Standardized Testing Advantages

Standardized testing leads teachers to begin teaching to the test because of the fear of economic loss within the school system. Professors Herbert and Hauser stated that, “Standardized test scores promote rote memorization at the expense of critical thinking skills, pressuring teachers to spend most of their instructional time teaching testing material,” (Heubert & Hauser, 1999). Teaching to the test narrows the curriculum from a variety of complex topics to specifying material to what will be on a test. This narrowing of the curriculum can eliminate important topics that encourage critical thinking and can eliminate valuable lessons to students. Over time researchers have found a predictable pattern playing itself out in various states in the United States .When tests are first administered, the scores are distressingly low. After a year or two, the scores begin to rise as students and teachers get used to the test. Then the scores level off or begin to drop—or, if a new test is substituted for the

Standardized testing does not fairly consider the differences between students, they can cause anxiety for the students, and standardized tests lead to teachers changing lessons and teaching to the test because standardized tests are not the most beneficial option for students education and emotional health. Overall, Standardized testing has not improved students education and has caused many negative effects including greater stress levels among students, teachers cutting out important lessons and limiting students creativity, and the test are unfair because they are not made specifically for different: ethnicities, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Standardized tests have not caused an increase in the United States ranking in the world in fact the United States has gone down from 18th in the world in math to 31st since they have mandated them nationwide, So are these inaccurate unfair tests really worth the stress and educational suffering of America 's