Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson). The tests have multiple categories but in the main courses students need to take are Reading/Writing, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science. These tests are scored in a predictable way which …show more content…
The tests only ask for knowledge or facts that the student can barely recall and when taking these tests they are taken on a school day and they take 2-3 hours to complete. Standardized testing began in the 1920s to test students ability but was renamed to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Livia). The American College Testing (ACT) and the SAT are both used in the United States for college admission. However Swope and Miner believe that, “Standardized tests will never answer the questions of what our children need to learn to be leaders and informed citizens in a multicultural, ever-changing world” (Cole, Hulley and Quarles 19). However, there are other forms of standardized testing. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) this is a test of achievement from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Another form of tests are the PSAT, which is mainly the preliminary of the SAT test. “52% of teachers surveyed that they spend too much time on testing and test-prep” (Walker). Yet there are a few purposes of these tests, students would not be taking these tests if there were no
“ Standardized test items are not parallel with typical classroom skills and behaviors. Due to the fact that questions have to be generalizable to the entire population, most items assess general knowledge and understanding. ”(Hurst) These tests limit many things and cause a huge disadvantage to not only students, but to the schools as well. Scores don't provide very much information when evaluating a student's achievement, a teacher's competency, or the success of a particular school or program.
Standardized testing just shows what students have learned from that particular test rather than what they have learned in the classroom. Standardized testing has played a role in public education in the United States. This consist of variety of tests throughout each year for students. "The average U.S. student in a big-city public school will take 112 mandatory standardized exams between pre-K and high school graduation" (Lewis).
Despite the fact that the standardized tests might have a little relevance, they are very useless to us students. If you care anything about college, then why would you care about standardized testing? College doesn’t see your test scores. How do you expect the school boards to make us students take all these standardized tests they want to give us seriously, when they know that they have no meaning and so do the students. No one likes taking a recreational test anyway.
Instead, they were created for students that would not have had the opportunity to attend college had they not had these tests being sent to schools in the northeast. Now, these tests have begun to be used by many schools to determine their “bright” students among the crowd. However, some schools have adopted the idea that standardized test scores are not necessary. They realize that tests don’t measure a student’s growth and achievement.
The average American student takes about 112 standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade (Strauss). A standardized test is any form of test that requires the student to answer the same selection of common questions in a consistent matter, which makes it possible to compare relative student performance. Standardized tests restrict creativity, waste time, and waste money. We should get rid of standardized tests in our school system. Standardized tests limit a student’s ability to express creativity.
Argument against Standardized Tests Standardized testing is one of the most controversial and highly debated topics in the United States today. These tests are commonly used to measure the students’ academic achievements and act as yardstick for teachers’ effectiveness in academic delivery. A typical student sits for at least “112 compulsory standardized tests between pre-kindergarten classes and 12th grade” (Layton). Proponents of standardized testing believe that the practice provides accurate measurements of student performance and teachers effectiveness.
School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the
Over two hundred parents claim to not let a student go through standardized testing. The earliest records of standardized testing come from China, for the subjects of philosophy and poetry. America “copied” the European education system. In the early 20th century, immigrants took “standardized tests”. To determine possible career and where each person stood socially.
Introduction Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates. Thesis Statement Standardized tests should not be eliminated completely, but should rather be evaluated in addition to other factors such as grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer hours. This would take pressure off of students during standardized tests, allow colleges to see how well-rounded the students are, and give students who are better in other areas
In comparison to the 21st century, the SAT and ACT are just a small sampling of the tests most students will be faced with before entering college or even graduating from high school. There are SAT II examinations measuring an individual subject and four-hour long AP tests given for college credit. There even exist pre-tests before the real tests. The PSAT is offered and taken by many students during their junior year in preparation for the actual SAT - and this is only high school. Currently, most states mandate yearly evaluation testing for every grade with some form of regulated assessment used in grades K-12.
In conclusion, standardized testing should not be mandatory. It should not be used to evaluate teachers either due to the fact that their students may or may not be able to take a test without test anxiety, Furthermore, a standard test does not test one’s knowledge on what they are being taught on their schools because it is a standard test given to everyone. Standardized tests do more harm than help our
There is no need for standardized testing in today’s schooling, due to the amount of work the students already have a lot of work on their plate as it is and something like that is the last thing they need. One major problem I have with this is that teachers have to build there syllabus around a test that depends if you’ll go on to the grade. Since the early ages of school, they make it seem if you do not pass this your life is over and nothing else matters except for passing this standardized test. According to Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, she states in her essay The Essentials of a Good Education, “An educated parent would not accept a school where many weeks of every school year were spent preparing for the state tests.” (108) In schools over America they spend weeks of school focusing on standardized testing and how that time spent away from learning the material is taking away from the students
Standardized Tests Should not be Used as a Measurement of Student Capabilities. Thousands of schools among the United States mandate and enforce laws making students participate in standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, PSAT, NWEA, SSAT, MEAP, CAT, and many more. These tests determine the level of education a student is able to participate in, and this should not be the case, simply because there are many other factors that go into student intelligence that don’t fall under test scores.
Standardized testing only measures the individual performance of the student for one day instead of the overall growth of that student over the course of the year. They fail to measure such important skills, such as; creativity and critical thinking skills. These tests are weak measures of the ability to comprehend complex material, write, apply math, understand scientific methods or reasoning, or grasp social science concepts.
Standardized tests are tests designed to evaluate a student’s performance and as well as the teacher’s performance where these tests contain the same set or common questions which are taken by the students annually in the same way (The Johnson Center, n.d.). However, these tests may also vary depending on which of the student’s or school’s ability would they like to evaluate. Standardized tests are of different forms. There are tests intended to evaluate a student’s learning and academic progress¬—if a student was able to learn what he/she was supposed to learn¬—over a period of time.