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The Importance Of Standardized Testing In Education

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When I first started high school, all of my teachers told me that the next four years of my life would fly by. Now that I am a senior, I realize that high school has flown by, but my time here has been stressful. It is not the classes here that make my brain want to explode; instead, it is a standardized test called the American College Testing (ACT) that does. In seven months, I will be in college, but I will not have mountains of scholarships or be placed in honors classes. The reason for this is because of my score on the ACT. Nowadays, colleges are so dependent on the ACT that getting an equal chance at college in nearly impossible for students that are horrible at standardized testing. Also, the ACT has the most unrealistic time limit …show more content…

It is unfair for colleges to be so dependent on a standardized test that does not predict how the student will succeed in college. The ACT is a test that is based on information that has either been taught since elementary school or not taught at all. First of all, I do not have a brain that can hold useless information forever. However, my brain is able to effectively absorb the lectures that are taught in a classroom and use that knowledge gained in order to pass that class. Likewise, in college, I will also be tested on the information that was taught in a class, instead of random information that I do not know. In addition, once my major is decided, I will indeed be taught information that is pertinent not only to my success in college, but also to my future in the real world. Memorizing facts, formulas, people, and other information that is supposed to be drilled into me from kindergarten will not likely help me succeed in college. In a majority of my classes in high school, I typically make "A 's", but since I cannot make over a 30 on my ACT, I am immediately less worthy than the ones that do. This way of thinking and categorizing students is extremely unfair. Most of the people who do exceptionally well on the ACT are the teenagers that are known as the gifted geniuses. Some of these …show more content…

In college, I am positive that there will be professors with outrageous time limits for exams, but the ACT test makers or rule creators take their time limitation to a whole new level. For example, on the math portion of this standardized test, everyone has 60 minutes in order to complete 60 questions. This is unjust because math is a subject that requires working out problems with many formulas that I have trouble remembering. Some problems on the test require multiple formulas and take at least a couple of minutes to work out. Even if a student knew how to work out these problems, the time limit would either prevent them from answering correctly, or rush them to the point of messing up. In my opinion, the presence of a rushed, anxious mind, sweaty palms, and racing heart rate is not the greatest time to judge a person 's abilities. Now, if I was doing simple addition on this test, I would finish it in no time. Instead, the ACT gives questions that take an eternity to solve. This results in me having to put the most aesthetically pleasing answer for the last 20 questions that I never have the time to do. To solve problems, correct grammar, or even comprehend a passage quickly and effectively, the ACT demands that students remember every skill they have been taught in order to do so. In high school alone, students spend thousands of

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Less cramming, more context.” (Turner and Westervelt, A History Of The SAT). Also a few states are considering usage of the ACT or SAT as finals for high schoolers, more so 11th graders, instead of the standard finals.

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Schools put pressure on students to meet the standards with the consequence that it will later on affect their college and their career. Thus comes along standardized testing, (SAT or ACT) in which these exams force

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Over time, the SAT’s format has changed to better measure a student’s ability and potential. Excessive stress is put on students to do well on the SAT’s, and causes them unnecessary strain. As college admissions become more and more competitive, the need for higher test scores has increased, despite fatal flaws in the SAT test itself. Although the SAT is used by thousands of colleges and taken by millions of students, many students' scores do not reflect their true abilities, and therefore the SAT test is useless.

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It is defining who students are and that is not what these tests should be scored on. The idea of these tests are being made to select students in a faster, easier scoring area. Thousands of students take these tests every year to determine what college or university they will go to, and for public schools, it determines whether or not they will pass their grade they have been in. These standardized testing like the SAT or ACT, make it easier to judge a student. These universities and colleges should look at the overall achievement of these students as a whole.

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Although the College Board believes the SAT is a good predictor of academic success, this method of testing should be optional for students, as high school GPAs are better reflections on a student’s work ethics and future success in

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GPA’s a better representation on a student’s performance in school. A student’s high school grade point average is the reflection of a student’s academic performance through their four years (Sheffer, 2014). When colleges look at someone’s ACT or SAT score they only see how well the student is in a limited time frame. Many colleges and Universities do take GPA into consideration, but ACT and SAT scores seem to be more important. Colleges and Universities should focus more on a student’s grade point average for a better representation of the student’s

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SATS and ACTS have been used for numerous years as a way to gauge a student’s academic success while in college. Students have the choice which test they would prefer to take and most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. There are a few key differences between the SAT and ACT, which may make one test more suitable than the other for those taking the tests. Many studies have proven that the SAT and ACT are not the best judge of future success, and that colleges should focus their applications more on past grades and accomplishments to decide which students should be accepted to their university. SATs and ACTs are not an effective measure of college readiness and future academic success.

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Ted Tran Ms. Yelton English III DC 11 April 2023 The SAT and ACT needs to be changed The SAT and ACT have made a considerable impact on students nowadays in society through college admissions. Although there are benefits to the test such as scholarships and ranking, some students have struggles and unfairness through the test, especially with low-income or minority backgrounds. In addition, students also have had test anxiety while taking the SAT and ACT which discourages them from the test.

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They argue that the real issue lies with the fact that colleges rely too heavily on the SAT in admission decisions. Scores of studies have shown that the SAT and ACT are poor indicators of students’ future success in college. Despite this, many colleges will still use these tests to weed out students who scored low, students that they predict will perform poorly in college, regardless of their levels of achievement, academic or otherwise, outside of standardized testing. This results in high numbers of students of color, who traditionally score lower on standardized tests, getting left out of the admissions process - because they’re being predicted not to do

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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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In the history of modern colleges, the SAT has been the most widely accepted standardized test by students. The SAT was first introduced in 1926, and since then it has been used by millions of college applicants to demonstrate their academic prowess. Following the creation of the SAT, there have been countless debates on whether it should be scrapped or kept due to its potential to unfairly discriminate against students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and its possible lack of correlation with academic success. Every year, more schools begin to shift toward test-optional, while many schools continue to use mandatory standardized testing. To fully understand and agree on an answer to this debate, extensive research must be done, and students

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The tests only ask for knowledge or facts that the student can barely recall and when taking these tests they are taken on a school day and they take 2-3 hours to complete. Standardized testing began in the 1920s to test students ability but was renamed to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Livia). The American College Testing (ACT) and the SAT are both used in the United States for college admission. However Swope and Miner believe that, “Standardized tests will never answer the questions of what our children need to learn to be leaders and informed citizens in a multicultural, ever-changing world” (Cole, Hulley and Quarles 19).

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The SAT and ACT tests only check to see what vocabulary the student has and how quickly they can come up with the correct answer. The math sections just find out if the student is able to come up with the correct answer with the amount of time given. This causes serious concern due to the fact that students will not be on as much of a time crunch when they are doing their work for college classes, which are what these standardized tests are designed to predict. Because of this, it is not reasonable to assess a student’s abilities solely based off of their test

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1124 Words | 5 Pages

http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2012/states.html). This problem not only has to do with the lack of proper education but also the fact that most students will not pass due to our education system. High school does not prepare a student to take the SAT or ACT although it helps, it doesn’t meet the needs of the test. The test is designed to trick and confuse the student, not to accurate display the student’s ability to learn. Most of the SAT or ACT testing does not show how well a student performs in a class room setting but rather show how well a student can take the test.

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Canton Target Testing It was the day that the September ACT scores came out. I still remember how I had lived and breathed ACT; my life revolved around this one exam that would tell colleges how I compared to the sea of students. When I logged into my ACT account , my heart was racing as I anticipated for my score to appear.

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