Tests may be beneficial depending on the purpose of the test and the individual perspective. Most jobs today require for candidates to pass various tests, such as background checks, credit checks, etc. Some tests require for candidates to pass physical agility tests such as police officers. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out for certain jobs, which is where tests are a helpful indicator of the most qualified applicants. Driver’s license tests are necessary in order to drive legally, while also understanding the basic driving rules and the law. College admissions consider SAT/ACT scores as a reliable indicator of success. Others would say that good tests scores are earned through motivation, discipline, and hours of studying. All of the …show more content…
Such an idea is suggestive that tests can be biased. According to Reynolds and Livingston (2013), test bias is when a test yields systematic differences among the results and benefits a certain group (Reynolds & Livingston, 2013). Test bias is suggestive of inaccurate or biased results, due to individuals who may be at a disadvantage. For example, is the language of the test offensive to some of the test takers? (Reynolds & Livingston, 2013). Some test takers may get offended with the language used particularly, if they may be of a lower socioeconomic status, a certain culture, or considered to be a minority (Reynolds & Livingston, 2013). For example, Golden Rule Insurance Company et al. v. Washburn et al., 1984 contested that African Americans were experiencing differing probabilities, as on one side they had identical ability to the Caucasians, however, African Americans performed poorly, demonstrated a test bias (Schmitt, Hattrup, & Landis, 1993). Should an individual who does not really understand or speak English, have to take the exam in English? (Reynolds & Livingston, 2013). The answer varies depending on the purpose of the test. If the test is meant to test the individual’s progress in the English language, then there is nothing wrong with that. However, if there is no legitimate reason, then such a test should not be given in English as the results would not be accurate. What about individuals who may suffer from test anxiety? (Reynolds & Livingston, 2013). Individuals with a mental illness, such as anxiety are at a disadvantage as they may not perform to their full potential, due to a condition that holds them back from doing so. Also, to consider is that replicating the test, setting, and external environment consistently every time is nearly impossible and unrealistic (Reynolds & Livingston,
The lack of appropriate assessment strategies unfairly puts cultural and language diverse students at a disadvantage. These types of tests are geared towards assessing the majority of the population, not the minority. This poses a serious problem when trying to correctly identify students who may have learning or behavioral problems (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007).
This test is a great example of cultural bias. Cultural bias in teaching occurs when classroom instruction largely reflect the teachers cultural values and perspectives. Leading to a situation in which the students in the predominate culture group perform better than other culture groups in the class. In the United States, the culture that is predominating is the White European American group. Most textbook and standardizes test were created by White European Americans. The problem is our classrooms are composed of not only the dominate culture but also many other cultures. We as teachers need to make an effort to teach and test in such a way as to be inclusive to all cultures represented in our classrooms.
of decisions can and cannot be made on the basis of test data, and how should those decisions be made? What credentials, if any, are necessary to administer and interpret psychological tests? What rights do examinees undergoing psychological evaluation have? Public scrutiny of psychological testing reached its zenith in 1965 with a series of probing and unprecedented congressional hearings (see Amrine, 1965). Against a backdrop of mounting public concern about—as well as legal challenges to—psychological testing, many psychologists in the 1960s began to look anew at the testing enterprise. Beyond being a mere instrument of measurement, a psychological test was conceptualized by many as a tool of a highly trained examiner. The value of a particular
Standardized tests are biased to certain students whether it is race, or even how much money the parent(s) earn. According to Standardized Testing and Its Victims by Alfie Kohn, the tests are a lot easier for children coming from richer communities like Dublin for example, then Cleveland where funding is scarce (Kohn, 2000). It is not just a rich and poor battle it also is a battle with students and regional or language barriers. According to Uyen Zimmerman, my former math instructor from Dublin Coffman, explained English as a second language students interpret asked questions phrased strangely to them differently than a student whose primary language is English. For example, she said there was a question on the ACT that asked a question about folding pizza and an ESL student thought that it meant putting pizza into a folder. Another example is asking students about black ice when students in states such as Hawaii and Louisiana, have never seen or heard of black ice (Zimmerman, 2014). I agree with her completely. All standardized tests are playing with what the creators of the test think is a “standard” and testing all students across America with the exact same questions.
While psychological assessment can be useful, it is merely a tool that provides a piece of a puzzle when assessing individuals. Many things need to be considered in addition to psychological assessment to generate the most accurate results. No individual is exactly the same, therefore a standarized assessment tool will remain flawed. Cultural and linguistic differences are important to acknowledge and understand in efforts to reduce bias in assessment tools.
Racial preference has indisputably favored Caucasian males in society. Recently this dynamic has been debated in all aspects of life, including college admission. Racial bias has intruded on the students’ rights to being treated fairly. Admitting students on merit puts the best individuals into the professional environment. A university’s unprejudiced attitude towards race in applicants eliminates biases, empowers universities to harness the full potential of students’ intellect, and gives students an equal chance at admission.
These flawed tests are not truly able of measuring students how well students will perform in college as they are supposedly used to predict. A single test that students have to wake up for at six, seven in the morning on a Saturday and travel to some random location to take a difficult test should not impact the student's chance of getting into college, let alone predict how well they will
It is hard to say whether these tests are efficient in assessing a student’s knowledge. There have been studies done that shows how students perform contributes to a number of factors. Students are individuals just as adults and can easily slip up on a test, just as many adults have done because of numerous reasons. They suffer from stress, lack of sleep, how they are feeling, whether they ate, and many other reasons. “These influences most dramatically affect low-income students and students of color” (French, 2003). From the rise of immigration there have been tests (IQ and Stanford-Binet) that were used to sort and track students based on race and income. According to a study it has been concluded that these tests will continue to hinder the ability of Black and Latino students to graduate from high school (Orfield and Wald, 2000; Haney, 1999; McNeil, 2000).
The world is no longer concerned with educating whole human beings, but instead, it is focused on collecting “data.” “Standardized testing robs students and teachers of using their creativity and critical thinking. It holds everyone accountable for meeting this one standard when that is nearly impossible to do. It turns us into robots, dehumanizing both teachers and students.” (Gettysburg College, 1) Standardized test are given to schools by the government. The problem with that is that the government is not in the classroom with students every day. They do not know what the students need. Standardized testing takes away time from student learning experiences where they are not able to think critically or be creative. Standardized tests take place in an artificial learning environment. They are timed, students are not allowed to ask questions, use references, talk to another student, and they cannot even get up and move around. All of these things do not mirror the reality of the real world at all. These tests are reducing the richness of human experience and human learning to a number/ set of numbers. A student may have a deep knowledge of a particular subject, but receive no acknowledgement for it because their test score may have been low. Maybe if students could draw a picture, lead a group discussion, or make a hands-on project, they could show all the knowledge that they really have. They cannot do any of these things in a standardized test. As stated before, testing also creates “winners” and losers.” The “winners” get to move on with their life, but the “losers” often suffer from loss of self-esteem and the damage of “low expectations.” Standardized tests do not value diversity either. There are a wide range of differences in the people who take standardized tests. People have different cultural backgrounds, different levels of proficiency in the English language, different learning and thinking styles, different
Whatever the reason may be, many people, including Price, Kahl, and Ayers do not support standardized testing. These authors all have one opinion in common; they are all against testing for the sake of the children, because of the pressures kids already endure without the pressures of testing. They all claim that tests may be an unfair way to rank children in the world today due to: teachers not teaching children the right material in preparation for the test, family upbringing, and even worrying the children would affect the test results. As Ayers indicates, one single test could not determine where a child stands in the business world, due to the fact that the test analyzes specific topics on school and nothing about their personality or more personal traits.
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 of fairly scoring the increasing number of tests. Additionally, many students today are not native English speakers, and their capabilities could be grossly underestimated by these types of exams. Although President Bush is a supporter, many influential people are against this bill, including the largest teacher’s union in the United States, which has formed a commission in opposition to the President’s proposal.
A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to any number of factors, such as socioeconomic status, academic preparation, and educational opportunities; however, Steele (1997) pointed out that even when background factors are held constant, subsequent achievement remains lower for minority students. Moreover, much research in this area has focused on how African American students’ lack of motivation and negative attitudes contribute to their inferior academic performance (Ogbu, 1990); yet many Black students often report high educational aspirations (Fordham, 1996; Fine, 1991; Ogbu, 1987, 1990; Hauser & Anderson, 1991), even higher than White students of comparable class background (MacLeod, 1995). What remains certain is the urgent need to explain what accounts for the persistent academic underachievement of Black students.
Test taking is one of the most important things to have good skills at. Test usually have a significant effect on your grade. The more you are used to test and are prepared for different types of test, the better your grade will be. I know that when I take test, I get vary nervous and I cant concentrate, but when I have the feeling of being prepared for the test, I notice that I am not so nervous when I come to take it. You should always find time to improve your test taking methods, personally I try to devote one whole hour the night before a big test so I can remember a lot the next day. In school you will have various test that some will be easy and some will be vary difficult, you should always be mentally prepared to take whatever test they give you.
The tests help to speed up the process of hiring new staff in businesses. My thoughts prior attempting psychometric tests have changed; I now think they are key when hiring new employees, as having the best employees will lead to a successful business. Having attempted the tests, I now know what I need to improve on to ensure I have the best chances of employability. There are a number of resource available which I can use to improve my test performance and by practising I will know exactly what to expect when applying for placements and graduate jobs in the near
Personality tests tell a person a lot about why a person is who they have become. I believe that these test if taken truthfully can identify deficiencies that individuals can work on to benefit not only themselves but others in the organizations that they work in. Some models state that it is in human nature and chemicals that decided how a person acts but I believe it is based on life experiences and a personality can change as long as a person knows the deficiencies and works to change them.