What Are The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

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In today’s educational system the intelligence of a student is measured by their ability to understand and test on math, science, reading and writing. And in those results, show the “effectiveness” of teachers at each school. A standardized test is an examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined manner. The most common standardized test is the achievement test, which is used to measure the effectiveness of schools (Why Standardized…). Tests like this don’t take into consideration any outside factors and do not cover all the classes that we as students are required to take all throughout grade school and into higher education. Classes like history, art, and physical education are pushed aside and considered unimportant. Standardized tests, by the nature of being multiple-choice and strictly core classes, do not allow students to express themselves.
With the pressure to preform well on tests, subjects get slipped through the cracks and teachers start to teach to test. If students preform poorly on tests, that school is than in jeopardy of loosing funding and this could ultimately result in a change of administration. In 2001, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act was implemented, which set high standards and measurable goals and scores for all public education centers in America. This gave the federal government more say in what is taught and if schools fall behind they are able to intervene and take over. With NCLB now in play, teachers now are more focused on teaching to what will be on the test, rather than teaching for knowledge. This teaching to test method has immensely impacted subjects such as art, history, and PE that are considered less important by teachers. Educators now plan their curricula around state...

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...d accountable for the knowledge that is taught in their classrooms. The teaching of our nation's children is too important to be left in the dark. I recommend attempting to assess students' knowledge with skills, such as their ability to write effective essays, their ability to use lessons from history and relate them to current events, and their ability to solve appropriate level mathematical problems.
Lastly, in today’s competitive society it is so easy to fall through the cracks and be turned away for mistakes beyond our control. The prices of tuition and higher education are at an all time high, and universities don’t accept anybody off the street. Pre-requisites are required all throughout our educational career; these building blocks help us to become well-rounded and knowledgeable citizens. And these very building blocks are too, slipping through the cracks.

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