Standardized Testing Persuasive Essay

1056 Words5 Pages

Throughout the many years of education, schools have always done their best to educate kids to the best of their ability. Creating advanced and top-notch students, teachers and curriculums tend to concentrate on preparing students for the yearly standardized tests. Teaching to the test allows teachers to establish a common curriculum that students need to and are able to learn. In order to ensure students’ success on these tests, schools only teach what will be on the test, excluding other important areas of important knowledge. Although public schools focus on preparing students for state standardized tests, removing these lengthy tests could improve and develop students’ futures and help focus on more important life skills.
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The education system has the thought of changing them constantly but the thought of removing the tests as a whole has never occurred. If changing the material was something considered, this would give many students a better chance to score higher or learn information that is also necessary for everyday life. Changing the material on the test wouldn't reduce the difficulty, only provide different areas of critical thinking skills to be tested on. Without altering the tests, “…we have abandoned the fostering on not only creativity but also of individuality, concluding that our children must all march to the same beat set by standardized tests” (Harris, Longstreet 1). With the fact that every student tests to the same material, the typical test doesn't cover enough material and needs to be changed to be more efficient for schools. In the same way, schools and teachers are pressured to teach to the tests no matter the circumstance. In result, "… these 'objective' instruments often produce results that are inaccurate, inconsistent, and biased against minorities, females, and students from low-income families" (Bender 43). Students from these minority groups do not have the same advantages as the more wealthy, smart, and male students. These minority groups that experience this disadvantage deserve to take a test that is equal for them and any other students that feel a