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Arguments Against Standardized Testing

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Argument Paper 1

In our society, there is constant pressure on high schoolers to be the perfect student so that they can get into college. One of the pressures that school systems put on their students is standardized testing, such as the ACT and SAT. Standardized tests are an issue because they are quantitative measurements that ignore qualitative evaluations of students. Although there is no way to make the college application process stress-free, eliminating standardized tests will stop objectifying students and promote inclusivity. My paper will help solve the issue of standard testing by highlighting why they do not need to be required for college admission at the University of Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota should not require …show more content…

Standardized tests evaluate individuals on a limited set of abilities while adding in the factor of time. “While universities anticipate students to have vast understandings and abilities across a variety of topics as well as to be able to show improvement in topics over time” (Koretz, 2017). The concept of showing academic growth over time can be seen with GPA, whereas the ACT and SAT is a timed test that evaluates students' knowledge at that current moment. In addition to assigning students a set amount of time to complete the exam, these tests are not accessible to everyone. There are many barriers that cause students to not even be able to take the test in the first place. These tests cost money and are not provided by the school, therefore some students don't have the means to pay for them. Additionally, many students hire a tutor so that they can get a higher score on these tests. Tutors are a privilege that not everyone has access to, which creates unfair advantages due to economic …show more content…

“Many short tests with moderate or even low validities against several criteria are more appropriate than a single long test with high validity” (Richards, 2009, p. 27). Therefore, testing a student's knowledge over time (GPA) has a better chance of predicting one's future success than testing them once with a standardized test. I would argue this is comparable to a tryout for a sports team. A tryout is supposed to come after days of clinics and years of practice. A standardized test is quite the opposite, we don't have clinics or years of practice with this type of test-taking. They test you on many skills during a tryout and make the subjective decision with time, whereas a standardized test is timed and gives you a numbered objective

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