In Imperial China, standardized testing was used to place candidates into important government positions. Then, the military used Army Mental Tests to help find the best positions for new recruitments. Recently, standardized testing has been used as a tool for schools to evaluate the supposedly learned skills and knowledge that will be valuable to society. However, are these tests, such as the PSSA’s and Keystones, an accurate measure of the students’ knowledge? Or are they just unnecessary milestones threatening to take over the American education system. The higher the stakes, the more stress rides on the shoulders of students. Consequently, these tests pressure teachers to rely on these tests as a lesson guide rather than allowing classes to explore outside of the restrictive boundaries of standardized testing. Instead of standardizing education, schools should consider multiple assessments that measure achievements, as well as ensuring that students with special needs …show more content…
According to Columbia University, “Standardized tests provide accurate comparisons between sub-groups… This provides schools with data to develop programs and services directed at improving scores in these sub-groups.” Conversely, The NTCE reports that often times the tests are not valid measures of the English learner’s ability. As a result, they are thrown into classes without properly learning the language. Concordia University states that “Although standardized tests make it easy to compare school performance, they are just one of the many measures that should be used to evaluate student ability...” If focused on other indicators for how well the school is doing such as; high school graduation rates and enrollment in advanced placement classes, schools would be able to showcase a more accurate student