Argumentative Essay On Standardized Testing

Standardized Tests: A Vital Part of American Public Schools

According to Ashley Crowe, a copyright and business owner, “Students take over 100 standardized tests from pre-k to grade 12”(Crowe). Since students spend a large amount of their time taking these major tests, these tests are worth discussing. Nevertheless, standardized tests have existed imperfectly in America for centuries. However, the issues of standardized tests have recently accumulated more rampantly due to the pandemic. Since the recent pandemic, students in American public schools have significantly been affected. Although some people believe that standardized tests only measure how well a student can take a test, standardized tests are a vital part of public school education,

In the article, “Do Standardized Tests Measure Education Quality?,” published by ViewSonic Library, an unknown author reveals that “Standardized testing is a practical and accurate way of evaluating what a student does or doesn’t know across important areas like math, reading, and writing.” Standardized testing presents an equitable approach to evaluating the state’s educational standards directly from the students, making it the leading approach. Furthermore, these scores are viewed by a student’s teacher to assess the effectiveness of their teaching methods. For example, if one sole class is behind, the underlying issue could be the learning procedures of that specific teacher. Additionally, if this happens to be the case, the teacher can learn from his or her mistakes and grow in their teaching abilities as well. Finally, another example is simply the repetition of these tests. Since these students take the same type of tests every year, the tests make measuring growth between the years effortless. All of these examples demonstrate how standardized tests are useful in illustrating how standardized testing measures a student’s

However, standardized tests are relatively inexpensive. According to Herbert J. Walberg, a member of the Koret Task Force on kindergarten through twelfth-grade education, “Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University's Department of Economics and the Hoover Institution has estimated that the costs of tests are less than 0.1 percent of total spending on K-12 education and amount to an average of less than $6 per student” (2). Six dollars per student can easily be acquired through fundraisers or cut from a school’s budget. Some parents and students perceive standardized tests as a waste of time. Walberg also declares “A 50-item standardized test can be given in an hour or so and sample students' knowledge, understanding, and skills far more comprehensively than an essay test with only a few questions that can be answered in the same amount of time” (2). Furthermore, losing an hour of instructional time is worth gaining information on what subjects and topics should be the main