Cons of Standardized Testing Standardized testing is a topic that has been discussed for multiple years, among students, teachers, and many government officials. Standardized testing has been around for well-over 150 years. Proposed by Horace Mann, standardized testing was a better way of testing a student’s ability than the oral exams. Originally, the idea for the tests was dismissed, however, around eighty years afterward, the “most important test of ability”, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, was started (). Only in the past few decades have standardized testing flourished, but even then, 65% educators do not believe that these tests are appropriate. () Standardized testing is not necessary for determining a student’s success in the …show more content…
Social, financial, and self-development skills, are just a few of examples of useful skills that are not taught by taking a standardized test. Standardized testing focuses more on regurgitation rather than implementation. Students spend nights cramming before the test just to forget it later. Schools tend to rely on standardized to fairly test their students, however, this “forc[es] schools and teachers to focus on narrow, quantifiable skills”. () This prevents the students from learning the material that will show up again in their life. Not learning that information limits the success they will have in their future. Overall, since the No Child Left Behind Act was imposed in 2002 “the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading” () According to the Pew Research Center, 50% of people with bachelor’s degree say that having more experience would have better prepared them for getting the job they wanted. () This shows that even people who are done with schooling needed implementation rather than just knowing the