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Arguments Against Standardized Testing

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It is fifth hour, math class. I walk into the classroom and see that on the assignment board it says “None.” A weight is lifted off of my shoulders. No math homework tonight? I could jump for joy. But then, I see “STAR Testing Today” scrawled in my teacher’s handwriting. STAR testing, today? It can’t be today. STAR stands for “Standardized Testing And Recording," and it’s just another form of standardized testing, the bane of every student’s existence. Why is it that students agonize over standardized testing so much? It’s because the students know that hardly any growth comes from them and that they are often unreliable measures of intelligence or ability. On Opinionator, an opinion-sharing site maintained by the New York Times, Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, wrote, “It is entirely possible for a student to fail a test, but still have... the knowledge that we want," meaning that poor test results are not …show more content…

dropped from 18th place in the world for math to 31st, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), with a similar drop in science and no change in reading. If standardized tests are supposed to help students achieve, why did we drop 13 places? Meanwhile, China is ranked first by PISA for math, reading, and science, and their students take even more tests than the ones in America. Some might say that the U.S needs to increase testing even more to match up, but what good would it do? The types of tests that we take don’t cover what we are expected to know. Students need assessment that is balanced between what they already know, and what teachers want them to know. Rather than a test with the same questions, even if the questions are leveled differently for all students, the questions should address where a student is struggling, so that each and every American schoolchild would have the chance to reach their full

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Tests should be low-stakes, flexible questions and evaluations should ask for thoughtful responses and not multiple-choice guesses, and a reinforcement of the fact that tests are not the “be all, end all” when it comes to the goal of the education system. By doing this, we would give

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Is Standardized Testing Bad

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Exploratory Paper: Is Standardized Testing Bad? Standardized testing has been around in one form or the other for centuries based on historical data which shows its use way back in imperial China and was used to determine the strengths and talents of individuals so that they could be effectively used in the emperor’s service. In the 19th century Great Britain introduced standardized testing to its’ territories and eventually Europe. The United States introduced standard testing to its citizens in the late 20th century and has rapidly integrated this testing tool into the nation’s public school system.

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What Are The Benefits Of Standardized Testing

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Many students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn't show on test scores (Gregory J. Cizek, 2001). In essence, testing brings out stress in even the brightest of students, messing with their heads come test day. The facts show that from the 50 states, 700 school districts claim that standardardized tests are causing greater anxiety than the average everyday assessments (Joseph Spector, 2015). In conclusion, student achievement

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They even will take out daily announcements and pep-rallies to “prepare” the students for the tests they have that day (Ramey). With everything comes a Pro and Con side, but it is to find middle ground which is important. This argument of standardized testing, has the side of the nation trying to keep up with the standards of other country, because we are falling a bit behind in academics, compared to other countries. There is where a line where students aren’t getting the all-round experience and knowledge that they need to succeed.

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True high-stakes standardized testing was begun in 2001, as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was put into place to help make it so that all children would have an equal opportunity to learn, regardless of their race, ethnic background or their families’ income level. While their goals sound admirable, the problem began with the implementation of the act; they wanted to ensure that each child was at least proficient in the standards that they developed, so they decided that testing was the best way to do so (Aske, Connelly & Corman, 2013). The issue with this is that not all students excel at test-taking, and putting so much emphasis on it can cause a student severe stress and anxiety (Colwell, 2013). In 2009, Race to the Top was implemented, but instead of placing less emphasis on testing and more on learning, it made the stakes worse, ensuring that schools that had students who did not perform as well could be shut down, or individual teachers could be fired if they did not show what was considered to be appropriate progress in test scores, which might soon prove impossible since the optimal goal is to reach a level of 100 percent of the students in a school to the proficiency level (Tavakolian & Howell,

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Standardized tests don’t exactly give any feedback on how the students and teachers are to perform better. The results aren’t given back until months later, and there are no instructions provided by test agencies on how to improve these test scores. They don’t even tell you what you got wrong, you get a number, or a rating like advanced, proficient, average or below average. Nothing about how to improve or somehow get a better score. Infact, standardized tests weren’t created by geniuses that we may think they were.

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Students in schools all across America are evaluated through standardized tests every year, with many different forms of analysis. The Forward Exam. The Aspire Exam. The MAP, the ACT, the SAT. The assessments may very well be the backbone of our education system, a simple way to measure and compare the understanding of participants, and the quality of schools across the nation.

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Standardized testing can quickly the only indicator of student and teacher accomplishment. The United States would be able to rabidly fix the testing problem with a simple touch-up of their education laws. " Despite ample evidence of the flaws, biases and inaccuracies of standardized exams, NCLB and related state and federal policies, such as Race to the Top (RTTT) and the NCLB waivers, have pressured schools to use tests to measure student learning, achievement gaps, and teacher and school quality, and to impose sanctions based on test scores" ("How Standardized Testing Damages Education" 1). The United States education system can be fixed by removing mandated testing. Laws such as NCLB, and RTTT should no longer exist.

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The standardized testing approves the act of comparing students with other students. Society puts pressure on conformity and reaching this unattainable image. The method of standardized tests does the exact same thing because, as James W. Popham (1999) states, these tests permit “…comparisons among students from only a small collection of items” (p.3). Students are pressured to score high on these tests just as teachers are pressured to learn all the material and then proceed to teach it in the time allotted. Not every student, or person for that matter, is born with the same abilities.

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Arguments Against Standardized Testing

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The Center on Education Policy has reported that almost half of the school districts in the US has reduced their time in social studies, science, and arts, while increase in math and reading. United States has problem with testing by having mismatch standards in different districts and states, aligning national test. In a multiple choice are straightforward results, students thinking is simplistic, and they also don’t show student’s creativity. While response test shows student critical thinking. Gerald W. Bracey adds that standardized test doesn’t measure motivation, resilience, curiosity, persistence, reliability, leadership, and etc.

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These tests promised a way to identify kids who could go further in their education, while separating them from the kids who learned slower and would need extra help. The tests also came with the notion of academic tracking in order to steer students onto a career path deemed appropriate for them (Gershon, 2015). Attempting to measure a student’s intelligence through a standardized test is beyond absurd. All students learn at a different pace. This means that, even if a student may not know a skill at the time of the test, it doesn’t mean that they will never know it.

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Over the decades, the U.S. society has experienced a series of changes in various fields. In terms of the economic development, the power of large corporations continues to grow. Globalization provides a favorable opportunity for huge corporations to trade with companies all over the world. As for political affairs, the government spends more money on social insurance, education, and other welfare payments. However, the effectiveness of the government declines.

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Michelle Obama said “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I can guarantee you that” (Ershova). There are so many students that have a difficult time test taking and shouldn't be categorized by test results. In schools, students are put in different classes, subjects, and groups based on their past testing performances. Many schools are based on students overall performance, but some students simply don't perform well.

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Chatter of standardized testing filled the halls almost every year. Teachers were rushing around trying to cram the last minute essentials into their students’ heads before the test dates that were rapidly approaching. Administration was very positive that the students would do well and gave encouragement anytime that they could. Parents were sent home letters about making sure their student ate a good meal the night before the test, as well as a good breakfast. Also encouraging them to send their child to bed early so they would be well rested for the next day’s adventures of the exam.

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