Standardized Testing : Assessing Everyone

Standardized testing assesses students, teachers, and the school itself, which puts a great deal of pressure put on the students. High scores show that the school is effective in preparing students for the test, so low test scores make teachers and schools look as though they are not preparing the students properly for the test. This is may not be the case. There are teachers that do teach students what they need to know to pass the test and prepare them for the test but their students still are not prepared. Despite the fact that teachers try to improve instruction, student performance is still variable to other factors that the school cannot control.

For some students, the time they have in the classroom is not enough for them to grasp the topic. While teachers usually offer students a time for students to see them for extra help, some students do not have time for this. Most students are involved in many activities outside of the classroom, such as music, sports, and afterschool jobs. Being involved in these activities is a way for students to enhance their college applications, but it also makes finding time for studies more difficult. Some might argue that these activities should come after education but to many students these activities are as important to their future as their grades. There are also the students that see their teachers for extra help but still have problems understanding the subject. These students might seek extra help from a tutor, but because of the cost of tutors many students cannot afford to have a private tutor. 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. Standardized tests cannot measure the effort the student put into the answer; they can only measure whether they got the answer right or wrong.