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Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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“At Wake Forest University, we saw more costs than benefits to standardized tests” (Tiefenthaler np). Such tests have been used for many years to predict college preparedness and are thought to be very productive in judging between different students. Several studies performed across the country have found these tests to be insufficient for their use and discovered underlying reasons. Standardized examinations, such as the ACT or SAT, are not the most efficient method of judging a student’s readiness or worthiness for college. One of the assumed advantages to the standardized tests is the ability to judge when to teach students certain material. However, this actually hinders the performance of those who are more advanced in a subject or more. …show more content…

“This does a disservice to both the teacher who worked hard to help their students grow and the student who worked extremely hard over the course of the year and improved tremendously, but failed to score proficient" (“Pros” 3). GPA shows how hard a student worked in class to keep up with their grades and homework. It reflects the responsibility and improvement of students over a year, not on just one particular day. Another disadvantage to standardized testing being a dramatic reflection of a student’s performance is that teachers are held responsible to accordingly teach students to score well on the tests. “Teachers have such pressure to get their students ready for these exams that they neglect to teach students skills that go beyond the tests” (“Pros” 3). The students are only being taught the need-to-know basics. Thus, students are not getting the full benefits from a high school course that could possibly further prepare them for college classes or even life experiences. Finally, an impressive standardized test score does not always correlate to better college performance. “Students with good grades and modest testing did better in college than students with higher testing and lower high school grades” (Sheffer np). Some colleges tend to ignore insufficient high school grades if the student’s test scores are higher than average. This practice, however, does not efficiently judge the future performance as the lower test score student may just be a bad tester and shows his or her hard work through their

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793 Words | 4 Pages

In a country that promotes the ideas of grit, innovation, resourcefulness, and growth, I find it curious that American universities are still using standardized tests as an indicator of future success in college. Although standardized tests are only one factor in admissions to many colleges, they should not be used at all because they do not accurately predict the success of students in higher educational environments. Instead of using the SAT and ACT, admissions officers should put more weight on written essays, cumulative high school grade point average, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation when deciding admissions. Although some may argue that the SAT and ACT offer a way of ranking students without factoring in grade point average, their ability to predict the future success of college students has not been demonstrated.

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

If the student was able to “tap” into his/her street smarts, then they should have been smart enough to understand that doing well in school and the tests is a must if they want to enter a good college. However, this problem is instantly solved when their standardized test scores are compared. As previously stated, there are too many factors involving each individual’s education in the numerous counties, so their intellectual aptitude is tested when they take these standardized test scores. It’s a test that measures their cumulative knowledge that they attained all throughout high school, and colleges are able to effectively pair them up together to see who’s the most qualified to study on their campus. When they have these applications, colleges don’t know a person’s life story, they don’t know one’s faults or their shortcomings.

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While the argument presents a great benefit for colleges across the united states, the testing scores fail to do justice to students because the scores do not represent the actual skills that the students need to succeed in college. To clarify, the SAT, particularly in the math section, tests students by how quick they can substitute an answer choice for a variable in the problem and not by how the students can critically think about a solution for a question. Therefore, the SAT fails as a proper indicator of skills necessary for success in college. In addition, this disadvantage in sat testing overwhelms the benefits that sat testing

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1749 Words | 7 Pages

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

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895 Words | 4 Pages

Standardized tests are very common in today’s modern society. They are used as a tool to measure a person’s performance and indicate how their estimated performance will be in a college class. Every year hundreds of students take the ACT or SAT in order to get accepted into their college of choice and to receive scholarships, but they fail to see the problems with these standardized tests. As more and more people take these tests, the national average score falls causing doubt in the extremely important system. This is leading people to question whether or not the ACT and SATs are accomplishing what they were created to do.

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501 Words | 3 Pages

“Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” This quotation by Diane Ravitch nearly perfectly describes the ludicrosity of modern standardized tests. Students may achieve elite grades, volunteer, and participate in a variety of extracurriculars throughout high school, but all of these elements may be for naught if their ACT or SAT score is deemed unsatisfactory. The college application process is demanding enough without the added burden of inessential and unfair standardized tests. The ACT and SAT may put unnecessary stress on high schoolers, because they are an unfair representation of intelligence and education and are a large element of the college admission process.

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1683 Words | 7 Pages

We say we should never judge a book by its cover, a motto that all colleges should follow since their admission process is solely based on a swing vote of a test score (SAT). The SAT also known as the scholastic aptitude test is the most highly regarded test which thousands of students all across the country will have to take once in their high school lifetime. A determinate factor that Colleges use, to determine if a student is a good fit for their university. But how can colleges determine if a student will excel and be successful from their university based on their SAT scores? This very question has posed many arguments saying that colleges should diminished this test as it plays a big role in college application process and gives those who live in economically comfortable families a greater edge over others who aren’t well off.

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1292 Words | 6 Pages

Some students excel in high school. They have outstanding grades and high GPAs, but simply cannot take standardized tests. Some may suffer from test anxiety, and when a college is looking at test scores they do not consider the fact that the child may have test anxiety. The ACT test does not accurately measure how well a student can perform in a college environment, nor does it give an accurate measurement of a student’s knowledge. All throughout, school teachers

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980 Words | 4 Pages

These factors demonstrate that this source of testing is not an accurate representation of a student’s intellectual ability; therefore, students pursuit for higher education should not be dictated by one test. Ultimately, standardized tests, such as the ACT, should not control a student’s ability to pursue higher education. Even though institutions view these test scores to decide a student’s eligibility, the ACT does not determine how a student will succeed in a college or university. Nevertheless, while students are required to take these test to graduate high school, institutions should consider more than test scores and not let the ACT be the determining factor in a student’s true ability.

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1998 Words | 8 Pages

One of the biggest sources for colleges when accepting students is the student’s ACT, SAT, or other standardized test scores. However, it is common that people with lower GPAs can receive higher scores on tests than people with higher GPAs. Through standardized testing, not all questions about the student get answered. These tests do not show the students work ethics, and often doesn’t show their full intelligence. For example, Maura Ziller, a senior at South High School, has worked hard since her freshman year, and is in the top 20 percent of the 2017 class.

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1006 Words | 5 Pages

Having test optional colleges may motivate students into applying to colleges especially for those low-income, minorities, and first-generation students. This could even help colleges create a more diverse campus. When there is a test optional on the applications, the applicant’s the transcript, recommendations, and essays will gain extra time for the college admission board to review. College Board, an organization that offers SATs, disagree with test-optional colleges because the SAT and ACT is a quick way to predict how well students will succeed during the first year of college. However lately, colleges believe classroom performance is a better and a more important way to predict student’s academic success.

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425 Words | 2 Pages

Some people might say that if they take test on the same subject, they will get at least one good grade for that subject. Though that might be so, the bad grades will still affect that student's grade average.

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1188 Words | 5 Pages

Standardized Testing and its Correlation to College Readiness Albert Einstein once said, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The ACT or the American College Test, is a standardized test that measures a student's ability in the common core classes. It is most known for being able to show correlation between a student and their college readiness.

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518 Words | 3 Pages

Standardized Tests Junior and senior year are stressful years in a student’s high school career. The final two years are filled with scholarship deadlines, job shadowing, community service, and keeping a good grade point average. On top of all of that, teachers and counselors stress the importance of achieving a high score on the ACT and SAT standardized test. If the ACT and SAT were to get removed from the requirements for University’s, then students will go above and beyond in their academic careers in high school in order to get accepted into a University.

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260 Words | 2 Pages

As a result, this can induce high levels of stress on some of the students, thus preventing them from executing the test to the best of their abilities.

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