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Argumentative Essay: Do Standardized Tests Improve Education in America
Standardized testing and its effects
Argumentative Essay: Do Standardized Tests Improve Education in America
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“If it’s a school day, during school hours, one-fifth of the total American population consists of public school students K through 12. One in five Americans. And if you count teachers and administrators you are probably going to get pretty close to one-quarter of the population of the county at nay given time on a weekday sitting in a public school building.” – (School, the story of American public education)
Standardized testing is common in the states of Texas. Some people might think differently but tests are not the end of the world. Standardized tests are important to the education of students.
Less than two centuries ago, our founding fathers laid out our public schools with land grants across the nation. The founders of this nation said that our country would only survive with a proper education. Over generations, schools shape our nation. Thomas Jefferson said that public schools are important to a democratic society. At that time, it was not common for the schools to be accountable for the student’s performance on the tests.
In the 1960’s, two new programs were created at a national level for standardized testing titled Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. Federal funds were given to schools with a large percentage of low-income students. The test will be give periodically.
In the late 1960’s, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was created.
A new parallel of NAEP tests were made in the 1980’s. This test was given to particular grades, not students based on their age.
At the state level, a new role in large-scale testing was started in the 1970’s. Several states added that students pass the tests to graduate or be promoted to the next grade level. In the year 1975, two states added the new role...
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... their student’s knowledge. These nations do not concentrate on multiple choice testing. Their students score higher on the international tests.
“Standardized tests play a major role in education today, whether they are achievement tests measuring subject-specific knowledge or aptitude tests measuring scholastic readiness. The goal of the assessment is to provide a yardstick to evaluate students performance across state standards.” – (Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Abilities?) Lots of people including me believe standardized testing is a good thing regarding the education of current and future students.
The argument over standardized testing in public schools is significant. It influences the future of education in this nation. “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” – Albert Einstein
-- Public eduction is one of the most significant and unfinished achievements in American history. The main point of the first video was to show the viewer how far public schools have come and how far they still need to go.
In “End Them, Don’t Mend Them,” P.J. O’Rourke vehemently argues that the public school system needs to be shut down and ended for good due to a monumental increase in spending per pupil with no significant standardized test score improvements made in the past forty years. O’Rourke describes his view of a typical public school family that the public school system has marred with quirks and educational flaws to open up his essay. He then contends that putting a child through public school costs a fortune by pointing out that the average cost per pupil from pre-K through 12th grade is $11,749. O’Rourke cites an annual Gallop Poll conducted from 2004-2007 to explain that Americans find insufficient spending to be the top problem with public schools.
Though standardized testing has played a part in America's education system it took several tries before it played such a large role in education like it does today. The No child left Behind Act of 2002 was the foot hold standardized testing needed in order to be implemented into schools at a national level with such force. During the 1990’s the U.S felt as though it was falling behind on the Programme for International Assessment. “After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading”(walker 1).
Even with material being taught incessantly, standardized tests can not accurately measure a student’s ability. The tests are “single-target—meaning that every student, no matter what level of achievement or ability, course selection, or cu...
Standardized tests have been used to see how much a child has learned over a certain period of time. These tests have been a highly debated issue with many parents and just people in general. In the article “Opting out of standardized tests? Wrong answer,” the author Michelle Rhee argues that people should not be trying to opt out of standardized tests because it allows the country to see how much a child has learned and the things they need to improve. On the other hand, in the article “Everything You’ve Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong,” the author Kristina Rizga argues that standardized tests are not an efficient way to measure a student’s intelligence.
Some students simply do not test well, others try their hardest and still cannot reach the impracticable standards set for them. The individuals who create these tests do not understand the pressures of being a student, or the struggle to answer thirty-five questions in a compressed time period. One test cannot accurately measure the intelligence of a student.
Almost state has gained federal funding from accumulating the test data from all of their schools (Ravitch 107). Data collected from multiple choice questions determines the intelligence of every student and their teachers. The test data is tracked throughout their lifetime in relation to their test scores, graduation dates and other statistics companies such as Amazon and Microsoft use to evaluate different groups (by age, ethnicity, etc) as a whole (Ravitch 107). Ravitch claims there are many problems with this, mainly, tests do not measure character, spirit, heart, soul, and potential (112). Not everyone is the same, and just because one may be weak in math or writing doesn’t mean they’re not smart, resourceful individuals with much to share with the world. For schools to be even seen with a slight amount more than just their test scores, they have to be in great standings with their students’ average test results. The government’s intense focus on test results hurts schools’ ability to be a well-rounded school immensely. In contrast to federal’s pinpoint focus on what students learn, educated consumers desire their kids to have a full, balanced, and rich curriculum (Ravitch 108). Schools need to be more than housing for test-takers. The Education Board may claim students’ proficiency in their testing makes them better people, prepares them for college, and ultimately, the workforce. What they are
Once standardized tests became more popular, institutions of higher learning realized that they could be used to compare students from various backgrounds and geographic locations. And thus, standardized college entrance tests began in 1926. The first one to be developed was called the Schol...
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.
Standardized testing puts unnecessary pressure on students and does not have any real benefits to helping students learn better. Standardized testing places all students in the same category of intelligence and does not show the individual’s true potential. Schools spend weeks before the test are administered to prepping students, so students will not fail. If standardized testing was a method that worked well children would not weeks of classroom time to prepare for the test. If the tests were organized according to the right age group it would not take hours to prep students they would already have the information necessary to perform well on the test.
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.
According to thoughtco.com, standardized tests allow students located in various districts to be compared. Public schools students in Texas are required to take the same tests, which means students in San Antonio can be compared to students in Houston. Research shows this is wrong because students shouldn’t be compared to other students, they should be compared to themselves from last year to show their individual improvements. According to thoughtco.com, many would argue that teacher and student performance should be evaluated on growth throughout the year instead of taking one test. Comparing students isn’t fair because some students aren’t as smart as other students and this could lower their self-esteem.
They brought standardized testing into the school system in 1950s. Standardized tests are large-scale tests that are administered to students and scored in the same manner. Students take the same test in the same conditions and, if possible, at the same time so that results can be attributed to student performance and not to differences in the test or the way it is given. Because of this, the results of standardized tests can be compared across schools and districts. Take one at the beginning of the year for they can be assigned to a class.
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 in the United States is not always a common practice. In the Mid-1800s, Horace Mann, an education reformist, developed a test to administer to a group of students. Its purpose was to determine how students were performing at their current level and whether they were capable of proceeding to a higher level of education, although the student’s success on the test had no negative repercussions. These tests were a necessity at that time because the idea of public education was still being molded and these tests were the only means by which student progress could be measured. Within 35 years of the first recorded examination in 1845, testing became the factor which determined whether students were able to be promoted to the next grade.