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Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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Chatter of standardized testing filled the halls almost every year. Teachers were rushing around trying to cram the last minute essentials into their students’ heads before the test dates that were rapidly approaching. Administration was very positive that the students would do well and gave encouragement anytime that they could. Parents were sent home letters about making sure their student ate a good meal the night before the test, as well as a good breakfast. Also encouraging them to send their child to bed early so they would be well rested for the next day’s adventures of the exam. Most importantly the students felt overwhelmed, anxious and rushed. They knew these tests meant a lot and that they better try their best for the school. …show more content…

The teachers still taught material for the tests, but they didn’t shove it down the students’ throats as much as when they were younger. The teachers considered it the students fault if they did not want to pay attention to the skills they may need to be successful on these exams. Administration pushed for good scores to show that their teachers were teaching the correct material and that the students were actually learning. Parents are less involved now because it is up to the student to get the meals they need to be successful as well as put themselves to bed at a decent time to be well rested for the assessments the next day. The students’ feelings toward the test could go either way. Some want to try their best so that their scores look good and others don’t care anymore. As a student in college now, exams are not as terrifying, but studying is key to having success. I still feel anxious on how I did after I hand in the test and wonder what problems I got wrong or which ones I second guessed myself on. Testing has gotten a bit easier with the experience of taking so many throughout my schooling career. I have learned to use the test to take the test as some of my professors would say. I also have experienced several different types of assessments such as, projects, papers, paper tests, online test and even

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Standardized testing really took off after the no child left behind act of 2001. Since then the number of standardized tests has only gone up. Now even 2nd graders have to take standardized tests. More tests is the answer our government has for the problems with our education. Tests are not the solution, they are part of the problem.

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Standardized testing not only stresses out students, but it also leads the teachers to go in a dilemma whether to focus on the curriculum or to get students ready for the standardized testing. No one has ever enjoyed taking a test in his or her entire educational history. Similarly Mr. Estrada’s 4th grade class was not every excited about taking standardized test. Each student has his or her own level of learning. As the students were taking the test, I noticed some students were panicking, while others were confused.

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Standard testing is a very controversial and important subject because it deals with the progression of the American education system. The practice of these assessments has been highly scrutinized not only for the way it has changed the format of classrooms, but also for its accuracy, pressure, and abundance. In 2001, standardized testing became federally mandated through the No Child Left Behind Act by former president George Bush Jr. According to research from the Council of the Great City Schools, students have been taking “an average of 113 tests from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade” (K. Hefling). These numbers have increased to the point where parents have opted for their children to not attend standardized exams.

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Many students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn't show on test scores (Gregory J. Cizek, 2001). In essence, testing brings out stress in even the brightest of students, messing with their heads come test day. The facts show that from the 50 states, 700 school districts claim that standardardized tests are causing greater anxiety than the average everyday assessments (Joseph Spector, 2015). In conclusion, student achievement

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869 Words | 4 Pages

As Ravitch (2013), “the exams looked like AP exams and were beyond the reach of many students”. These tests must be revised so that the majority of students can actually understand them. While some may be able to perform at this level not all will and believing that making something harder will improve ability is insane. Students must not be expected to do well on tests they don’t even understand. Ravitch also mentions “tests gave fifth graders questions written at an eighth grade level”.

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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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1352 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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She knew that unless she produced passing scores, the school would be in jeopardy; this was a difficult predicament for Ms. Tatum to be in. Her colleagues were already planning on how the money would be distributed. Unfortunately, in many districts standardized exam results have become the single most important indicator of school performance. As a result, teachers and administrators feel enormous pressure to ensure that test scores consistently rise. This

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885 Words | 4 Pages

True high-stakes standardized testing was begun in 2001, as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was put into place to help make it so that all children would have an equal opportunity to learn, regardless of their race, ethnic background or their families’ income level. While their goals sound admirable, the problem began with the implementation of the act; they wanted to ensure that each child was at least proficient in the standards that they developed, so they decided that testing was the best way to do so (Aske, Connelly & Corman, 2013). The issue with this is that not all students excel at test-taking, and putting so much emphasis on it can cause a student severe stress and anxiety (Colwell, 2013). In 2009, Race to the Top was implemented, but instead of placing less emphasis on testing and more on learning, it made the stakes worse, ensuring that schools that had students who did not perform as well could be shut down, or individual teachers could be fired if they did not show what was considered to be appropriate progress in test scores, which might soon prove impossible since the optimal goal is to reach a level of 100 percent of the students in a school to the proficiency level (Tavakolian & Howell,

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The strict and narrow subject focus leads to numb disinterest as whatever a student may be interested in is suddenly discouraged in the face of passing tests. Schools, academically, have been reduced to just learning to take high stakes tests, generally in a standardized form. The majority of standardized tests are multiple choice questions, which can be taken without a single thought. There is essentially no effort required for the tests, compared to projects or essays. On the flip side, simple mistakes or a bad day can lead to bad results.

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They found that compared to the non-test-prep lessons, the test-prep lessons were worse, but not by a lot. As the researches analyzed they also come to the conclusion that they did the research in a Massachusetts district where the teaching and test score qualities are usually not high. Perhaps in another district, the results could have been better. In regard to feedback, they did add that when it came to the time for the teacher to give their students feedback on the test, the multiple-choice questions were not learning moments. In open-ended questions, the teacher would teach the students what the question was asking, and would give mini lessons on the topic.

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Evidently, Student anxiety increase when they are apprehensive about the exams procedures and consequences. NCLB high stakes testing did not give student the motivation to learn and contribute a higher achievement. Instead, it actually creates more academic

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It is discouraging to think that the intent of standardized testing was to promote educational excellence, while the introduction of standardized testing to students has actually had the opposite effect. How do you define student achievement? Many people think standardized testing is the answer. These exams are otherwise known as “high-stakes tests” because the outcome of these tests are often extremely significant for a student’s future. Since 1994, when states were first required to develop their own tests, standardized testing has been used to measure the performance of students.

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1607 Words | 7 Pages

Scores are not true indications of student capabilities for reasons such as my personal story of test anxiety. Teachers feel they are only teaching the test, not the full necessary curriculum. All the stress and issues schools and teachers are faced, are left up on the students. Students are aware of the expectations given to score well on test. This causes stress for students and pushes their desire away from learning.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Arne Duncan, who is the secretary of education has stated his own opinion: “I 'm as concerned as any parent or teacher about over-testing and teaching to the test. But I 'm equally concerned about kids slipping through the cracks if we aren 't keeping track of their progress and holding adults accountable for helping them learn.” (Duncan) There is now a case of Test Anxiety which is a psychological condition where a student experiences an immense amount of distress, which can inhibit the ability to learn and can also hurt their test performance. Many students have test anxiety and it becoming more prevalent because the test are becoming more and more important to graduate or to get into college. Also when a student receives a low score, this cause the student to feel demotivated and it discourages them from trying harder.

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