Standardized Testing Informative Essay

“Student emotional well-being is a concern both in the U.S. and worldwide” (Valosek 192). High school as we know it has many flaws that have created a toxic and unproductive environment for students. Some of these flaws include stressing the importance of test scores and memorization over really learning the material, forcing students to conform to a certain school schedule on top of balancing work and extracurriculars, and making school one size fits all leaving certain students behind. These problems continue to grow causing severe deficits in students’ academic journeys as well as their mental health. Many of these problems are caused by the outdated techniques still used by the education system. The current education system is the same

“...students are assessed through standardized testing, we gain a valuable metric we can use to check the quality of our curriculum” (Nixon). Although standardized tests allow schools to check if there are any overall areas of improvement, they take the focus away from the individual student. The fact that these tests are used as a way to compare school and curriculum is exactly the issue. “Educators frequently start “teaching to the test” if they feel that their evaluations and jobs solely depend on how well students perform” (Nixon). Teachers and students feel immense pressure to have the highest test scores which is not really a reflection of students' actual abilities. The importance of standardized test scores ultimately takes the creativity, engagement, and understanding out of

The current system emphasizes the importance of standardized testing over learning and understanding content. Schools need to cut back on the use of standardized testing and put more class time back into engaging in the curriculum. They also need to allow teachers and students to feel less pressure to perform well on standardized tests. On top of the pressure from performing well on tests, students are also pressured to balance homework on top of sports, clubs, work, and social life. This can cause lots of stress on students eventually causing their emotional well-being to suffer and cause burnout. School experiences can be stressors that affect emotional well-being and academic performance (Valosek 192). Homework ultimately has negative effects on students’ academic performance. Instead, homework should be offered as additional help for those who need it and should not be required. Not all students learn best from the current teaching style. Many kids learn better from hands-on activities and getting engaged in what they are learning about. School typically forces students into desks where they learn for seven hours a day and this type of teaching is not effective for a majority of students. Schools should allow students to engage and take charge of their education. This would leave students interested in what they were learning about and learning practical real-life