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Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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The American College Testing Program Assessment (known to most simply as the ACT) is a standardized test that is used by colleges to determine if one meets the required standards of that school, which then leads to the individual's acceptance or denial. The ACT not only determines your future for college choices, but it will also dictate how much money you will receive from the university in potential scholarships. The scores range from 1-36, with potentially scoring one point higher, could mean thousands of dollars toward scholarships. What most people do not realize is how biased, inaccurate and unfair the ACT actually is ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused," 2007).
One of the main arguments as to why the ACT is an unfair test is …show more content…

A student that goes to a private high school will most likely have a higher quality education. If a student is given a better-quality education, the more likely one will know the concepts thrown at them on the ACT. The second reason why the ACT is unfair is because if the student has more money, then they have more resources at their disposal to help prepare them better for the exam ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused," 2007). One could argue that public high schools offer preparation courses for the test, but who do you think will be getting the better preparation? A student going to a class designed by a teacher that specializes in the ACT or a student going to a class taught by a high school teacher forced to be there and teach a brief class because it lies in the school's curriculum? I was a student that was blessed with the ability to take preparation courses before taking each of my five ACT's. The preparation courses helped me tremendously. I went in to take the ACT blind without any knowledge my sophomore year and got a twenty-one. After my first preparation course, I earned a twenty-three. After my second …show more content…

In high school, you might be docked if you miss a test or a quiz with an unexcused absence. But in college, your grade is directly affected. Is mandatory attendance really necessary in college? Most all agree that regular attendance is required to do well in a class. Attending class and receiving a good grade has a positive correlation. Missing a college class with mandatory attendance is costly (literally). Most but not all, professors will dock you points for leaving for a flight, funeral, wedding and being sick (usually without a note from the clinic). Is it necessary for a college professor to severely dock your grade if you are already paying for something anyway? (Osman,

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And they know what the professor thinks important for the test (Halberstam 2). Repeated absences mean disrespect the professor. That will affect the student grades. For classes like math, science, and language, class information is based on the previous class. Therefore, students with lack of attendance will not be

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Furthermore, preparing for rigorous standardized testing is taking time away from teaching the required curriculum. The excessive testing is also imposing an unhealthy amount of stress of students. Therefore, the Ohio Department of Education should reduce standardized testing due to its cultural biases, high-stakes, and reduction in curriculum. Minorities are typically at a disadvantage when taking a standardized test, because they are already at a racial, cultural, and socioeconomic disadvantage prior to the test. The resulting disparity in test scores is known as the test score gap.

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A students ACT and SAT score is just one portion of many college applications. Colleges and Universities look at GPA, an essay, and letter of recommendations to determine a student’s admission. Many people believe that the importance of the ACT or SAT score depends on the college and what other things the student has to offer (Drinkworth, 2015). The ACT and SAT tests can be an important factor in college admissions because they tests are on all subject areas, math, reading, writing, and science. Since each area is graded separately and the score is later averaged out it shows how the students does overall in the general

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This is certainly an important factor: because high schools have differing grade scales, plus some amount of grade deflation or inflation, having a nationally consistent test is useful. However, while the SAT may be standardized, it is far from equitable. It has been found to have significant bias, particularly income-wise: as Biamonte (2013) found, the difference in average SAT scores between the lowest and highest income groups is nearly 130 points per section, adding up to a hefty difference across the test’s three sections. This disparity is partially explained by the use of aforementioned coaching methods; test prep classes and tutoring services are often pricey, a score-boosting luxury only available to those in higher income brackets.

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In America, there is quite a lengthy history of standardized testing. It all began in 1838 when the American education system began to form ideas of having tests that would be transformed into formal measures of student academic achievement. They were originally created to hopefully show student improvement and academic knowledge, which is also their most common use up to today. The commonly dreaded standardized test, the ACT, was created in order to help more colleges improve their enrollment numbers, and colleges needed a new standardized test in order to do so. But lately, these forms of standardized testing seem to be causing damage to students.

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SATS and ACTS have been used for numerous years as a way to gauge a student’s academic success while in college. Students have the choice which test they would prefer to take and most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. There are a few key differences between the SAT and ACT, which may make one test more suitable than the other for those taking the tests. Many studies have proven that the SAT and ACT are not the best judge of future success, and that colleges should focus their applications more on past grades and accomplishments to decide which students should be accepted to their university. SATs and ACTs are not an effective measure of college readiness and future academic success.

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In this article, Patrick Lin addresses a problem that has, in recent years, come to the the forefront of ethical discussion: The Trolley Problem, and all the stipulations that come with it. The problem itself has existed in many forms throughout the years in the study of ethics, but has recently become much more relevant with the impending widespread adoption of self driving vehicles. Lin’s topic of adjustable ethics settings in these vehicles highlight the absurdity of attempting to find a “correct” solution to this ambiguous problem with no universally accepted answer. From a legal perspective this problem becomes one of liability. Who is responsible for injury, loss of life, or damage of property in the case of an accident caused by a self driving vehicle?

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There has been a yearly ACT for all Junior level students for free since the turn of the century. Taking the ACT can help students actually go to college and enhance their life. When the funds for the test are not there then most of the underprivileged kids do not have the opportunity to go on to college. Funding is an important part of the testing period for those that

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Have you ever wondered if you could just bypass the ACT/SAT and go straight to college? There are many other high schoolers thinking the same. Many students dread taking the ACT/SAT but if we got rid of it you would not be able to see which college is best for you based on how you scored. Many colleges across the world have been toying with the idea of not using tests like the ACT and SAT as part of the admission process. Colleges should not stop using standardized tests as part of the admission process because they have been using them for many decades, they are available to any student worldwide no matter the economic area the student or their family is in, and they allow the student to show what they learned in high school.

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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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Students who want to go into the music field, for example, are taking an expensive test for no reason other than because colleges seem to think the ACT and SAT provide accurate information on how well a student will do in

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Both ACT and SAT scores are used for college admissions and could guarantee you merit-based scholarships. “The biggest differences between the tests are that the ACT has a Science Test, and there’s one SAT Math Section for which you cannot use a calculator (princetonreview.com).” Most colleges

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Some people are not good test takers because of anxiety. The person with high anxiety might be the smartest kid in the class, but he does not do well on test because he or she gets worked up and can 't think correctly when it comes to tests. Other students might not do well on tests because they have to study for their grades. Some students are able to get A’s without putting much effort into it. The next student might have to work very hard to get a B. The ACT would not be completely fair to the kids that have to study.

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To require attendance or not to require attendance. That is the question that every faculty member has to answer. Some choose to have lenient policies that allow multiple absences. Others follow a strict policy of dropping letter grades or percentages for every absence or tardy.

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