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Debate surrounding standardized testing
Debate surrounding standardized testing
Does standardized testing have negative effects on education
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Standardized testing doesn’t provide a true picture of a student’s ability. According to the article “Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing”, Standardized testing evaluates a student’s performance on one particular day and does not take into account external factors. Meaning that the student is judged on how smart they are with this test. This is unfair because there are many people who are smart but have test anxiety allowing them not to focus on the test. Many other people understand the subject and know what to do but don’t show it on the test. Standardized testing inflicts stress on students and teachers. According to the article, excellent teachers quit the profession every day because of how much stress is on them to prepare students
According to Fyona Rose, “Not only do these tests belittle students' and teachers' hard work, they also leave them with negative feelings toward school and drain their love of learning” (Rose, 2015). This means that standardized testing can ruin the enjoyment of learning for both students and teachers. The reason standardized testing still happens is because it has become a standard for schools each year. But if the standard is bad something should be changed. Many who do not like standardized testing to do not believe that testing should be done away with, but rather be changed to accommodate the growing needs of society as a
Michele Obama once stated, “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn 't be here. I guarantee you that.” The First Lady is, in other words, to say that standardized testing was a major factor into her life’s outcome and her scores could have potentially not put her in her position of power that she is highly recognized in today’s society. Although standardized tests do play a large role in any college application, standardized testing may not count as much toward one’s college admissions or success because standardized tests are not the only factor toward college applications, these tests only benefit a specific target group of people, and standardized tests are better used for giving insight on one’s
The current education system implemented by most schools measures a student’s progress using two methods: letter grades and standardized tests. However, the pressure put on students to achieve high grades causes standardized tests to be overlooked throughout the school year. Because of this, students enter tests with false hopes of scoring well when in reality they are severely underprepared. Honor roll students with perfect GPA’s can score in the average percentile if they are not adequately exposed to the test material. Schools should put a larger emphasis on preparation for standardized tests so students will be better equipped to take these tests and receive a score that more accurately reflects their knowledge.
Some may say standardized tests are a wonderful thing for schools to test their students but I'm here to tell you why they are bad. The standardized tests have too many problems that need to be changed. There is problems with how many are taken and they need to be fixed. There are too many problems with these tests and the government needs to modify them. So this essay will explain that standardized tests are bad and they need to be fixed, because kids take too many of them, countries who take less are outscoring us, and they are too low quality.
Imagine walking into school on day one of the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, or better known as TCAP. You are rushed to your proctor’s room. This is just day one of the six long grueling test days. The school board is counting on you to score high enough to reflect positively on your school district. Each session will last up to sixty minutes with just enough time for most students to finish. There are usually three sessions per day. For most students, this process is one which is dreaded with each coming year. TCAP results are scored by advanced, proficient, partially proficient, or unsatisfactory (Time4Learning). The TCAP tests students from 3rd through 10th grade. This test happens the same time each year. There are four different tests that constitute the TCAP: reading, writing, math, and for the 5th, 8th, and 10th grades science.
Standardized Tests restrict student learning in the classroom (Cole, Hulley, and Quarles 17). The teachers in a classroom cannot teach what they would like to teach, but rather they are forced to teach what will be on the test. Often, when teachers teach what will be on the test, many students will begin to zone out and do other things, rather than listen to the teacher drill them with memorization for the tests (Willis 59) Teachers are graded based on how well their students do on these standardized tests, so they will teach only what is going to be on the test, to keep their jobs, or even get raises. Whenever this happens, students are hurt because they lose out on many opportunities to learn, and they even lose critical thinking skills. The testing curriculum often also places too many goals for students and teachers to reach, which will force them to move more quickly and not properly address every topic (Popham 71). Which, in the long run with further encourage only teaching the test, and nothing else.
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much pressure on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events. Standardized testing puts strain on teachers and students causing unhealthy occurrences, Common Core is thrown at teachers with no teaching on how to teach the new way which dampers testing scores for all students, and the American College Test determines whether a child gets into college or not based on what they have learned during high school. Standardized tests are disagreeable; tests should not determine ranking of people.
Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.
One of the biggest topics in the educational world is standardized tests. All fifty states have their own standards following the common core curriculum. There are many positives and negatives that go with the standardized tests. A standardized test is any type of “examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner” (Popham, 1999). These standardized tests are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Schools use achievement tests to compare students.
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
Students are defined by a test score instead of what they do in their high school years including their GPA, extracurricular activities and volunteer activities. Students with high GPAs can fail or do bad on the SAT/ACT due to stress or not doing good on tests. Standardized tests only test certain things about a student. It does not show what the student can actually do as in motivation, creativity, reliability, self-discipline, leadership, honesty and many other things. All standardized testing is not fair to students especially ones that do not speak english and students with special needs because they all take the same test.
All American states are required to test students in public schools to ensure that they are receiving the desired level of minimal education due to the No Child Left Behind Act. Examples of these tests would be the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) and Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+). The No Child Left Behind Act also requires that students show an adequate amount of yearly progress. If this progress is not shown, it is mandated that the student gains remediation through summer school or tutoring. In high school, standardized tests are given to students based on their post-secondary educational plans. The SAT and ACT are the most common standardized tests. The SAT and ACT are given to college-bound
It’s an age-old question. Do standardized tests really show what students know? Some may think they are a great way to measure education and others may think that one test does not justify a child’s knowledge. What is this test exactly? A standardized test is any test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from a common bank of questions, in the same way. They are used to “judge” or “measure” the knowledge or skills that students learn in school. The problem with these standardized tests is that they measure all students on the same material, leaving out special skills the student may have. It also puts a great deal of stress on a student to know that they will be timed on these questions that
Standardized testing is a simple definition is an assessment. The definition of assessment is a grouped examination of skills and talents about students. When society say the tests will be standardized, this means the certain group and type of students will all take the same test and be counted and investigated the same way. According to Joe when the test scores come in they are compared to students in their school and also schools worldwide to see how they did and compared to other students with the same grade. The standardized test requires everyone taking the test to answer the same question or something very similar to it, so it is fair. Every student is scored in a reliable way then it makes it possible to compare how students do.
Standardized tests are just one of the tests where many students, including myself, do not show the true knowledge. These tests are meant to determine what a student has learned in the classroom while the data (results) are compared to all students across the nation. How can this be a fair way to decide if the student understands the content being learned, or determine if they understand the material learned? There are many factors that come into play when one is taking the test; they may not be the best test takers therefore they will not do as well on the test. When looking back at my own high school education, I did very well in class on a day to day basis, however, when it came time to take a test, my anxiety would get the best of me and I would not perform to the best of my abilities.