Standardized Testing is NOT Effective

This brings us back to what the students were taught in class and how it has been assimilated. Curriculum is said to be affected by the standardized test. Some critics say, “That teachers are going to teach what will be covered on the test and unfortunately the information not covered on the test is not taught” (Banta, p.2). I know that if st... ... middle of paper ... ...a greater challenge than what can be tested in a multiple-choice format. Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act say that there is immense pressure on school officials, teachers, students, and parents.

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

They are left with the responsibility of proving they are teaching what needs to be taught. States as well as the federal government use standardized testing to assess learning. They want someone to be held responsible for students’ learning. The problem lies when the teacher and student suffer from the results of standardized testing. “The pressure on educators and policymakers to demonstrate accountability in schools has driven some to use the test results inappropriately (Holloway, 2001).” Standardized tests are comparisons of one student to another not of how well a teacher teaches or a student learns.

Later I found out that whether or not I graduate depends on passing the test. The idea of standardized testing to say whether or not students graduate is a bad one. Not just bad for schools, principals, and teachers, but it can mean the end of a student’s future before it begins. That means not only does schools suffer, but everyone in our communities, states, and country suffers. It used to be that students had to take standardized tests every year.

But the fact of the matter is that a lot more than studying can go into testing. From scoring/writing errors, to improper handling, the mistakes that can happen in standardized testing are wide. This isn’t a good thing when future classes as well as scholarship eligibility is determined by these tests. But, from causing student stress to scoring errors, standardized tests are causing people to rethink their significance to education. And what many parents and students are finding out, is that these tests are not as good as everyone once thought.

“Because the test is based largely on the memorization of facts, teachers will have to teach their students these specific facts instead of teaching for deep comprehension and understanding of material.” (Martin, 309) As a result, students do not learn the true lesson. Although it is highly important that students pass “the test,” this strictly based curriculum is ignoring the important academic skills and fundamentals needed for their future, even beyond the years of high stakes testing; without these needed skills students will be left in the dark once they have graduated from high school. Students often learn on different levels and their educational requirements are not being met with the “one size fits all” approach. Those who create these tests tend not to include those who learn on a different educational level; rather their focus is pointed towards the money rather than on the success of all students. Children need to learn sk... ... middle of paper ... ... Brief Edition.

The use of these tests has begun to not only affect the form of education but the level of knowledge students are taking away from their educational experience. Although standardized testing is used throughout the country, it is an unreliable measure of education and is dramatically changing the curricula causing a creativity crisis. Standardized testing is an unreliable measure of schools and should not be used to measure student learning, achievement gaps,and/or teacher student quality. They are unfair and discriminatory towards students from low income and minority­group backrounds; english language learners and students with disabilities. According to W. James Popham, an expert on educational assessment, “if children come from advantaged families and stimulus rich environments, then they are more apt to succeed on items in standardized achievement tests than other children whose environments don't mesh as well with what the tests measure” (W. James Popham).

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) are a few to name. Due to the passage of these laws the nation has become increasingly dependent upon standardized testing in order to evaluate students progress. Although lawmakers are trying their best to educate the students and measure their progress, standardized testing is not an accurate way to measure a child’s progress. Our current standardized testing system is not displaying the true intelligence of test takers. This is due to a variety of factors such as examiners' errors, over interpretation of the tests' data, failure to include certain age groups of students, and marketability (Czubaj 1).

Students have had to rely on just one test to pass them for the whole semester (FairTest). Although the tests require students to retain information until the end of the semester, I believe it is wrong to allow just a single test to decide whether an entire semester’s work will be rewarded will the credit that may have been well earned. Even general standardized tests such as the SAT, which almost every high school student has taken, are not fair to students who may come from a poor educational background (Standardized Minds). Students are at a disadvantage if they have test taking anxiety, a condition that many students suffer from. If a student is having a bad day or going through a rough time on a test day, this may also determine their entire semester’s work.

While taking the test, students realize they have not learned some of the material. This is due to poor planning on the states part because, the test is made to test above students’ grade levels. Before, when teachers were making their own teaching plans, they could tell how the test would be from past years and plan accordingly. Poor planning does not only affect the students but the teachers because teachers have to follow a curriculum blindly, they cannot teach their students how to anticipate an unexpected question. The best answer they can give is to try their best and pick the answer that makes the most sense.