Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
no child left behind act in america
effects of budget cuts on public education
negative impact of standardized testing
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: no child left behind act in america
There seems to be a dilemma in the educational system. In order to receive funding, a school system has to test its students annually. These tests are supposed to measure the progress of the students and the school system. But what is really measured with these scores? What do they really mean? Should children be tested as frequently as they are? And most importantly, should the ability to pass on to another grade or to graduate from high school be based on only one test? With so many questions arising from these tests, the answer is to take a stand against them. Perhaps a brief history will provide a better understanding of the standardized testing system. In the 1980’s, the National Governors Association pushed for states to have performance-based accountability of their school systems. Basically, states would grant schools more flexibility in what and how they chose to teach in return for more accountability for academicbased performance. In 1994, Title I, “the largest federally funded education program” (http://www.doe.mass.edu), actually required that all states create performance-based accountability systems for schools (Elmore 2). Now, with the introduction of the Bush administration’s No Children Left Behind, all states are required to annually test their students in order to receive federal grants (Romano 1). In Bush’s attempt to make sure that our schools are held to a high standard, he is threatening their funding based on their students’ performance. Not only are students’ grade advancements and sometimes graduations dependent upon these tests, but so is the funding for their schools as well. Teachers can be dismissed or schools shut down based on test performance. No pressure there, kids. W... ... middle of paper ... ...ardized tests. Utah’s officials were willing to lose $76 million dollars in funding by deciding not to follow federal testing standards (Quindlen 2). If we take a stand, is your state ready to be next? Works Cited Elmore, Richard F. “Testing Trap.” Harvard Magazine. 11 November 2005. http://www. harvardmagazine.com/print/090240html. Massachusetts Department of Education. Massachusetts Government. 11 November 2005. http://www.doe.mass.edu/ Quindlen, Anna. “Testing: One, Two, Three.” Newsweek. 19 June 2005. 4 November 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8099819/site/newsweek/page/2/print/1/ displaymode/1098. Romano, Lois. “Test Scores Move Little in Math, Reading. Improvement Appears Slight Since No Child Left Behind.” 20 Oct. 2005. Washington Post. 1 November 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/ AR2005101900708.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
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
How standardized are standardized tests? In America, we strive to perfect them as well as give our students an education they deserve but at what cost? Standardized tests have been the easiest way to ultimately evaluate a student against every other student in America. However, standardized tests are not as great as they are made out to be. We need to take a step back and look at the faults of standardized tests. Quite simply: Standardized tests are not standardized.
Standardized testing assesses students, teachers, and the school itself, which puts a great deal of pressure on the students. High scores show that the school is effective in teaching students, while low test scores make teachers and schools look as though they are not teaching the students properly. This is not always the case. There are teachers who do teach students what they need to know to pass the test, but their students are still unprepared. Although teachers try to improve instruction, student performance is still variable to other factors that the school cannot control.
Standardized testing is a type of test usually serve to determine how well you understand a concept which is often used for placement. These types of test include questions in a form of an essay, short answers, multiple choices, or a combination of these together and are given out as early as in kindergarten. This practice has been used for so long that it has become a part of the American culture. Every year, high school juniors and seniors worldwide take the SAT or the ACT in the hope that they score high enough to get into their dream school. However, there has been a lot of ongoing debates revolving around the idea of the use of standardized testing in college admission and the whether or not they are effective in determining a student’s
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 has taken over the education realm and led to a shift in the institutional goals and values of education. In the last 40 years, standardized exams have changed; they were once used to determine the learning level of students, but now they are being used to determine the teacher’s ability. Standardized tests do not measure education quality and are incorrectly used, leading to the wrongful evaluation of teachers and the limiting of education for students by schools.
It's nearing the end of the school year, and students and teachers alike are in a panic. Have the teachers taught enough? Have the students learned enough? All this worry and stress stems from one very specific issue: standardized testing. All of this commotion is just another indicator the standardized testing does more harm than good. Standardized testing is an inefficient and harmful practice that puts too much pressure on students, incorrectly categorizes test-takers, and results in ineffective teaching. (maybe rephrase, order-wise)
Argument Against Standardized Testing President Bush is promoting annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight. This bill is currently being considered in Congress, and has garnered much support. As of right now, 15 states test students in those grades, and more than 20 have high school exit exams, which look only at the test score of a student, not at his or her academic achievements. Standardized testing is an unfair and inaccurate form of judging a person’s intellect. In many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores, partly because America does not currently have the capabilities to fairly score the increasing number of tests.
In the United States of America, Standardized testing has become a way of life for students and children, especially in public schools. Many argue that standardized testing does not measure the students as a whole, takes up valuable classroom time, and creates drastic mental health problems in students and teachers. In recent years, a controversy surrounding the idea of standardized testing has been brought forth as something that needs to be changed or adapted to the growing needs of today’s students and this can be examined when exploring the negative effects, the testing has had on society’s future.
In this day of age, one of the most important requirements, one must have on a college application is a standardized test score. Whether it’s from the ACT or SAT, this score could give students the opportunity to get noticed by prestigious universities, helping them increase their chances of getting into any school that they aspire to go to. In fact, there is even more emphasis on such big exams like these nowadays because it is a state required test that is used in all colleges across the country. However, standardized testing is commonly misunderstood, and is used as an inaccurate representation of a student’s academic ability.
In our statistically driven world, comparing one thing to another is what we humans gravitate towards. Whether it be an apgar test to a minutes-old newborn, a rankings list for the world’s best colleges, or a restaurant star-ranking system, humans often force objectified statistics onto complex and subjective situations. Unfortunately, this stressful practice is imposed the most onto young students, whose numerous, dynamic years of learning and growing are often crammed into a score out of 36. Given the obscene pressure and stakes this has on a student’s reputation, standardized tests need to be exactly what they claim to be: standardized. Although more restrictive policies should be implemented, time extension opportunities are essential in ensuring a fair chance for all to demonstrate the skills being tested. Only then, is a
In today’s world every human being needs some form of education to survive, weather being informal, formal, home schooled, private schooled or publicly schooled. Humans need some type of skills and learning experiences in their lives for personal growth as well. There are millions of students who attend private and public school each year. All of these students will be required to take some sort of standardized test throughout their educational career to measure their progress or achievement level. The federal government requires students to take standardized test at least once a year in the following subjects: Math, English, Science, and History. The test can vary based on each state, each students ability and language level. Testing is a normal common part of a school’s environment in order to measure achievement. However it is not good when the curriculum, teachers, administrator and government officials get so immerse into the results of the test that they lose focus on teaching the subject and start teaching them how to pass the test. Should the government continue to administer high-stakes test for accountability reasons or should they abolished them all-together is the question?
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.