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The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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Since the 1800’s, people have been using exams to measure the intelligence of individuals. The first modern standardized test of intelligence was created by French psychologist Alfred Binet in 1905, which was later incorporated into the IQ test (Fletcher, 2009). Today’s most common versions of standardized tests are the SAT and ACT, both used for education purposes. It is believed that the higher the person’s score, the smarter he or she is. But, how can one test determine the intelligence of a person? The answer is it cannot. Standardized tests do not accurately represent a person’s level of intellect and should, therefore, no longer be used by schools. It is time to throw away old methods and create new ones that are more appropriate for …show more content…

But when the test day arrives, it is unknown how students will perform and many factors can determine this. “There are many people who simply do not perform well on tests. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test” (Columbia, 2013). In short, the mental state of a person on test day could seriously affect him or her. If he or she is anxious, not feeling well, or distracted that day, then that person may not perform to his or her full potential. The score he or she receives will then be an inaccurate representation of his or her knowledge, and schools will base their decisions on this score. As a person who suffers from test anxiety, I can confirm that this theory is true. When I took the SAT, concepts that were so simple and would be easy to do in school, seemed like rocket science. I was nervous and I could not focus on what I was answering, so I did not perform as well as I could.
On top of having to go to school, students have to prepare for standardized tests, which can be rather stressful. Most students spend hours studying for their test and become irritable the days leading up to it. The time and energy spent for these tests could be spent on their actual schooling and focus on boosting their GPAs. Stress leaves a negative impact on students and can make them feel physically ill. If these tests are having negative effects on students that hinder their learning, then maybe it is time to abolish

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The pressure to succeed can be overwhelming, especially for students who are already struggling with mental health issues. The fear of failure and the lack of control over the exam can contribute to very high stress and anxiety levels, making it difficult for students to perform at their best. It's very important to understand that SATs can impact students' mental health by increasing stress and anxiety levels in students. SATs stress students out and cause depression Many students feel that their entire academic and future professional careers depend on their Standardized Testing scores, and this can lead to stress and depression. The SAT can be a time-consuming and emotionally draining process, requiring students to spend days, months, or even years preparing for the exam.

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In Gregory Cizeks "Consequences of high stakes testing", he states "Illustrating how testing... produces gripping anxiety in even the brightest students and has been known to make children cry, vomit, or both. " You've felt it before. The nervousness, the 'what if I fail' and 'I can't fail or I'll never have a good future' thoughts. Standerdized testing instills a large amount of fear and anxiety for fear of failing. In a Washington Post article from 2011, they talk about a 7th grade girl who ran away from home to avoid a test.

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Many students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn't show on test scores (Gregory J. Cizek, 2001). In essence, testing brings out stress in even the brightest of students, messing with their heads come test day. The facts show that from the 50 states, 700 school districts claim that standardardized tests are causing greater anxiety than the average everyday assessments (Joseph Spector, 2015). In conclusion, student achievement

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The silence in the room, with only the sound a pencil makes with the paper, produces the heart-thumping atmosphere standardized testing gives to students. Most students experience the overwhelming stress that is brought upon their academic life from SAT, ACT, or any standardized tests. They see them as one of the most important factors for college acceptance. The constant worry that sits on their shoulders will not disappear until testing is over, and there is nothing they can do about it until they hopefully get a letter from their dream college.

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Testing is around 115 years old; it started being taken seriously in academics in the early 1900s for the United States. Although it seems minor, standardized testing should not be a thing in any type of school because it causes physical and mental stress for students and teachers, causes a major financial strain in many schools, and takes time to complete and prepare for. Standardized

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The idea that one test can accumulate all of one student’s academic abilities is no longer accurate. Today, the standardized tests that are used not only discriminate against the non wealthy families, it also is not an accurate reading of all of one’s abilities in and out of school. The tests also have become such a huge focus in the classroom that it is beginning to take away the process of learning in a classroom and being replaced with memorization to get good test scores. The standardized tests do not need to disappear all together, however the tests need a lot of revising if the states continue to use them as they do

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The way we test takes up time that could be used to learn something new. The first piece of evidence that I have, is that the tests cause stress to many people. The text stated, “Tests cause lots of stress and anxiety to people.” Some reasons are that parents believe that teachers have been “teaching to the test” throughout the years.

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SAT scores have been shown to be effective in predicting a student’s future performance in higher education, the military, and in the work force(Kemmerling). But, hundreds of colleges have already stopped requiring the SAT for college admission to inherit racial and economic inequality(Rocks). On another note, it is said that many parents approve of standardized testing. In reality, only 14 percent of parents said that testing is very important in measuring school effectiveness(Walker). Although standardized tests may seem like a safe and trustworthy option, they really

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The time that students spend outside of class studying for standardized tests could be used for something more productive. The school also has to create a modified schedule so students can take the standardized test- it will most likely result in shorter class periods, cutting away from valuable learning time. These tests waste incalculable hours during the school day and outside of

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Standardized testing has become one of the most popular types of testing in U.S. public schools to date. Students take numerous standardized tests throughout their childhood schooling. (Studies show that a typical student takes an average of 112 mandated standardized tests between Pre-K and 12th grade.) While standardized testing is one of the main procedures that Universities use to judge incoming students, it is not proven to be the most effective way to convey a student’s actual intelligence level. The U.S. should not focus so heavily on standardized testing because it is not a complete accurate measurement of a student’s intelligence.

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Schools should not be teaching them how to fill in bubbles on a test and brain washing them that these scores will make or break the rest of their lives. Standardized testing should be cut down in schools across America in grades k-12 since they cause easy avoided stress over the grades, they do not improve students abilities, and the system used is harmful to education. The stress caused by these standardized tests can be really easily avoided. The problem with this is that students tend to obsess the letter grades they get on the tests and they obsess too much to the point where they disappoint themselves and their parents if the get a bad grade on the tests.

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Students who do not have to take standardized tests will not have as much stress as students who take theses tests. According to Bill Maxwell, who did the research, “Each year, thousands of high school students stress out as they prepare to take the SAT or ACT tests to get into college. Many researchers suggest that the singular importance placed on these tests has produced a culture of questionable meritocracy and unfairly blocked thousands of otherwise deserving students from entering the schools of their choice”(Maxell). Accordingly, this shows that students are under stress while preparing for standardized tests. Students are unable to perform well on standardized tests under stress, and are unable to pick the school of their choice due to the stress that causes them to

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