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Standardized Testing Informative Essay

915 Words4 Pages

With the initiation of the “No Child Left Behind Act” in 2001, the United States Government mandated standardized tests in all fifty states (ProCon). With these tests, the United States fell from 18th to 31st place world ranking in mathematics and had very little change in the ranking of reading scores(The Great Testing Debate). As though the government may believe that standardized exams are beneficial in assessing the educational achievements among students and schools, it fails to recognize the disadvantages the standardized testing system harvests in modern day society. Since the prime of its existence in the 1800s, standardized testing has reduced the richness in educational experimentation within schools and among students (Columbia University). Furthermore, score results do not allow educators to update their instruction methods, while these tests fail to measure a student’s overall progress and growth in subject curriculum. With these disadvantages, it is universally considered that standardized tests restrict quality education in America by creating a methodology of “teaching for the test” rather that gaining outside information and …show more content…

This is because many minority students are unable to speak advanced English. Therefore, they tend to do poorly on standardized exams. Studies have shown that many schools choose to leave out the scores of students who fail these tests from the standardized test results for schools. Therefore, this leaves the students who perform poorly worse off because these tests do not provide feedback on how to perform better. The Consortium of Chicago School Research recently found that students who were held back because of standardized tests had significantly higher dropout rates and lower achievement than their peers (The Great

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Ever since the first American schools were established in the 17th century, millions of students have been enrolled in the public schooling system since then. However, since the years have passed, the main focus on schooling has been shifted. What once was a place to learn and build upon already acquired knowledge has turned into a setting of extravagant tests. The American public schooling system’s prioritization of standardized testing wastes classroom time, does not teach students the required life skills they need to succeed in life, causes unhealthy stress and is not an accurate measurement of student progress.

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“Is the Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?” ProCon, 31 Jan. 2017, https://standardizedtests.procon.org/. This source includes data, which is separated in two sections, pros and cons, of standardized testing. It addresses both sides of the main argument. The information in the source is defended by multiple studies and reports corresponding to the standardized education movement.

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How standardized testing has failed in the U.S. Education is the foundation that our future as a nation is dependent upon. The United States has a goal for the education of its students, “ to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal success.”. The plan put in place by the United States’ education system is to hold states, schools, and teachers responsible for the advancement of American children through the process of standardized testing. The origins of standardized testing began in Europe where up until recently the only group of people receiving an education were those who planned on going to University afterwards, therefore the curriculum in the secondary

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“ Standardized test items are not parallel with typical classroom skills and behaviors. Due to the fact that questions have to be generalizable to the entire population, most items assess general knowledge and understanding. ”(Hurst) These tests limit many things and cause a huge disadvantage to not only students, but to the schools as well. Scores don't provide very much information when evaluating a student's achievement, a teacher's competency, or the success of a particular school or program.

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1059 Words | 5 Pages

Put simply, standardized tests are ones that require all test takers to answer the same questions, are scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, in order to compare the relative performance of individuals or groups of students, and are primarily associated with a large scale (Standardized). While the idea of the tests may be simple to understand, the controversy surrounding the issue becomes increasingly complex as politicians, business people, and teachers continue to debate the topic. For the purpose of this paper, two academic articles were chosen to display both sides of the

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1718 Words | 7 Pages

Since the No Child Left Behind Act was mandated in 2002, test scores in our schools have steadily declined. In spite of this, proponents argue that standardized testing is an objective and effective method to measure student achievement and to hold teachers accountable. Unfortunately, this is the farthest thing from the truth. Standardized tests are neither fair nor effectual, there overuse and misuse promotes a narrow curriculum which forces teachers to "teach to the test" instead of teaching to the student. This instruction style inhibits creativity and undermines our country's ability to produce innovators and critical thinkers.

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In particular, not everyone who scores high on standardized tests do better than those who perform poorly on these tests. In fact, some people who perform exceptionally well on the ACT, HSPA, and the SAT drop out of college and do poor in college. The score that you receive on these tests do not show college readiness, as much as it shows an ability to perform on a statewide level of excellence. Standardized testing impacts incoming college students because they feel that in order to get into a good school, in which they must perform well on these tests.

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There is nothing more agitating than having to walk into a classroom and sit in the exact same seat for upwards of four hours, just to take a test that will never be seen or spoken of again. Standardized testing has been known to take a toll on students, from elementary to high school. Studies have shown that between pre-k and twelfth grade, students will take over one hundred standardized tests (“Study Reveals”). Not only are these “assessments” time consuming, but they are also unnecessary. Standardized testing has been recognized as a huge issue in American schools, and journalists and comedians have addressed it through horatian satire.

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Even if the tests were unfair it would not be as much of a problem if the tests helped us at all. Despite the tests having been in place for over 50 years, their implementation has not increased America’s scores on an international level. But of course, some are going to disagree as people always do. Those who disagree say that the tests help to determine who will do well in college. An edited volume, Defending Standardized Testing, edited by Richard Phelps, was created on the basis that standardized tests have benefits for students and teachers.

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One person had stated that without standardized testing, “ parents and students alike wouldn’t know that they’re behind on the reading and other subjects in school.” (Almagor). Parents who say that their child gets good grades and does everything in their power to maintain their good GPA are unsure as to how far behind their child may be. However, even if the standardized testing is mandatory, it doesn’t necessarily help children advance in school.

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Standardized testing usually leads to “teaching to the test,” which is any method of education focusing on preparing students for a standardized test. When this happens, many other subjects are cut from the schools in order to make room for more reading and math based learning. A survey regarding this subject was given to teachers and 66% said that they felt standardized tests were forcing them to focus on teaching to the test and that other important matter couldn’t be covered because of that. Since 2001, 44% of schools reduced time spent on science, social studies, and the arts by an average of 145 minutes per week. With some much depending on the results of these tests, like school funding, many schools have no

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Despite standardized testing practically being an age old concept, a large number of educators and parents protest it, providing evidence that they are not fit to test the bottomless pit of knowledge students learn. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has been portrayed as “a nearly utopian statute that required all public-school students to become proficient in math and reading by 2014, as judged by their test scores” and handed out sanctions to schools that didn’t progress appropriately (Aviv). Certainly, the inflicted penalty of state monitoring or overhaul reconstruction of the school curriculum and staff without any say would be a strict yet fitting discipline for failing schools. The overly idealistic goal of mastery of math and reading

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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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1408 Words | 6 Pages

Standardized tests are prepared with bias, and do not take into account external factors which may or may not help students learn proficiently and exceed their limits. Another thing to take into account is how all standardized tests are dictated by a time limit. Students who struggle with topics more than others are harmed by timed tests, as they must work at their own pace to fully comprehend and solve problems given to them and their peers who do not need to take their time (NeuroHealth). Even if completing the test were to affect how they are viewed academically, many disabled persons will not have the chance to finish the test at all, at least within the timeframe provided to them. When taking into account the variety of disabilities which exist in schools, it begs the question as to how and why these tests have not been suited to assist students with disadvantages in comparison to their peers.

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