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Standardized Testing Flaws

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“Students have lost the will to learn for the sake of knowing and expanding their own minds,” June S. observed. “I see and hear too many students who ask, ‘Is this on the test? Why do we need to learn it the’” (S., June). Our society has conditioned students to focus on a numerical reflecting their ability to regurgitate information, rather than developing knowledge and applying it through critical thinking to produce a true education. In 1845, Horace Mann designed and administered the first standardized test in the Boston public school system. The results of the first standardized test confirmed many parents concern with the standards of public school education, as the average test score was 35.5% (Maranto). As a result, standards of public …show more content…

In order to measure students fairly, biases across of different regions and races must be eliminated, along with reducing the number of tests, and eliminating the harsh consequences tied to low test scores (Edwards, “Leaving Tests Behind”). The main supporters of these changes are those directly affected by the results of standardized tests: students, teachers, and other faculty of the school district. Students are most directly effected as they are the ones taking and being graded by the tests. Teachers and school districts are also heavily affected by the standardized tests due to the NCLB accountability program which requires students to reach a specific benchmark score or face the repercussions of possibly having to close the …show more content…

Also, many colleges require standardized test scores as part of their admissions process; if tests fail to accurately represent students due to biases, then many students may not accepted to higher education. The majority of United States citizens who attended at least elementary school have taken a standardized test. The use of standardized tests did not gain popularity until 2001 when the NCLB act was passed. Thus, the demographics most effected by standardized tests are the students who were in 3rd through 12th grade between 2001 to present who were required to take the

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Exploratory Paper: Is Standardized Testing Bad? Standardized testing has been around in one form or the other for centuries based on historical data which shows its use way back in imperial China and was used to determine the strengths and talents of individuals so that they could be effectively used in the emperor’s service. In the 19th century Great Britain introduced standardized testing to its’ territories and eventually Europe. The United States introduced standard testing to its citizens in the late 20th century and has rapidly integrated this testing tool into the nation’s public school system.

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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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Standardized tests are started way too early in the school systems. "Students as young as 6 or 7 years old are now subjected to weeks of preparation for high stakes tests. Because math, reading, and to a lesser extent, science are the only subjects regularly tested, students are drilled in those topics." (Kumeh).

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Many 1800s famous poets, writers, and composers did not have the opportunity to be part of the standardized testing movement; however, they have become successful and memorialized. Our world, especially our country, has focused so much on the standardized tests that they have forgotten the main point to take out of our educational system. They have persuaded college admissions that there’s an easy way to figure out if a student will be successful in their program. Our country has also made it seem that our teachers should focus more on teaching main concepts to prepare their students for tests and not opening their brains in the world of true knowledge and education. Standardized testing is not the easy answer to success.

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1111 Words | 5 Pages

Their argument consists of three main points: objectivity, comparability, and accountability. Objectivity seems useful because it provides an “accurate unfiltered measure of what the student knows” (Churchill). Comparability is useful in seeing how one’s pupil compares to others of their age group and helps parents decide which school to choose for their child to attend (Churchill). Test results are used to decide which schools deserve federal funding and which require disciplinary action. High stakes testing affects entire communities with the

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1336 Words | 6 Pages

There’s much controversy over standardized testing. Is it too much to ask of students to take standardized testing or is it good for students to be ranked as a whole. From extensive research the information will tell whether it is really causing a problem in the school or not. The questions being touched on are what is standardized testing, and how it is impacting the learning of our country as a whole, and how the practice of standardized testing is different from years past and how does the standardized testing effects students both mentally and physically learning. By finding the answers to these questions the hope is to be able to find what the values of standardized testing are and if it is really helpful to rank the the teacher and students or if it causes teachers to just “teach to the test.”

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Over the years, the different types of nationalized tests have grown significantly, including the American College Test (ACT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and Preliminary SAT (PSAT). After the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Act by President George W. Bush in January 2002, which promoted the use of standardized tests, the country consistently experienced a decline in student

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1374 Words | 6 Pages

However, standardized testing became a part of the educational system of the United States during the 19th century when immigration was occurring at a very high rate, as a means of identifying students’ abilities. This was an inaccurate measure at the time because the material taught in different countries varied from that of the United States. Standardized testing

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Standardized testing is not something that has just come into play. Standardized testing has been around since WW1 when it was used to measure aptitude. 2002's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was the cause of the drastic increase in annual testing in all 50 states. US students dropped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science. Failures in the education system have been falsely blamed on teacher quality and increasingly on the pervasive use of standardized tests (ProCon,2015).

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First, it’s essential to provide a brief background to help understand when and why standardized tests began. In the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular

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Although this may sound, effective the NCLB discredits this notion by allowing almost all states now to receive waivers that allow them to miss key elements of the law without any punishments. Moreover, opponents in favor of the law may agree that the increased testing has created an environment where teachers teach to the exam eliminating unneeded materials. If you believe more rigor means more, or better, learning the reality is harder tests do not make kids smarter. Unfortunately, the love of teaching and learning is being diminished by the drills and worksheets used to get ready for “the big test”. The idea of using standardized testing to evaluate student academic performance is not new, and as of yet has shown no measurable increase in student performance.

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803 Words | 4 Pages

Standardized testing has been around for many years since the 5th and 4th BC (Ozturgut 1). It is the most commonly used method of testing in the United States and many other countries (Holmes 2). Standardized testing was meant to help teachers and administrators make decisions on effective ways of teaching, and to help schools compare how their students perform in comparison to other students from different schools. From elementary school to high school, American students are required to take a standardized test every year. Even many universities in the United States require standardized test scores just to apply to their schools.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

These tests ensure that all students are being measured by the same knowledge and are all inclusive because they do not create different tests for minorities or people with disabilities. There are also those who argue that testing ensures teachers and schools are held accountable to local taxpayers. Many parents even use standardized test scores as a way to gauge how effective their children’s teachers are and as a means of pinpointing which areas their children need extra assistance

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1454 Words | 6 Pages

Standardized tests have been an integral component of the American educational system since the mid-1800s. The use of standardized tests went through the roof with the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002, which made it mandatory for all 50 states to hold annual standardized tests. Standardized tests are defined by W. James Popham, former president of the American Educational Research Association, as “any test that’s administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner. These tests often consist of multiple choice questions which are able to be quickly scored by an automated test scoring machine. I do not believe that standardized tests are improving education in America because they are detrimental

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1394 Words | 6 Pages

Standardized testing today is a worldwide phenomenon that supposedly ranks the intelligence of students on a level playing field. States have been in a competition over the highest test scores, the better your rank the more funding you receive. This does not stop at state competition, nations recently have been competing at a global scale and rankings come out for every subject each year. However standardized testing like the SAT, ACT, and state tests have had an overall negative impact on the education of the youth. The first form of the standardized test comparable to today's standard, was created in the early 19th century by Horace Mann (History of Standardized Tests).

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