ipl-logo

Arguments Against Standardized Testing

980 Words4 Pages

On any given Saturday during the school year, high school campuses are packed with students taking a test that will dictate their potential to pursue higher education. These high schoolers are forced to endure two hours and fifty­five minutes of standardized testing in hopes that they will finally receive the score they desire. For some, their performance on this test is just about bragging rights, but for others, it's about thousands of dollars in scholarship money. As the test proctor announces that five minutes remain, students rush to finish each section by bubbling in random answers as quickly as humanly possible. Nonetheless, the pressure placed on high schoolers to do well on standardized tests negatively affects students’ test­taking …show more content…

Furthermore, the ACT’s, “four subject area tests are directly related to what students have learned in high school in those four courses” ("State ACT Scores Fall below Average"). This statement suggests that the ACT is a reliable source when testing what students have learned throughout high school and an adequate estimate of students GPA throughout college. However, when, “labeling a test score as readiness, the council's use of a single score for placement purposes violates standards for the proper use of tests” (Skip). Skip’s statement reveals that while the ACT tests students' abilities, this test alone should not qualify a student for higher education or determine one's potential to succeed. In addition, colleges and universities throughout America decide a student's eligibility based off of accuracy on standardized tests; however, students also have a designated time to finish each section. For example, test­takers are required to answer sixty math problems in sixty minutes on the ACT. This time frame forces students to answer one math problem per minute; therefore, applying pressure and stemming test­taking anxiety. As Zeidner states in Test Anxiety: The State of the Art, when students are tested on a …show more content…

These factors demonstrate that this source of testing is not an accurate representation of a student’s intellectual ability; therefore, students pursuit for higher education should not be dictated by one test.
Ultimately, standardized tests, such as the ACT, should not control a student’s ability to pursue higher education. Even though institutions view these test scores to decide a student’s eligibility, the ACT does not determine how a student will succeed in a college or university. Nevertheless, while students are required to take these test to graduate high school, institutions should consider more than test scores and not let the ACT be the determining factor in a student’s true ability. The ACT’s unreasonable price of forty­two dollars and fifty cents and the strict time conditions in each section greatly influences students’ capability to do well on these test. Furthermore, if a student cannot afford to take the test after they use the two fee waivers, their college opportunity should not suffer. Standardized tests place a tremendous amount of pressure on students because students have to answer numerous questions correctly in strict time conditions. Interestingly, these tests dictate the future of many students; however, students’ prosperity should rely solely upon themselves, not a test

Show More
Related
267 Words | 2 Pages

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is an impelling test to get admission in most of the U.S colleges. All high school seniors during the time of December are actively preparing for victory against the four hour strenuous exam, the SAT. The reason is that SAT score determines the fate and dreams of students. Standardized test scores play a crucial role in student’s future as it is believed to address student’s ability to think, reason, and act so that they can be successful in college life. However, SAT is a huge burden to students and is a biased test.

Read More
209 Words | 1 Pages

The article, ‘Does Jazz Put the Sin in Syncopation,’ was originally an article written by Anne Faulkner in 1921. Faulkner claims that jazz is linked to ‘un-corseted bodies and sloppy workmen.’ Jazz music doesn’t have the structure of classical music and as a result society has lost its structure. While the excerpt doesn’t support Faulkner’s views, it does acknowledge that one of the article’s messages is an important one-- music challenges social values. There were mass political and social shifts in the roaring twenties.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

A students ACT and SAT score is just one portion of many college applications. Colleges and Universities look at GPA, an essay, and letter of recommendations to determine a student’s admission. Many people believe that the importance of the ACT or SAT score depends on the college and what other things the student has to offer (Drinkworth, 2015). The ACT and SAT tests can be an important factor in college admissions because they tests are on all subject areas, math, reading, writing, and science. Since each area is graded separately and the score is later averaged out it shows how the students does overall in the general

Read More
1776 Words | 8 Pages

Standardized Testing: Making College Admissions “Fair” Every year , the daunting prospect of undergoing standardized testing brings anxiety to thousands of high school students, and for good reason: a student’s performance on standardized college admission exams - most importantly, the ACT and SAT - is a major determinant in deciding where they will go to college. For decades, such standardized tests have been universally accepted as part of the admissions process: proponents argue, as Syverson (2007) explains, that such tests are the only way of standardizing college admissions when students from different schools have such widely varying profiles. However, in the past several decades a growing anti-testing movement has begun to poke holes

Read More
1241 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

While the argument presents a great benefit for colleges across the united states, the testing scores fail to do justice to students because the scores do not represent the actual skills that the students need to succeed in college. To clarify, the SAT, particularly in the math section, tests students by how quick they can substitute an answer choice for a variable in the problem and not by how the students can critically think about a solution for a question. Therefore, the SAT fails as a proper indicator of skills necessary for success in college. In addition, this disadvantage in sat testing overwhelms the benefits that sat testing

Read More
895 Words | 4 Pages

Standardized tests are very common in today’s modern society. They are used as a tool to measure a person’s performance and indicate how their estimated performance will be in a college class. Every year hundreds of students take the ACT or SAT in order to get accepted into their college of choice and to receive scholarships, but they fail to see the problems with these standardized tests. As more and more people take these tests, the national average score falls causing doubt in the extremely important system. This is leading people to question whether or not the ACT and SATs are accomplishing what they were created to do.

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

As Jo Boaler, Professor at Stanford University, explains in the article Timed Testing and the Development of Anxiety, “Timed tests suggests that the most important ability is by working quickly, rather than thinking deeply and carefully.” What this evidence suggests is that students will truely believe that the most important thing about a subject is how fast you can do it, not how well. If a student carries this belief with them later through high school, or even college, it will affect them in a negative way. They will focus only on finishing in a short amount of time rather than clearly thinking through their answers. There is a point to be made that in the real world you will have deadlines, and yet most deadlines are not 30 minutes or one hour like many timed tests.

Read More
1683 Words | 7 Pages

We say we should never judge a book by its cover, a motto that all colleges should follow since their admission process is solely based on a swing vote of a test score (SAT). The SAT also known as the scholastic aptitude test is the most highly regarded test which thousands of students all across the country will have to take once in their high school lifetime. A determinate factor that Colleges use, to determine if a student is a good fit for their university. But how can colleges determine if a student will excel and be successful from their university based on their SAT scores? This very question has posed many arguments saying that colleges should diminished this test as it plays a big role in college application process and gives those who live in economically comfortable families a greater edge over others who aren’t well off.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

A measly number; that is what determines the future. This simple number dictates which colleges will consider accepting a student, therefore, if a lower than ideal number is the outcome of taking a standardized test, you in a sense, fail. With a perpetual amount stress surrounding the idea of achieving the best score on the ACT or SAT, it is no wonder these life-altering questionnaires are the source of negativity regarding schooling and student’s outlook concerning their impending future. Furthermore, the number associated with one’s apparent intelligence will never truly show what one is capable is due to the ambiguous questions and often implicit wording. The effects of standardized testing negatively impacts the mindset of students due to the thoughts of failure because the test

Read More
1024 Words | 5 Pages

The stakes are higher for these two individual cases alone. Standardized graduation test also lead to higher dropout rates, and this is certainly not the goal of any hardworking student or parent. The ACT is a prime example of high-stake testing in the U.S. standardized test culture. In the survey of colleges the ACT score of an individual student was ranked as the second most important thing colleges looked at following grades. This shows that the vast future of any individual ranging from those who don't test well, to those not able to afford higher preparation rely on one miniscule test to define their opportunities in life.

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

A 2009 study of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders showed that kids are more anxious for standardized tests than for classroom tests. In the same study, 11% of those students reported severe psychological and physiological symptoms tied to the assessments. Some kids won’t even get out of the car in the morning or go to school during testing time because it brings them so much anxiety. Besides the anxiety aspect, standardized testing can majorly affect kids’ long term achievement, and their self

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

Some students excel in high school. They have outstanding grades and high GPAs, but simply cannot take standardized tests. Some may suffer from test anxiety, and when a college is looking at test scores they do not consider the fact that the child may have test anxiety. The ACT test does not accurately measure how well a student can perform in a college environment, nor does it give an accurate measurement of a student’s knowledge. All throughout, school teachers

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

Some people believe that we should not cut the funding for standardized testing and still included standardized testing on college applications. Universities use these test scores to,”...help compare students from different high schools. Your scores show your strengths and readiness for college work” (College Board). This is a really efficient way for colleges to differ between students in their acceptance processes, if schools take away this testing, than colleges will have a hard time telling difference in students, and it will make their acceptance process harder. Therefore, many colleges will not want these standardized tests eliminated, although, it will benefit many

Read More
1338 Words | 6 Pages

No matter the college one chooses to attend, a national standardized test is required for entrance into most universities. The two tests that are issued to high school students across the country are the SAT and the ACT. For many years, the SAT was considered the “gold standard test” (Lewin). However, in recent years, a stark change appears to be coming to the table. The ACT is being taken far more frequently than the SAT.

Read More

More about Arguments Against Standardized Testing

Related Topics

Open Document