Argument On Standardized Testing

In the United States, standardized testing is used to measure how knowledgeable or unknowledgeable a person is in a particular subject. Standardized tests are exams designed to measure a student’s scholastic performance. These tests are a controversial issue, because some people feel the test do not show the students’ intelligence. I am one of these people. What the test may cover may not be what the students have learned in class.

Studies have proven that testing is not beneficial to a student’s educational growth. Testing in high school is affected by different factors; therefore results can be unreliable and not beneficial to the growth of students. A well created test can measure learning and diagnose a student’s weakness (Merrow, 4). In testing, the idea is for the student to get the correct answer on information they know and incorrect answers on the information they do not. However, a testing error may occur.

An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests. He claims, “Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don’t already know” (Jouriles, Greg). He also goes on to explain that one’s test score isn’t reliable and that we should trust the teachers when grades are published. A school system can accurately judge the students in the school on what they are good at better than the standardized tests do. They can break down many different aspects of what students need to improve on and what they are already knowledgeable of.

Instead of getting the students to regurgitate information when it is test day. In conclusion standardized testing is not an accurate measure of a student’s educational success. One reason is because with all the different factors of student’s teachers and situations identical tests cannot correctly measure how much the student is learning. Also the consequences of preparing and teaching for the test causes severe stress and anxiety to some children. The tests also have many flaws, some may be fixed but it would be a high cost.

The primary purpose of standardized tests is to evaluate students and show whether or not the standards of the standardized test was met in the school. However, the risks of these tests outweigh the benefits. A standardized test is not the sole test that determines the level of the student’s intelligence. Standardized tests place pressure on teachers to instruct a group of diverse students who are all on different academic levels. When students score poorly on standardized tests, school districts are coerced to lose federal education f... ... middle of paper ... ...ngle test that does not even measure the entirety of a student’s intelligence.

In order to accurately measure a student’s academic achievement, each student has to be reliably and fairly assessed. The grading system fails this because some students experience test anxiety, which negatively affects their performance, making them earn a bad grade. Grading therefore is likely to inaccurately reflect the abilities of students who experience test anxiety. Spencer J. Salend states that “Students with test anxiety experience high levels of stress, nervousness, and apprehension during testing and evaluative situations that s... ... middle of paper ... ... K-12 public schooling institution. We certainly do need methods to assess a student’s academic achievement; the grading system, however, fails to measure students’ work accurately and instead becomes the sole focus of learning.

(Ravitch.154 ) Critics would argue that certain standardized tests do not meet the qualifications necessary to judge the progress of a student or a teacher. (Ravitch.152 ) Not only is testing used to evaluate a student, but also teacher achievement. (ProCon. "Standardized Tests - ProCon.org.) Holding educators accountable for test scores places an unfair amount of stress on all parties involved, as well as inducing a difficult working atmosphere.

When the time to take the test comes these students will find they are ill prepared for the test; and while it is not the teacher or the schools fault this will still reflect badly on them. Of course, there is still the problem with the test itself. It would seem that because of their structure, that standardized tests make it difficult to prepare students for them. Standardized tests are meant to evaluate what a student has learned in the classroom but knowledge is not the most important aspect of school. Work ethic and effort are also important factors in succeeding in the classroom, but these tests do not take these into account.

There are many different cases that can cause a good student to have bad test results. Students may have a lack of determination. Determination is a big factor in attaining success and lack of determination can cause one to fail. Determination is something that cannot be taught nor forced on a student by their teacher. It is something they want to have in order to do good in scho... ... middle of paper ... ...verage.

First, tests don’t fully measure all important aspects of education, and second, tests only measure small parts of students ' knowledge (Philp Harris). Standardized testing cannot truly measure achievement correctly because there are no specific rules to what achievement really consists of and can only measure small parts of knowledge because of these inaccurate measures of knowledge students begin to feel anxious. There are many studies showing how testing causes high anxiety for students therefore causing a drop in performance when taking tests. Test taking can cause students to experience psychological issues that result in a failing grade on the test. Test anxiety can also affect the students` motivation to learn and because of this I believe the stakes for standardized testing should be