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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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