The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing
No one ever said school was easy. It takes quite a bit of hard work and preparation from both the students and teachers. All within a school year there are different homework, assignments, projects, tests, quizzes, presentations and much more to try and fit into an already busy course schedule. To add to that the Education Reform Law of 1993 was introduced to schools, which required that all public school students have to be tested in the subjects of English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and Technology Engineering. Those set of tests are called Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and they are meant to measure students performance based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework.
Standardized testing not only stresses out students, but it also leads the teachers to go in a dilemma whether to focus on the curriculum or to get students ready for the standardized testing. No one has ever enjoyed taking a test in his or her entire educational history. Similarly Mr. Estrada’s 4th grade class was not every excited about taking standardized test. Each student has his or her own level of learning. As the students were taking the test, I noticed some students were panicking, while others were confused.
Standardized testing (SATs), in the United States has been present for years and has caused plenty of teachers, students, parents, and other individuals who are informed about it to have different perspectives and opinions on it. Before doing my research on the different opinions people had on standardized tests, I always believed they were encouraged by professors and school facilities. As a student myself and on the behalf of other students, standardized tests were always perceived to be stressful and unjust. Test taking was never a strength of mine especially if the test was timed because it just added more pressure to answer the questions quick. In high school, my teachers never discussed how they felt towards the SATs, which made
For this reason they fail to prepare them for higher education and the economy. In today's world tests often have multiple choice questions. Many tests are packaged and sent to certain places where the tests can be graded quickly by automated test scoring machines, however in recent years computer software is being developed to grade written work (Knight Foundation,
Introduction Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates. Thesis Statement Standardized tests should not be eliminated completely, but should rather be evaluated in addition to other factors such as grades, extracurricular activities, and volunteer hours. This would take pressure off of students during standardized tests, allow colleges to see how well-rounded the students are, and give students who are better in other areas
Over two hundred parents claim to not let a student go through standardized testing. The earliest records of standardized testing come from China, for the subjects of philosophy and poetry. America “copied” the European education system. In the early 20th century, immigrants took “standardized tests”. To determine possible career and where each person stood socially.
The novel Persepolis does an excellent job of illustrating what happened during the revolution and the war, both of which branched off of religion and its roles in Iran. Since religion is becoming more integrated into Iran’s government, the people in the country are banned from leaving the country, as well as not being allowed to dress in the attire of their choosing. Consequently, all of this moved Iran away from western civilization and the associated norms. An example of Iranians not being allowed to wear the clothing of their choosing would be when Marjane is almost arrested for strutting around a denim jacket, Nike shoes and other miscellaneous “punk” clothing. “Go on, get into the car.
Standardized testing has been apart of American education since the mid 1800s. Standardized testing has dramatically increased since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 as it was required in all fifty states. Rankings in the states have decreased since the No Child Left Behind Act and it has been thought education in the United States has been a failure due to high poverty levels, teacher quality, student desire to thrive, and different school testing policies. The issue of standardized testing starts with, is it actually helping education in America. Every student deserves an effective teaching system which works to better their education; standardized tests are not working towards advancing student education.
These tests are a very poor measurement of educational quality. Standardized tests are very biased against people with a low socioeconomic status and students of color. They also discriminate against students with learning disabilities which causes them to receive lower scores than people who do not have these issues. Standardized tests are one of the ways a school districts is scored which makes the school district puts an abundance of stress and emphasis on achieving an exceptional score. This causes several of students and teachers to cheat on the tests so as to not get in trouble for doing poorly.
Standardized Tests: Right or Wrong? Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, once said that, “sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent students do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.” These tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s(Is the Use), but now, many people are starting to realize that standardized tests are not as convenient as they thought they were. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act required all schools in the United States to test students in grades two through twelve annually in reading, math, and science(Is the Use). But since then, the U.S. has dropped from 18th in the world in mathematics to 36th, with a similar change in science as well.
The Standardized test, similar to the STAAR, can be a nightmare for some students. It should not be allowed in Texas due to many reasons such as wasting precious education time, not promoting students to the next grade, causing stress, provoking students to take drugs, and not determining students’ full potential. Standardized tests should not continue because they provide inaccurate feedback about students and destroy their confidence for their future education and life. Although the standardized test shows if the student should get promoted or not, the test lacks showing the full potential of some students because it judges a student based on a few skills. For example, if a student is good in classwork but is a bad test taker,
Imagine working hard all year long maintaining excellent grades and then boom you bomb a standardized test. Could it be that you didn’t retain any of the information that you were taught all year long or is it because you are just horrible at taking a test. Either way, it is very difficult and unfair for the State of Texas to base everything on one test. How can one test determine what you have learned all year? This is the question that many parents’ year after year ask themselves after receiving their children’s test results.
School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the
A standardized test is one type of tests that is designed by a complicated process. In many countries, a standardized test is accepted for being objective, reliability, and validity. Forms of standardized tests is multiple choice question, short-answer question, essay or mixed questions which most of them need the only one right answer (assessment, 2015). Especially, marking for multiple choice by using an accurately programmed machine is easier to checking and scoring answers, so the standardized test is popularity for many examinations and be used in higher education.
Standardized testing does not require much of an effort. These tests are checked by the computer thus, saving more time and since these tests are administered in the same manner, it would be easier for them to evaluate the test results because these tests have its own standards. These tests are also objective and are based by general-knowledge thus, making the test results unbiased and non-subjective. Educators will also be able to compare and evaluate a student’s progress over a period of time. These tests would show whether a student has performed well or not (OccupyTheory, 2014).
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