Standardized testing is any test that remains the same and is given in the same manner to all test takers. Standardized testing began in China as a part of job applications. They became more frequently used in the early 1900’s to determine an individual’s intelligence. The army used these tests to determine if soldiers were officer material. In 2000, Finland had the highest PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores in the world. Finland uses very little standardized testing compared to other countries. It has been proved that high performing countries (Finland, Japan China) do not use standardized testing. The controversy about if standardized testing was truly helpful and if it showed a true reflection of a student’s abilities, was more well-known after the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Nowadays, standardized testing is used throughout the world. Schools use standardized testing to measure a student’s academic performance. These tests are varied throughout different states and grades. Some school districts are beginning to believe these tests are not beneficial to their education, while other districts believe the tests are useful to their learning.
One pro of standardized testing is that it does not narrow down curriculum, but instead focuses on basic skills for students to master. Based on an article written by Education Policy Analysis Archives in 2005, sixty-one teachers in four Minnesota school districts believe that standardized testing is emphasizing critical thinking and removes the pressure on students to memorize everything. Standardized testing can still be helpful for students and parents. It gives students, parents, and administrators information on where improvement is needed in classes. Sinc...
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"Subscriber Area Only." CultureGrams Online Database:. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.Just a main site with sites about info for the essay DO NOT INCLUDE IN CITATION FOR ESSAY
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Takayama, Keita. "The “Finnish Boom” in Japanese Education." JSTO.com. Keita Takayama, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
"What's Wrong With Standardized Tests?" The National Center for Fair & Open Testing. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
"What's Wrong With Standardized Tests?" The National Center for Fair & Open Testing. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
Zalan, Kira. "The Problem With Standardized Tests." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 05 July 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.
Some may say standardized tests are a wonderful thing for schools to test their students but I'm here to tell you why they are bad. The standardized tests have too many problems that need to be changed. There is problems with how many are taken and they need to be fixed. There are too many problems with these tests and the government needs to modify them. So this essay will explain that standardized tests are bad and they need to be fixed, because kids take too many of them, countries who take less are outscoring us, and they are too low quality.
Kohn, Alfie. "Standardized Testing and Its Victims." Education Week. N.p., 27 Sept. 2000. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
Jasmine Evans, J. (2014). Problems with standardized testing | education.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Test_Problems_Seven/ [Accessed: 6 Feb 2014].
How standardized are standardized tests? In America, we strive to perfect them as well as give our students an education they deserve but at what cost? Standardized tests have been the easiest way to ultimately evaluate a student against every other student in America. However, standardized tests are not as great as they are made out to be. We need to take a step back and look at the faults of standardized tests. Quite simply: Standardized tests are not standardized.
"The Standardized Testing Debate: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly." TakePart. N.p., n.d. 22 Feb 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Standardized testing is a down fall to many students but also an opportunity for many others. Standardized testing has its pros and its cons. It can be the make it or break it factor into getting into colleges you are hoping to attend or the scholarships you want to earn. Some people may have their opinions about the test, whether they hate it or not but the fact is that it’s here to stay.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
Authors Amy Witherbee and Denise B. Geier of “Point: Standardized Testing is the best Way to Establish Education Standards” say, “Standardized tests are important, not for the testing, but for the standards. They are, in essence, a benchmark that when properly done, sets out for students, teacher, parents, and a nation, goals for the next generation” (1). Standardized testing can aid in measuring student success, but they are not always an accurate representation of a student’s knowledge or a teacher’s capabilities. The key phrase in their claim is “when done properly”, which is not something that is easily said or done. It is nearly impossible to ensure that the system is not being corrupt, or to prove that everyone is testing the same way, “standardized” or not. Some students are simply not good test takers. They could be the next Einstein, but when it comes to their ACT scores students may seem as though they lack basic knowledge. Other students may be master test takers but have no comprehension of what they are answering. Sure, they know the nucleus is the center of the atom, but do they know what that means? These tests are much less accurate than their supporters may
In the United States of America, Standardized testing has become a way of life for students and children, especially in public schools. Many argue that standardized testing does not measure the students as a whole, takes up valuable classroom time, and creates drastic mental health problems in students and teachers. In recent years, a controversy surrounding the idea of standardized testing has been brought forth as something that needs to be changed or adapted to the growing needs of today’s students and this can be examined when exploring the negative effects, the testing has had on society’s future.
What’s wrong with standardized tests? (2012). Fairtest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Retrieved from: http://www.fairtest.org/facts/whatwron.htm
Sacks, Peter. "The Toll Standardized Tests Take." National Education Association. 2000. Web. 2 July 2015.
Standardized testing remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.
Fairtest. (1990). Standardized Tests and our Children: A Guide to Testing Reform. Massachusetts: National Center for Fair and Open Testing.