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Abolishing Standardized Tests

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Recommended: Advantages and disadvantages of standardized tests

Colleges now are not only interested in testing scores, they have also added a writing portion in the admission process. This allows the colleges to see your personality through your own words. One way for the colleges to see what a full rounded student is, is to have a baseline score. Supporters also advocate that the tests are a good method of holding teachers accountable for the student’s performance. Many teachers also feel that the amount of data from the test is valuable and can be used to improve their teaching skills. There needs to be a baseline measurement because "We cannot fix what we cannot measure. And abolishing the tests or sabotaging the validity of their results only makes it harder to identify and fix the deep-seated problems …show more content…

They have been looking with a myopic focus on how to improve the education system.(Busteed) The one term that keeps coming up is “more test.” The recent initiative on education was the No Child Left Behind Program, which set out to “raise test scores.”(Busteed) Busteed feels that “The biggest problem with standardized testing is that it seeks standardized answers;we 're actually testing standardization.” (Busteed) The test has now created a grade conscious mindset for students because now the student worry more about grades than they should be. Cheating has also become more prevalent since the answers are the same and the scores are more vital to get into a good …show more content…

Arne Duncan, who is the secretary of education has stated his own opinion: “I 'm as concerned as any parent or teacher about over-testing and teaching to the test. But I 'm equally concerned about kids slipping through the cracks if we aren 't keeping track of their progress and holding adults accountable for helping them learn.” (Duncan) There is now a case of Test Anxiety which is a psychological condition where a student experiences an immense amount of distress, which can inhibit the ability to learn and can also hurt their test performance. Many students have test anxiety and it becoming more prevalent because the test are becoming more and more important to graduate or to get into college. Also when a student receives a low score, this cause the student to feel demotivated and it discourages them from trying harder. I know from personal experience how a low score can affect me. I use to be discouraged and not want to talk with other students, when I got a low score. Humankind has been constantly been ranking each other and that creates tension. Many students have committed suicide because they did poorly on the tests. The test do not also reflect what America was founded on. America was founded on creativity and exploring new possibilities. Standardizes test just hinders creativity and it makes people less creative. The education system

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Standardized testing really took off after the no child left behind act of 2001. Since then the number of standardized tests has only gone up. Now even 2nd graders have to take standardized tests. More tests is the answer our government has for the problems with our education. Tests are not the solution, they are part of the problem.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

Last week President Obama announced that he believes the school in america should have less standardized tests. President Obama says “students are spending too much time in the classroom taking tests, many of them unnecessary, and urged officials in the country’s schools to take steps to administer fewer and more meaningful exams.” The white house agrees by saying “a problem the administration acknowledged it has played a role in — has taken away too much valuable time that could be better spent on learning, teaching and fostering creativity in schools. To curb excessive testing, Obama recommended limiting standardized exams to no more than 2% of a student's instructional time in the classroom.” This would allow the student to spend more

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Exploratory Paper: Is Standardized Testing Bad? Standardized testing has been around in one form or the other for centuries based on historical data which shows its use way back in imperial China and was used to determine the strengths and talents of individuals so that they could be effectively used in the emperor’s service. In the 19th century Great Britain introduced standardized testing to its’ territories and eventually Europe. The United States introduced standard testing to its citizens in the late 20th century and has rapidly integrated this testing tool into the nation’s public school system.

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As a result, some schools are finding it tough to score above average on these test giving teachers no option, but to focus solely on learning outcomes that meet high stake test requirements. Additionally, students with low test score were always pressured by their teacher to achieve high test, scores and when they did not produce higher results, some educator, believed, if they punished the student they would become more serious with schooling and work hard to avoid the pressure or humiliating punishments (Hurley, 2007). I used to be an advocate of high stakes testing, but now I oppose high stakes testing sine I have seen first hand myself the damage it does to a student. Also, I several educators and professional use high stakes test results as a single indicator for measuring a person's competence or determining their future outcome, even though research has proven these tests is highly

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662 Words | 3 Pages

To oppose the pro-standerdized tests, stricter testing decreases student achievement. They feel like the test are "life or death," Therefore memorizing facts opposed to actually learning them. That gives the impression that sudents arent actually learning anything. In conclusion, Removing the tests completly or at least making them smaller would impact future generations wholesale.

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680 Words | 3 Pages

Standardized testing has not improved education in America. Standardized tests have been issued in schools all across the nation for years now. Some people like them and some people don’t. They do not help the student learn more information than they would without the tests. The U.S. has dropped from 18th highest scores in schools in the world to be in the 30’s on almost all of the subjects on the test.

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1749 Words | 7 Pages

Introduction Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates. Thesis Statement Standardized tests should not be eliminated completely, but should rather be evaluated in addition to other factors such as grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer hours. This would take pressure off of students during standardized tests, allow colleges to see how well-rounded the students are, and give students who are better in other areas

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859 Words | 4 Pages

World domination. It may simply begin through the depths of an evil scientist, but in reality, standardized tests are the culprit. Standardized Testing: two words that as soon as teachers, their students, and administrators hear this, they fret. The day where all outstanding abilities acquired throughout the year is assessed at once. All this joyful news of how standardized testing supposedly creates miracles of our knowledge, increasing student achievement, may be proven wrong or right, but that is not our deepest concerns.

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425 Words | 2 Pages

The way we test takes up time that could be used to learn something new. The first piece of evidence that I have, is that the tests cause stress to many people. The text stated, “Tests cause lots of stress and anxiety to people.” Some reasons are that parents believe that teachers have been “teaching to the test” throughout the years.

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3389 Words | 14 Pages

However, the practice has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years regarding its effectiveness. The high-stakes nature of these tests shown to have adverse effects on students and teachers. While they

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1960 Words | 8 Pages

Standardized Tests: Right or Wrong? Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, once said that, “sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent students do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” These tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s(Is the Use), but now, many people are starting to realize that standardized tests are not as convenient as they thought they were. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act required all schools in the United States to test students in grades two through twelve annually in reading, math, and science(Is the Use). But since then, the U.S. has dropped from 18th in the world in mathematics to 36th, with a similar change in science as well.

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There is a doctor, Thomas Armstrong, that focuses on youth development, and he believes that standardized tests don’t help or let anyone, whether it’s teachers or students, improve. He wrote that “Standardized tests don’t provide any feedback on how to perform better. The results aren’t even given back to the teachers and students until months later, and there are no instructions provided by test companies on how to improve these test scores” (Armstrong). Since the test companies of standardized tests don’t give feedback to teachers and students, it is impossible for them to know what they need to work and improve upon. If students can’t improve their scores, they are stuck either staying in the same spot or downgrading in the education system.

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1191 Words | 5 Pages

School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the

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670 Words | 3 Pages

Napoleon Hill once said, “The starting point of all achievement is desire” (Rivera, 2013). In life, individuals strive to be successful; however, how does one measure their success over their lifetime. I know people believe success is measured by all of the accomplishments one has achieved in their lifetime. I believe obtaining a graduate degree would be a significant accomplishment in my personal and professional life.

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919 Words | 4 Pages

Schools are giving out too many standardized tests. It’s not only robbing them of their time, but it’s also causing stress and anxiety and going into far levels. Students need to be focusing on their learning academics and preparing for their future. Taking unuseful tests are not only pointless, but they put too many kids/teens into anxiety and even depression.

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