Standardized Testing Essay

Although funds are being cut from Texas public schools, it has not kept the state of Texas from increasing the demands of standardized testing. Over the last several years, Texas public schools have chosen to sacrificed valuable classroom time, once designated for meaningful teaching and learning, in order to fulfill state-wide testing requirements. Due to increased pressures set by the state for each school to meet established score demands, students are spending a tremendous amount of classroom time preparing for high-stakes tests, instead of allowing students the opportunity to gain and improve upon critical thinking skills necessary to meet the challenges of everyday life. In order to redirect educational focus on preparing the youth for

In return they need to instead focus on allowing the students the ability to obtaining transferable skills. By making these changes, the likelihood of students being better prepared for entering the work force upon high school graduation, learn to handle conflict appropriately, work through their problems, and finding creative solutions will increase. The youth would reap these benefits due to have more time directed at gaining both street smart and book smarts instead of only spending the school year stressed about excelling at the latter or the two in order to advance to the next grade level. By allowing teacher the opportunity to teach once again, rather than reducing them down to the position of test administrators, teachers will regain their passion for enlightening young minds. Many teachers, as well as their students, have been downtrodden by such burdensome testing they no longer feel motivated and empowered to excel in their position. By giving educators authority over their classrooms once again, as they had before mandated state testing became the focus, they would be able to do what they intended to do when selecting the profession,