Standardized testing has been a topic of debate for years. Some people believe it is the most impartial way to assess all students on what they have learned during their year in school. Others believe that all children are different and learn differently, so no single test can accurately assess what they have learned. This essay will look at a few of the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with standardized testing for English Language Learners (ELLs).
The advantages for standardized testing are that the tests are pre-made and have been checked for validity. This saves teachers time on the creation of the exam as well as the time it would take to grade 30 individual tests. In the case of multiple choice questions, streamlined scoring and reporting procedures allow the test to be taken by large groups in a set amount of time. It also allows for the tests to be graded and results to be reported quickly. Because the scoring results from the tests are delivered to and tracked by the state, the comparison outcomes between states or schools within the state can be gathered and distributed rapidly. This allows the state and the schools to know their standing.
These tests provide a starting point for improvement. It gives the student an indication of where they
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It is hard to create a single test to be given to a large number of students who all have different amounts of knowledge. For example, if an ELL comes across as multiple choice question with the word “thread” in it and they have not seen that word before but everyone else taking the test has, this creates a bias for the one student. Another real example is, in a recent standardized test in my hometown school, there was a question that assumed you knew Arkansas geography. A student who had moved here from Michigan would have struggled with the answer more than a student who lived in Arkansas their whole