A pen, a number two pencil and a calculator; seemingly random items to an individual but to others, tools in their battle against the world (Fletcher, 2009). Students clad in uniforms, carrying the very instruments that will determine their future. A future hinging on a sheet of paper. Putting a boy behind a desk and letting a hundred questions decide if his fate may be the most cruel thing man ever thought of. Standardized tests should not determine a students' eligibility for higher levels of education because it is unfair assessment of academic performance, it inhibits creative thinking, and it is not a credible measure of intelligence.
‘In ancient Greece, Socrates tested his students through conversations. Answers were not scored as right
…show more content…
Many years ago, tests were given to place students into classes and determine students who needed additional help. Today, tests are used to judge the success or failure of students’ teachers and schools (Kohn, 2000). According to a new study from MIT neuroscientists working with education researchers at Harvard University and Brown University ‘Tests are designed to measure the knowledge and skills that students have acquired in school students who have the highest gains on test scores do not exhibit the ability to analyse abstract problems and think logically ‘. This just shows that the students who excel on such test do not need to be intelligent. Standardized tests tend to measure the temporary acquisition of facts and skills, including the skill of test-taking itself, more than genuine understanding but rather; evaluate how fast a student can answer questions correctly (Kohn, 2000). Test makers fail to realize that the brain evolves, learning and thinking develop as their test remain the same. They believe knowledge can be broken down and that people learn by absorbing the parts, which is a wrong conclusion. Psychologists understand that the process of learning is through connecting what you know with what you experience. Meaning; without active thinking, learning cannot take place (fairtest, 2012). Standard tests exist to make a mockery of knowledge and the thinking process. Furthermore, different parts of the brain are used for different thought processes, researchers show, meaning; separate tests of short term memory, reasoning and verbal skills are needed to measure overall intelligence (Collins, 2012). Standard tests push children to memorize at a young age, inhibiting understanding and brain development at a stage crucial to a child’s education. Rather than allowing students to demonstrate a higher level of reasoning and analysis, standardized test stress on