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The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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Standardized tests have become of overwhelming importance, especially for high school students hoping to pursue a college degree. These tests have invaded the minds of students and educators alike producing feelings of frustration and stress. Educators become hyper-focused on specific standards and worry about whether their students are testing well throughout the year as these tests may reflect SAT or ACT success. Instead of focusing on ideas and learning that would be of more value to the students and their future, students are stressing over testing at all levels in order to score well on these college predicting tests. Historically, standardized tests were first instituted in the United States in World War I. These tests were administered to men in the military in order to determine skills so that appropriate roles could be assigned. This seems acceptable in order to place men that have been recruited from all over the nation and being assigned to represent the United States in this war. The best man for the particular job. However, this useful testing has evolved into educational academic testing to fit the blueprint of what each student in the United States should know. Is this a good prescription for …show more content…

These tests evaluate a student's particular performance on a given day, yet provide no assessment of personal growth over a selected period of time. The testing environment can be very distracting. Distractions like the incessant tapping of pencils, clutter present in the testing room, and just the presence of all the different students taking the tests. For some people these tests are very long; not all students are equipped with the ability to sit for long periods of time at full concentration. Furthermore, most standardized tests are timed; those who know the answers, but are slower thinkers, are not able to complete the entire barrage of questions. This results in lower test

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