state where education is a prominent force of succeeding in life. Kids learn the

Education in America is one of the most important issues that face our nation. If the education in America is not thought of one of most serious issues we face, our nation as a whole will fall. There are many debates and they seemly extend to all walks of life. The debates range from the decline in education, school vouchers, and the no child left behind law. As a nation, the United States is ranked above others. We must search for that solution to all of the pro’s and con’s in education. The solution should allow all walks of life to excel in the education realm. After all, the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.

The No Child Left Behind act of 2001 included provisions for public schools to administer standardized testing to all students. This provisions also states that the title one schools must have adequate yearly progress. If these school’s results are poor for two consecutive years, the school is labeled as “in need of improvement. Parents are given the option to move their child to a “better’ school. Further action can be taken for each consecutive year that the school performs poorly, which could result in a change of staff (U.S. Dept. of Ed). This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on teachers for their students to perform well on these tests. Teachers are more apt to teach to the test for the students to perform well. Standardized testing should be limited in public schools because it only measures a small portion of learning, it is not a true measure of a student’s performance and it leads to a decline in the teaching of meaningful material.

As of a 2012 report on annual spending for K-12 standardized exams, the states were spending a combined 1.7 billion dollars on the administering of standardized tests (Chingos, 2012). Many, including myself and likely Jefferson, would argue that it is not the place of the national government to make a judgement on the job of state educators from such a vicarious position. Some would even go as far as to label the policy coercive and destructive to public education because of the penalties imposed for schools which failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals. These penalties started lightly, but schools which were labeled as “needing improvement” for more than three or four years were mandated to provide additional aid in the form of tutoring programs and remedial classes to students which did not improve. In severe cases, schools could be totally restructured by the government, privatized as a charter school, or have the majority of their faculty replaced (FairTest). Many of these penalties like tutoring programs were branded unfunded mandates, since their cost in addition to that of administering annual testing was not covered by federal grants allocated to the states. The result was a conflict between the states and federal governments which resulted in a

Grant Wiggin’s article, “Why We Should Stop Bashing State Tests” offers an extensive look into state testing and how we need to teach a greater understanding, how it would improve test scores miraculously in addition to not threaten them in any way. Wiggin’s writes this article from a perspective that says he cares about what students need to learn not only to pass these tests, nevertheless also to present them the necessary skills in life to succeed. “Standardized tests can give us surprisingly valuable and counterintuitive insights into what students are not learning.” He communicates an understanding into the world of teachers being reviewed for even thinking of looking at the tests before

Although the blame cannot all be placed on the administration, the problem with standardized testing itself stems from government involvement. The introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act led to more and more standardized testing. The Act was issued in “an attempt to build an accountability system” (Cox). If every school in the nation was held to the same standard, the government would be able to dissect where students and schools are struggling and where they are succeeding. Ideally, every school would not only be held to the same standard, but every school would also be fulfilling the expectations set out. Unfortunately, with all the competition and hardships we naturally face as an economy and a society, it is difficult to envision an ideal situation becoming reality. If schools were scrutinized in more efficient ways, it's possible the gap between the highest and lowest schools would be smaller. However, the method the government uses to gather data is testing, and this has led to figures that are shocking. In the US “a typical student takes 112 mandated standardized tests between pre-kindergarten classes and 12th grade” (Layton). “The Assistant Secretary of Education in the first Bush administration, Diane Ravitch, became known for her push to establish national standards for K-12” (Erickson). She admits that test scores have become the end goal for politicians, and not actually teaching. She reveals “Test scores are not being used for diagnostic purposes but as a clumsy and myopic way to evaluate (and penalize) American schools, teachers, and students”

The dreaded week of state test finally come, the halls are filled with cranky kids and bad moods. You then think ‘what do we do this for’. State testing is just to score schools so the state can put them on a list. I do not support state testing because it puts students under unnecessary stress and pressure to be the best. I believe state testing should be limited and/or

Contrary to what many people think, the best education takes place according to an individual 's needs rather than at the most prestigious school. In his book, The Education Apocalypse: How it Happened and How to Survive It, Glenn Harlan Reynolds goes into depth about the failure of the education system. Reynolds appropriately explains how there are problems with the education system and how it will continue to fall; he then presents ideas on how fix the issue.

Standardized testing is a multi-billion dollar industry. “Following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act on January 8, 2002, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million to $1.1 billion in 2008, according to the Pew Center on the States” (ProCon,1). It is 2015- So common sense should tell us that number is much higher now. These dollar amounts place burdens on national and state budgets. It even can have an effect on the budget of a school system budget itself. Test prep classes and books are available and as mentioned before, “naturally affluent families, schools, and districts are better able to afford such products” (Kohn, 2). “The billion dollar industry is notorious for making costly and time consuming scoring errors” (ProCon, 3). Tests are often challenged by superintendents for accuracy and have to be regarded. These errors cost money. Money should be spent on something more efficient than just standardized tests. It should be invested in projects and programs that prepare students for real-world tasks-something we would all agree is

State standardized tests do not improve students but instead makes them feel unaccomplished. The main issue with standardized tests comes from the state assuming that the students are only as intelligent as the test makes the students to be. Standardized tests are unreliable when it comes to the performance of a student because; it judges the work

The state hasn’t thought of the different factors such as, someone with special needs or when one student doesn’t even care enough to try. It also can make failings schools desperate and make them more likely to cheat. 178 Atlanta public school teachers and administrators from 44 schools were found to be cheating on standardized tests according to a July 2011 state report, according to Steve Osunsami and Ben Forer. Standardized testing is not an ethical way to see if teachers are helping the students. A better way would be for someone to come and watch a class, this way you can see how they’re teaching and different factors in the class.

Why use a test that is doing no good? There is no need to use these high stakes test that could hinder a student's future. Doesn't we want students to pass and live a successful life? The use of other ways including inspections, portfolio-based assessments, and even sampling would not just benefit students and teachers but also the state because they would receive more accurate data that would benefit them rather than the state test. Clearly state testing should be a thing of the past because it does not adequately measure student skill, does not work with students with a learning disability, it takes chunks of time out of classroom learning, and it ultimately affects the state budget. Evidently state testing is not a good way to test students because it determines decisions that end up reflecting on students educational

Standardized tests are largely unnecessary, ineffective, and overused. Despite the enormous monetary resources and hours that companies pour into the making of standardized tests, the unholistic pen and pencil approach of these tests tends to assess students' test-taking ability rather than their actual intelligence. All this new testing leaves less time for classroom learning than generations past. This time may seem negligible at first; however, it adds up considering the number of ACTs, SATs, graduation and annual state tests students take over their academic career. What little time left is sacrificed for busy work and teaching for the tests. Nevertheless, who can blame teachers when the results of standardized tests determine their job performance? The tests were mainly designed to showcase the efforts of teachers and schools to the state, and a reduction of standardized tests is integral to fixing our educational

What is it that’s making our country suffer from excelling in education? Very few would argue about the importance of our education system today. Issues such as lazy teachers, lack of parent involvement, and teaching useless information in class may hinder progress in today’s education system. An education plays a crucial role and is an essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students are not able to value their education. A proper education can open the doors to many opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the growing economy and desperate times, it is more important than ever for our country’s children to receive the proper education and training that is needed to allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Today's education system is flawed in many ways, and these flaws should be eliminated to ensure a good education for our future generation.

I’ve always thought that the statewide and national testing system would be a lot better, if there were some flexibility. If only there were some kind of way to let teachers assess students’ learning, or remove all but the most important tests. Oh wait, there is. Many countries already have such systems, and these are some of the countries that the United States most admires in international education comparisons. Advocates of the current standardized testing system argue that standardized testing is good because it essentially gives a