These days standardized test are present from the very first stages of primary education. They are present throughout the whole school time up to the university. Students know the strategies for solving them very well. They are forced to spend a lot of time on practicing how to pass them. Their scores are in many countries basis for the admittance of young people to the universities, therefore having a decisive influence on the future. However, with standardized test playing such an important role in our society, the important question to ask is if we are gaining anything valuable thanks to conducting these tests. They are not teaching pupils anything new, they do not contribute to the better thinking skills. What is more, a lot of time in school is devoted to preparing students for solving tests, not to …show more content…
It is a direct result of the structures that standardized tests have. They mainly consist of close-ended questions or so-called short answer questions. When it comes to essay writing, the answer key is very often extremely restrictive, not allowing students to show their ability to think more broadly, in a wider context. That is why students do not feel encourage to develop abilities of their brains – they simply do not need to. Additionally, it sometimes happens that it is easier to pass a test for students who are not thinking critically, simply because they do not consider many solutions to the presented problem so they have a more chance of fitting into the answer key. As a result, students start to see creativity as a threat to their good academic performance. They prefer to focus on the test-writing techniques, than on solving an abstract dilemma. The problem with this is that what is really needed in later, every-day life is thinking skills, not the ability to answer test-like questions in the most efficient