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parents influence on children's education
overall effects of standardized testing
how does standardized testing affect students academic performance
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We frequently hear older generations complain about our generation. But the thing is, prior generations have set up our whole structural system. As early as 6 years old we have been a part of the regulations, schedules, and consequences that they put into place. But, what if that’s the point at issue?
However, it turns out, our schooling system for public schools has not changed in a 100 years, according to Encounter Books. “When our public education was created in the 19th century, its primary goal was to produce obedient factory workers to fill the new jobs being created by the industrial revolution. Industrial revolution schooling involved industrial revolution goals and industrial revolution methods, organization, standardization, and an overall assembly approach, but the needs of the 21st century are not the needs of the 19th century.” (Encounter) Public schools are underperforming. So a great deal of money is being put into the school system, but we ironically keep getting poorly educated kids out of them. The ways of teaching need to change over time as the needs change. Test scores have stayed at the same percentage since the 1970’s, yet there hasn 't been any action taken to fix mistakes. The fault is not a shortage of money it is a shortage of value.(Encounter)
An individual 's brain can differ from the rest as much as the variety of sizes differ in an age group. “We argue that one-size-fits all assessments disadvantages students who are English Language Learners, in the USA, as well as students with limited economic resources, special needs, and not reading on grade level.” (Eric) You might wonder how standardized testing got started. Well these types of tests appeared once legislation passed No Child Left Behind. Th...
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... to afford the best tutors. It is not that wealthy students are smarter than poor students, but they have an advantage because of their wealth.” (Zakarin)
“The national institute of mental health reports that anxiety in children and young adults has been increasing since the 1950’s. The increase in standardized testing may contribute to this.” (Buzzfeed) Most of a person 's young life revolves around school. It is placed into our minds that if we put our hearts and souls into our work we will get into an exceptional school with an exceptional career. But, that is not regularly the case. They are important to an extent, but we shouldn’t obsess over it. 40% of parents feel like their students exhibit levels of school related stress. “The SAT is bad because it measures how well you can take a test rather than how much intelligence you actually have.” (Buzzfeed)
The American school system is no stranger to criticism, but everybody seems to have a distinct idea of what should be done to improve it. It was not too long ago that we had no public schooling system at all. A man would change that forever, immortalizing himself as the “father” of American education. It was surprising to me that I had never heard of this man, especially considering I had finished my journey through free and compulsory education two years ago. The man who went on to change American education, was Horace Mann, the first Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Horace Mann tirelessly campaigned for the public to be educated, heralding it as a “great equalizer.” So why is the gap between social classes rising exponentially? There are fundamental issues holding us back from fulfilling Horace Mann’s dream of an education system which empowers citizens by leveling the playing field for everyone, including pedantic policies, a limited curriculum, and standardized testing.
Reforms in education always occur when the educational system is in a period of unrest or crisis. Century after century show how hotly debated this topic is. Moreover, individuals, including, business leaders, parents, school boards and presidents feel they have the right ingredient to solve the problems of our educational system. It is unfortunate, but history is repeating itself, and we are now in a period of crisis in the education system in the 21st century (Tyack and Cuban, 1995).
A child’s first day of school is often viewed as a rite of passage; the first step on the road to a happy and successful life. This is true for most children from affluent families who live in the best school districts or can afford expensive private schools. But what if a child’s first day of school is nothing more than the first step on the road to poverty and possibly even illiteracy? The documentary Waiting for “Superman” addresses many issues in a failing school system and the innocent children that system leaves behind. Although the documentary spends little time suggesting parents’ roles in their children’s education, it clearly shows that we must make changes to help children from low-income families and improve the teacher’s unions.
High-stakes standardized testing greatly impacts the environment in which students learn. When such a huge emphasis is placed on these tests and scoring well on them, it often creates, in excess, unnecessary anxiety and stress. In Florida alone the number of different standardized tests given to students spanned across kindergarten through 12th grade has increased to over sixteen. Often students are faced with the harsh realization that not scoring well can mean the difference from a pass and fail grade. That kind of pressure can lead to a complete shutdown of their learning. Although students are heavily impacted by the pressure and anxiety that accompanies standardized testing, they are not the only ones. Teachers not unli...
To respond to the statement made by Kozol regarding the nature of public school in America, one must consider the question of what exactly education is for in this country; what is it's purpose. I believe that education is used to produce what Kozol refers to as "good citizens:" "defeated, unprovocative" people that will fill the necessary jobs, pay the necessary taxes, and perform all the other duties put forth by the government such as voting and jury duty. This is why the situation in America's public schools has not changed since the time Kozol wrote The Night Is Dark..., and why things will probably not change without a revolution within the public school system.
Do you like being bombarded with the stress of having to take so many tests? In 1845 the US brought standardized testing in the subjects spelling, geography, and math into public schools (Standardized Testing 1). Standardized tests were made to swiftly assess students abilities (Standardized Testing 1). The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 mandated testing in all 50 states. In the article, “Standardized Tests,” it states that “US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Blame of the decline in rates are on poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use
The Ontario school system dedicates a great deal of the high school curriculum towards preparing students for University. Ontario high schools provide students with many courses that will help prepare the students that decide to go on to post secondary education. However, the Ontario School System lacks in preparing them for the most prominent aspect of University, stress. The Ontario school system does not prepare students for any of the on coming stresses which will be the number one factor in a students success or failure at University.
Since elementary school, students have been sharpening their No. 2 pencils, preparing to fill in the bubbles on their standardized tests. To younger children, these tests aren’t a very big deal. But little do they know that the tests they take in elementary school are practice for the biggest test they will take in their lives. This test is the ACT, or the SAT. These tests are a huge deal. Students’ results on these tests could change their plans for the future, and that’s a lot of pressure. So are these tests really all that they are made out to be? Are they really that important enough to stress about so much? Many people have started to say that standardized tests are hurting American schools, and that they put too much pressure on students.
His hands are shaking, his palms are sweaty, he is afraid his heart is about to beat out of his chest. The rectangular thing is placed in front of him. A bead of sweat drips from his forehead. he wipes it away. Soon after that he faints. This is all because of a simple rectangular piece of paper that has the words standardized test written on it in big, bold, black letters. These are just some of the signs of test anxiety, all so teachers, schools, and students can be compared to one another. Standardized testing is wrong and uneducational. Some would ask why this is erroneous, when the schools get money if the students do well on these tests. This is amiss because of three simple reasons. One, standardized testing does not work. Two, standardized tests only measure a small portion of why makes education meaningful. Finally three, standardized testing causes severe stress in younger students.
As child growing up some of the frightful memories include a visit to the dentist; an evil man with scary drill whose solve purpose is to hurt you or the first day in elementary school you finally leave all behind the cozy classrooms and nap times of kindergarten and enter the big leagues. All of these are considered a cakewalk compared to standardize testing. Since the start of elementary school students in the United States are taught to test. In many instances students are held back or placed in remedial classes because of lower grades. But many don’t realize that some students are not great at testing taking and because of the lower grades some educators believe that these students are lower achievers. This leads to lower self-esteem and encourage students to drop out in later years. Also students are forced to memorize information merely as facts without sparking their creativity or enhancing their knowledge.
People assume that standardized tests are a good way to compare performance levels of various students from different schools and locations. Without standardized exams, this would not be possible. What supporters do not know is that standardized tests are an unreliable way of measuring the success of a student. “Proponents of traditional intelligence testing argue that it is still the most accurate and useful way to measure human mental ability...advocates say...that such testing is scientifically valid and can aid research efforts in fields such as education and psychology.” (“Intelligence Testing” pg.2).This quote shows that some people believe standardized tests are a good way to measure a students mental abilities. While standardized tests
Test anxiety or stress can impair students’ academic performance on standardized tests and thereby hide their true abilities and strengths. Anthony Pasquale quotes, “… Intensive standardized testing not only causes stress in students but may undermine learning," wrote Daniel Edelstein in an article for Brain Connection. “Stress is the body's general response to any intense physical, emotional or mental demand placed on it." Stress undermines learning because it affects the way one thinks. Tests stress some people out in a harmful way, and what happens when stressed out students take tests? Normally not good results…” The education system is putting too much emphasis on testing and not seeing the consequences on student’s mental health. I am personally affected by standardized tests because these tests potentially determine my future. I experienced anxiety, severe panic attacks, and headaches because I was stressed thinking about the tests or simply not concentrating while taking the tests. I know my education has a power to determine my future through the years coming, but I am exhausted at the fact that a grade on the tests determines my
Students and teachers both can have anxiety about testing. Teachers can be worried about the students’ performance on a test – a test that does not measure a student’s intelligence unless the student is good at taking tests. A student might be a gifted musician, artist, or athlete, but if they do not pass a standardized test, they are considered unfit for most colleges. Moreover, since the test is so important and they do not want to fail, students might be nervous while taking this test and because of this, they might not perform as well as they could. Also, a student’s self-esteem and self-worth can be lowered if they do not do well on a standardized test. This can be for two different reasons. One, a student might have thought they had done better on the test and the results could not be what they expected and they could feel like a failure. This can cause a student’s self-esteem to be lowered. Two, they might become worried about their future if they don’t receive a high score. There are many students who have the pressure of their family to do well and if they do not, they might become depressed. Even President Obama thought that standardized testing was not a good way to do things. Taken from an article written by Jonathan Glover (2016) of The
Standardized tests can’t measure initiative, creativity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes. What they can measure and count are isolated skills, specific facts and function, the least interesting and least significant aspects of learning. Bill Ayers
Too much time is being devoted to preparing students for standardized tests. Parents should worry about what schools are sacrificing in order to focus on raising test scores. Schools across the country are cutting back on, or even eliminating programs in the arts, recess for young children, field trips, electives for high school students, class meetings, discussions about current events, the use of literature in the elementary grades, and entire subject areas such as science (if the tests cover only language arts and math) (Kohn Standardized Testing and Its Victims 1).