The Negative Effects of High-Stakes Tests

Studies have proven that testing is not beneficial to a student’s educational growth. Testing in high school is affected by different factors; therefore results can be unreliable and not beneficial to the growth of students. A well created test can measure learning and diagnose a student’s weakness (Merrow, 4). In testing, the idea is for the student to get the correct answer on information they know and incorrect answers on the information they do not. However, a testing error may occur.

Cheating and teaching to the test do not allow for all around learning. Also students that are not ready to take the same tests as others provide inaccurate results about the students. When the United States switches to and evaluative standard that is based on conceptual learning, problem solving, and real life application skills, this will be an accurate way of measuring a student’s intelligence.

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

Do standardized tests really improve the quality of public education? For years they have been used to judge schools' academic performance and assess the needs of students. No longer can illiterates be graduated from high school. No longer can teachers pass a student from one grade to another without having taught that student anything (Spellings). While these advances are beneficial, standardized exams often hurt already disadvantaged schools, promote states to lower their standards of education, and cause schools to focus more on the exams themselves rather than on their students' actual learning (Karp).

In the United States, standardized testing is used to measure how knowledgeable or unknowledgeable a person is in a particular subject. Standardized tests are exams designed to measure a student’s scholastic performance. These tests are a controversial issue, because some people feel the test do not show the students’ intelligence. I am one of these people. What the test may cover may not be what the students have learned in class.

An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests. He claims, “Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don’t already know” (Jouriles, Greg). He also goes on to explain that one’s test score isn’t reliable and that we should trust the teachers when grades are published. A school system can accurately judge the students in the school on what they are good at better than the standardized tests do. They can break down many different aspects of what students need to improve on and what they are already knowledgeable of.

Is this test a true reflection of a students knowledge? A student’s academic level and future should not be determined by a 105 question test on reading and mathematics. As an alternative to taking these tests, students should have a comprehensive end of the year exam in each subject area covered throughout that year. Standardized test result in teachers who teach to the test, therefore not accurately measuring student’s knowledge, but instead measuring a student’s test taking ability. Meanwhile, students in other countries taking alternative assessments other than Standardized test excel above academic levels of the United States.

Some reasons why grades should be replaced are bad grades can hinder a child’s performance, grades define who a student is in the classroom, and grades are not an effective way to see if students have learned the material. The current grading system should be upgraded and every school should incorporate the plus/minus system in their method of grading. The public high schools began a grading system as a way of telling an individual how they were performing. There was no interest by the public in reporting the school’s progress at teaching. Teachers, in an effort to recognize outstanding performers, looked for a way of rewarding hard-working students for their efforts The grading structure changed from superior and excellent to A’s and B’s.

School Districts in Washington State should remove the requirements of standardized testing. The tests that are taken are not a valid way of showing a student’s complete abilities that are showcased in class. The way that the tests are all the same and some students have only learned some of the materials because of the classes that chose to take in high school don’t teach everything that is on the test. Taking these tests are putting a toll on high school students and causing them stress and anxiety. Standardized testing does not let students show how capable they truly are.

We have somehow made the “assumption that test scores equal student achievement [and]…that test scores predict success in life” (Harris 23). If a test could be used to determine a human’s success, then many great leaders of our nation’s past would not have contributed inventions, scientific findings, or other essential ingredients to our everyday life in the present. Students’ self-worth is being destroyed daily simply because they are not as good at memorizing information as their fellow classmate. Also, school districts use test results as an outlet to claim that they have the smartest and most intelligent students. Teachers are observed and judged by their students’ test scores instead of their ability to walk into a classroom and get students excited about learning.