Standardized Tests

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Recommended: The importance of standardized tests

Teachers spend time on the memorization of specific words that will be on the state test, not vocabulary building exercises. Educators have pep rallies that take educational time away from lesson plans and teaching in order to have the students learn cheers expressing how well they are going to do on the state test. Excess teacher and administration time is spent figuring out game plans, but not for teaching students, rather for figuring out how to increase test scores. Meanwhile, when students are truly excited about exploring a topic in depth, they are shut down because there is no time to learn, only time to memorize items that might be on these tests. Standardized tests waste classroom time and do not accurately measure student achievement; they inaccurately measure academic success, are a poor predictor of future success, and do nothing except hinder the learning process of students.

Standardized tests are used to measure academic success, but they are not a fair or accurate measurement tool. If a student is achieving good grades in class but fails to pass a state test, there is obviously a flaw in the system. Many of today's standardized tests are written so that only middle-class, English-speaking students can succeed. Standardized tests are often multiple-choice and rely on mental tasks rather than on spatial or visual abilities. As a result, these tests often reflect a student's disabilities. For example, standardized tests assume that each student will read each question in the same manner. However, research proves that each student processes words differently (Kohn, 2000). The case against standardized tests is not new. Banesh Hoffman, professor of mathematics, stated, "Multiple choice tests pena...

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...an. 1962. Accessed on September 2, 2011 from: The Case Against Standardized Tests

http://testcritic.homestead.com/files/standardized_tests.html#sf

IM. 2008. Accessed on September 5, 2011 from: Learn, Earn & Achieve

http://www.lmdfoundation.org/?page_id=11

Kohn. 2000. Accessed on September 2, 2011 from: Standardized Testing and Its Victims

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm

NEA. 2010. Accessed on September 2, 2011 from: NEA’s Legislative Recommendations

Great Public Schools for All Act of 2010, SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/NEA_Legislative_Specifications_on_ESEA_MAY2010.pdf

Sen. Wellstone. 2002. Rescuing Our Schools from "Tougher Standards"

Accessed on September 5, 2011 from:

http://www.alfiekohn.org/stdtest.htm

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