The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency. Cheating can be a common routine in a classroom—from copying work on homework to copying answers on a test. “Cheating by teachers and administrators on standardized tests is rare, and not a reason to stop testing America's children” (Standardized Tests). This statement is proved false by the fact that thirty-seven states have been caught cheating by “encouraging teachers to view upcoming test forms before they are administered” (“FairTest Press Release: Standardized Exam Cheating in 37 States And D.C., New Report Shows Widespread Test Score Corruption”). If teachers can view a test before it is administered, they can teach to the test so that their students’ scores are higher. Teachers who have viewed the test can then “drill students on actual upcoming test items” (“FairTest Press Release: Standardized Exam Cheating in 37 States And D.C., New Report Shows Widespread Test Score Corruption”). This is morally wrong since teachers who do not have the access to an actual test or those who refuse to view it do not know what would be on the test and cover a broad domain of material, not just specifics. Even with material being taught incessantly, standardized tests can not accurately measure a student’s ability. The tests are “single-target—meaning that every student, no matter what level of achievement or ability, course selection, or cu... ... middle of paper ... ... Open Testing. N.p. 27 March 2013. Web. 18 March 2014. . “NCEE>>Finland: Instructional Systems.” NCEE. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 March 2014. . Phelps, Richard P. “Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System.” Standardized Tests. N.p. 1 November 2013. Web. 20 March 2014. . "Standardized Tests - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. . Tung, Stephen. “How the Finnish school system outshines the U.S. education.” Stanford. N.p. 20 January 2012. Web. 21 March 2014. .
Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.
This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far outweighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schools function, but instead they have impaired the natural learning ability of students and imposed upon the judgment of experienced educators. Although a means to evaluate the progress of public schools is necessary, it is also necessary to develop more modern and effective ways of doing so. Standardized testing mandated by the federal and state governments has a negative effect on the education of America’s youth.
“Students are taking between ten and twenty standardized tests, depending on the grade. A total average of one hundred thirteen different ones by graduation.”(Locker) A few years ago the United States, along with other nations, was given a test to assess the academic strengths and weaknesses of each nation and rank them accordingly. When the results were released and the United States was ranked near the bottom, it was decided to start incorporating more testing through school. Between benchmark, TLI, PARCC, and common core standards, teaching technique was forced to change. Standardized testing has had a negative effect on teachers and students, implementing inadequate grading standards and the common core curriculum, such testing has made
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of handing them a packet. There’s kids in here that don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face. I’m telling you what you need to do. You can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ‘em.” Texas student, Jeff Bliss, decided to take a stand against the lack of teaching going on in his class (Broderick).
Current educational policy and practice asserts that increased standardized student testing is the key to improving student learning and is the most appropriate means for holding individual schools and teachers accountable for student learning. Instead, it has become a tool solely for summarizing what students have learned and for ranking students and schools. The problem is standardized tests cannot provide the information about student achievement that teachers and students need day-to-day. Classroom assessment can provide this kind of information.
Since the release of the report by Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in December of 2010 many in the government and community are searching for ways to reform the American education system to give American students the greatest opportunity to succeed. According to the report, American students are not testing as high as other nations in the world (Duncan, 2010). There are many contributing elements that have brought America to her knees in the education system, however, the obsession with standardized testing is found to be one of the most influential downfalls.
The United States Breeding Organization is a major business organization to the masses.” The U.S. n Education Department arrangement is faulting and citizenry are scared for the future of their children. (Atlantic)” U.S.A. Is great an area and is known for its greatness, but its pedagogy is constantly failing. Teacher, parent, and students are the main reasons that America’s Education Department organization is failing. In the clause it state of matter,” The American system is supposed to prepare students, to help them know how to grip real world positions, and to mold them into better people.(PBS)”America's education system has been failing for many years, mainly because they do not have leading. In order for the system to improve and
If you are a student in some form of higher education institution, you might have gone through the scary phase of having to take a standardized test to apply for a college, a scholarship program or better still to complete the high school program. Normally good scores in these tests guarantees good scholarships or admission into an institution because the scores from standardize tests are used as a conclusive measure of one’s abilities. But due to the fact that these scores ignores years of hard work and commitment and focuses on just a test, it’s about time we acknowledge standardized tests are not an accurate measure of one’s knowledge.
Olivo 5 Julian Olivo Mr. Wiglesworth ELA Block 1 3-7-2016 Critical Issues of Failing Students in America How many students are reported to be failing in America? According to the U.S. Department of Education (2015), there are about 50 million students across America and 7,000 of them drop out of school each day as a result of academic lag. Moreover, students all over America are failing, thanks to the current federal, state, and local systems. In their high school years, many students begin or continue to fail their classes, and the United States Department of Education needs to do something about it. The nation needs to rebuild the federal, state, and local support systems for failing students.
Furthermore, these tests give quick access to the class’s progress for teachers; this helps teachers find the certain curriculum needed to be taught or retaught to the students. Data collected by standardized tests can allow for schools to change the following years curriculum to help students take the tests. Finally, standardized test punish bad teachers for bad teaching and allows for easy replacement. Cheating on the standardized tests is not commonplace and no major scandal have recently
As students go through school they are taught in the major subjects such as math, literature, science, and test taking. Many teachers make sure their students know how to take a test, which is replacing time that could be spent on acquiring the knowledge necessary to answer the questions on their own. Harris, Smith, and Harris (2012) reinforce this by saying, “So by ignoring attributes that they can't properly assess, standardized tests inadvertently create incentives for students to become superficial thinkers—to seek the quick, easy, and obvious answer” (para. 12). It is quite common that students will use tips and tricks to make the process of test taking easier, which wouldn’t be a problem but, the students are now depriving themselves of truly knowing how they answered
Alfie Kohn, author of The Case against Standardized Testing, recalls a specific incident of how children are being cheated out of valuable class time. He states that a school in Massachusetts used a remarkable unit, for a middle-school class, where students chose an activity and extensively researched it, and reported or taught, it to the class. This program has had to be removed from the course curriculum in order to devote enough time to teaching prescribed material for their standardized tests.
Put yourself in a high school students shoes. Your main focal points are to do well in school, get good grades, learn new things, make memories, and to have fun. Though many schools place a fun and constructive learning environment over a stressful test based environment, some do not. Schools have made standardized testing their main focus instead of teaching students other equally important skills. ( ProCon. "Standardized Tests - ProCon.org.) Many schools are so focused with test scores that they change their curriculum to include a large amount of test preparation. (ProCon. "Standardized Tests - ProCon.org.) Most schools across America rely heavily on ineffective overuse of standardized testing. The test can be very helpful, but not in intense and stressful situations. (Ravitch.151) Some schools place too much responsibility and accountability on the teachers and educators. (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. (Brill, Allie. "Standardized Testing Leads To Unnecessary Stress On Students, Teachers.") Standardized testing generally imposes harsh consequences that bring many different problems, which often lead to dishonesty and a narrow perception of education from students and educators. (Gatt, Jeneba. "Atlanta's cheating ways: S...
Scott Barry Kaufman, author of American Education and The IQ Test, says that when it comes to testing, “You're either gifted or you're not, for the rest of your life,” even though “‘human potential’ is a moving target.” My solution is to let students decide which classes they have, so they can prove themselves to be excellent students. In my school, those who wish to take AP courses are free to do so, despite previous test scores from state testing. Another argument is made by Bronwyn T Williams, who in Standardized Students: The Problems with Writing for Test instead of People mentions how standardized tests don’t always accurately measure how well a student does in school. He uses his twin boys as an example, stating that, “One son excels at taking standardized tests of all kinds by understanding the rhetorical structure of the questions and the institutional demands of the exam. The other, though in some ways a more powerful writer and just as strong a student in school, has always found standardized tests rigid and bewildering.” However, he also mentions that “standardized tests can be ‘gamed,’” meaning you can learn how the test is written in order to pass the test. I know from taking practice ACT exams that it takes effort to pass. So much in fact, that I believe that the tests do effectively see how well you can study for something. I’ve also noticed that most people who don’t do well for tests don’t study for them, leading them to have low scores, further proving that standardized tests test how much a student
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.