Exploratory Paper: Is Standardized Testing Bad? Standardized testing has been around in one form or the other for centuries based on historical data which shows its use way back in imperial China and was used to determine the strengths and talents of individuals so that they could be effectively used in the emperor’s service. In the 19th century Great Britain introduced standardized testing to its’ territories and eventually Europe. The United States introduced standard testing to its citizens in the late 20th century and has rapidly integrated this testing tool into the nation’s public school system.
Teach. Test. Repeat. This is the simplified modification of teaching being done in a high school now-a-days. “We are going to take a pop-quiz,” are words that most probably will not be spoken in a real-life job after college is over.
Standardized testing has not improved education in America. Standardized tests have been issued in schools all across the nation for years now. Some people like them and some people don’t. They do not help the student learn more information than they would without the tests. The U.S. has dropped from 18th highest scores in schools in the world to be in the 30’s on almost all of the subjects on the test.
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
Standardized Testing: Making College Admissions “Fair” Every year , the daunting prospect of undergoing standardized testing brings anxiety to thousands of high school students, and for good reason: a student’s performance on standardized college admission exams - most importantly, the ACT and SAT - is a major determinant in deciding where they will go to college. For decades, such standardized tests have been universally accepted as part of the admissions process: proponents argue, as Syverson (2007) explains, that such tests are the only way of standardizing college admissions when students from different schools have such widely varying profiles. However, in the past several decades a growing anti-testing movement has begun to poke holes
“Standardized tests are unfair and discriminatory, because students with diverse backgrounds and skill levels are expected to answer questions written for the white, abled majority. " I think this point is very hard to argue with because if these tests are written for the white students, then how are students with a different background or diversity supposed to do well? One improvement could be that maybe there isn’t just one test for the whole country or the state, but instead there are multiple tests for multiple regions. Certain regions get certain tests because of the situation they are in. This makes sense and I believe it would improve the scores and even if it didn’t
Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson).
Many feel that the tests are unfair and this is why standardized
Standardized Testing Are you tired of the way we do testing? Well, I am. Some people think that we should keep the way we do testing. While everybody else thinks that we should change the way we test. I think we should change the way of testing because it causes stress to lots people.
Another problem with standardized tests is that may be discriminatory. There is statistical evidence showing standardized tests are not a sufficient indicator of a student 's knowledge (Wade, 2012). In an article written by Big Think (2011), experts state that after enough practice, one can recognize patterns. In the chart located below, it can be seen that test
The Ethics of Standardized Testing Often when the term standardized testing is used in the United States it is referring to the tests given in our public education system. However, standardized testing doesn’t only refer to multiple choice tests given to children at the end of the year to see if they can move on to the next grade. A standardized test is any test that is scored and administered in a constant, or “standard”, way (Procon.org, 2015).
A 2001 study conducted by the Brookings Institution found that 50%-80% of year-over-year test score improvements were simply "fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning". Standardized testing doesn't tell really help colleges who is better prepared and who isn't. Because of this, students that might actually be better equipped for college might slip through the cracks, not even considered because the standardized test proved an unfair barrier. Next, standardized testing doesn't test some things that are important to be a good student. I feel that the test cannot measure our creativity, our intuitive ability, nor our critical thinking, among many qualities that can define a truly worthy student.
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
Students leave school stressed and full of anxiety and its actually making a negative effect on their everyday life. Students get so overwhelmed that harming themselves is in the picture. The state needs to realize that students aren’t giving their 100% and they will never know their actual academic skills. So why give standardized test? Teachers need to focus on the future and teaching them skills they need in their everyday life.
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).
