The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

Senior year in high school is supposed to be the one of the best years of your life. This is the year where you finally get to sit back and appreciate all of the hard work it took to get you here today. But what happens after that? Where do all of these seniors go? Are they truly ready to move on to the real world? Studies show that only 65.9 percent of high school graduates enroll in college (Norris). Why is this number so low, and what can we do to raise it? Students are scheduled to take many rigorous classes throughout their high school careers in order to keep them on track for their future. Counselors line up their schedule to make sure that students fulfill all the requirements needed in order to move onto college. However, the classes

One of the biggest sources for colleges when accepting students is the student’s ACT, SAT, or other standardized test scores. However, it is common that people with lower GPAs can receive higher scores on tests than people with higher GPAs. Through standardized testing, not all questions about the student get answered. These tests do not show the students work ethics, and often doesn’t show their full intelligence. For example, Maura Ziller, a senior at South High School, has worked hard since her freshman year, and is in the top 20 percent of the 2017 class. However, even after hours of tutoring and hard work she still scored only a 22 on the ACT (Ziller). This mediocre score gives Maura a lower chance to get accepted into the colleges she was striving to get into. Not only are students upset with standardized testing, but also teachers. Richard Cole, the media teacher at Denver South High school, believes that standardized tests do not show the wide range of skills students usually have. Cole states “As a teacher of an elective class, tests like the ACT or SAT don’t show me anything about the students level of skill and knowledge for my particular subject.” Standardized tests don’t deal with each student’s specific interests which can be a major issue within the testing system. In the April 27, 2016 article “Most High School Seniors Aren't College Or Career Ready,

However this isn’t the best solution for our prospective students; instead, we can work to better prepare students for college so students don’t have to adjust in college, but move forward right away so they are better educated and even more prepared once they graduate. In the May 15 2015 Article “Survey: 14 Percent Of 2015 College Grads Have Real Jobs”, author Eric Owens talks about how low the percentage of getting a real job after college is, and how important it is to improve those stats. According to Owens, “Just 14 percent of this year’s college seniors have steady, career-type jobs lined up for their lives after graduation. Thus, 86 percent of America’s college grads — about five out of every six — have zilch in the way of career prospects for their post-campus lives.” These statistics prove that clearly there is not enough people entering the workforce after college, and if we were to get students more prepared before entering college, then students will learn more and be more prepared to get a job once they attend college. Majority of the students aren’t college or career ready, causing our economy to dorp. High schools should do a better job to prepare students for college so students are fully ready for college and can then work on becoming more career