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The Argument In Favor Of Standardized Testing In Public Schools

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A study done by NEA states that 70 percent of educators dislike standardized testing. The The National Education Association asked 1500 teachers if they agreed with standardized testing fand 77, 75, and 58 percent of elementary, middle school, and high school teachers respectively disagreed with testing. Therefore, standardized testing should be removed from public schooling. The intellectual capacity of a student cannot be completely measured by a standardized test. "Contrary to popular assumptions about standardized testing, the tests do a poor job of measuring student achievement" (Harris 1). Standardized testing cannot accurately show the academic abilities of a student. Standardized tests only measure a fraction of what a student has …show more content…

Standardized testing can quickly the only indicator of student and teacher accomplishment. The United States would be able to rabidly fix the testing problem with a simple touch-up of their education laws. "Despite ample evidence of the flaws, biases and inaccuracies of standardized exams, NCLB and related state and federal policies, such as Race to the Top (RTTT) and the NCLB waivers, have pressured schools to use tests to measure student learning, achievement gaps, and teacher and school quality, and to impose sanctions based on test scores" ("How Standardized Testing Damages Education" 1). The United States education system can be fixed by removing mandated testing. Laws such as NCLB, and RTTT should no longer exist. The system of scoring that is currently used hurts both slower, and advanced students due to its pressure and ease. "Tracking generally hurts slower students but does not help more advanced students" ("How Standardized Testing Damages Education" 1). Tracking of test scores as a school or even class only hurts both sides, advanced students get bored because they have to slow down for the other students, and slower students feel pressured to rush, because of the advanced students. Currently, students spend an immense amount of time studying for both low-risk and high-risk assessments respectively. "Education increasingly resembles test prep" ("How Standardized Testing Damages Education" 1). In all three sections of school: Elementary, Middle, and High schools, students spend an entire month prepping for their end of the year exam. On top of that, students then have class specific finals to then stress about. Finland currently has no uniform exams and is ranked much higher than the United States on country-wide education. "The U.S. is the only economically advanced nation to rely heavily on multiple-choice tests" ("How Standardized Testing Damages

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All students dread one thing when it comes to school - testing. Standardized test are the main focus in our school systems instead of actually gaining knowledge at the end of the year. As a mother, Michelle Rhee, understands the lack of attention given on education as a whole instead of just waiting on the scores, but she still agrees on continuing with standardized test. Kristina Rizga opposes the opinion of Michelle Rhee as she does not believe standardized test truly measure the intelligence of a student. Kristina Rizga proves her stand against standardized test by utilizing solid use of argumentation.

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: In my opinion, standardized testing is beneficial but also flawed. I agree they’re non-discriminatory because the content is equivalent for all students, but teachers are “teaching to the test,” leaving out additional learning opportunities. From experience, I believe the tests are

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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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Although this seems like it could be a good argument against getting rid of standardized tests, teachers have no real control if a student does well in a single test. As W. James Popham, PhD, noted, “standardized achievement tests should not be used to determine the effectiveness of a state, a district, a school, or a teacher. There’s almost certain to be a significant mismatch between what’s taught and what’s tested. ”(“Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality.”).

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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

Educators spend months preparing minors for standardized tests, in hopes that every student passes for the good reflection the teachers get to enjoy once the scores are released. “Time given to standardized tests includes practice tests, field tests, prep days, Saturday school, and workbooks for homework” (Kamenetz). Schools spend over 40 hours preparing students for standardized tests each year starting in third grade. Some schools even have workbooks, where students do homework out of the book that covers most of what will appear on the tests. Starting around first grade, young children start to prepare for standardized tests that are two years away.

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894 Words | 4 Pages

Numerous people argue that standardized testing is necessary and does not totally alter with the student’s basic school learning experience. Standardized tests are beginning to focus more on the wealthier students and discriminating against lower income families. According to

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Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson).

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In fact 70 percent of educators surveyed in 2015 say that tests are not developmentally appropriate. Furthermore many students suffer a great deal of stress because of standardized tests. What’s most shocking is that instead of lower income schools getting better after tests were implemented they have actually gotten worse. School could essentially be taught by robots. At this point most teachers in my district have to teach a curriculum that is developed by the state instead of their own curriculum.

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Throughout the years, standardized testing has become something no student looks forward to. But, there might be deeper reasons as to why they despise it. Standardized tests have been around since the mid-1800s and have been used to measure a students' knowledge and ability to achieve their goals. However, as the year's progress, this form of testing has proven to cause problems. Students, teachers, and schools are all affected by standardized testing and its components in various ways.

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1454 Words | 6 Pages

A majority of students believe that standardized tests are fair. In a study conducted by Public Agenda in 2006 of 1,342 public school grades 6-12, it was found that 71% of students believe that the number of standardized tests they are required to take is “about right” and that 79% of students believe that the test questions are fair. The study was conducted again in 2002 and found that “virtually all students say they take the tests seriously and more than half (56 percent) say they take them very seriously." Most administrators and teachers also approve of standardized testing and believe that it does not compromise their teaching abilities. A study conducted in 2009 by the Scholastic/Gates Foundation found that 81% of US public school teachers think that the state-mandated standardized tests were “somewhat important” when it comes to measuring student academic achievement, and 27% think that they were either “very important” or “somewhat essential”.

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573 Words | 3 Pages

The average American student takes about 112 standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade (Strauss). A standardized test is any form of test that requires the student to answer the same selection of common questions in a consistent matter, which makes it possible to compare relative student performance. Standardized tests restrict creativity, waste time, and waste money. We should get rid of standardized tests in our school system. Standardized tests limit a student’s ability to express creativity.

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1191 Words | 5 Pages

School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the

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Gun control is and always will be a very disagreed issue in this country. There are those who believe that Americans should not own guns at all. They think our country would be better without them. Guns do not do the killing or injuring of the innocent bystanders.

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Schools are giving out too many standardized tests. It’s not only robbing them of their time, but it’s also causing stress and anxiety and going into far levels. Students need to be focusing on their learning academics and preparing for their future. Taking unuseful tests are not only pointless, but they put too many kids/teens into anxiety and even depression.

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