High Stakes Testing Argumentative Analysis

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High-stakes testing is a form of testing that came about after the No Child Left Behind Act, or NCLB. High stakes tests are defined as the summative test or assessment designed to measure student achievement to make decisions that are of prominent educational, financial or social impact. (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2013) The concept of high stakes test is to determine and account for several factors such as whether a student will be promoted to the next grade or if a student will receive a high school diploma. Other factors include financial incentives for the school, principals or teachers, or the reassignment to other schools for principals and teachers depending on test scores. In general, high stake testing scores are very important. This data helps to “make decisions that are of prominent educational, financial, or social impact.” (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2013, p25) They are used to determine if students will be promoted to the next grades, receive a high school diploma, as well as …show more content…

Three arguments that I would argue for high stakes tests is that they motivate students to work harder, study more and take the test more seriously. I believe that if students are given a test along with the measurements for the test, they would want to do their best when taking the test. Another argument that I would have for high stake test is that once scores are calculated, they would show area of educational need for students who are struggling in specific educational areas. This way teachers will be able to focus on certain materials that students haven’t yet mastered or students may need additional guidance. The third argument that I have for against high stakes testing is it can show administrators and higher level people that the students are given more confidence in themselves because they will feel that the students are mastering the concepts in school at a higher