Critiques express concern about standardized tests and insist that there should be some way to measure the excellence of students within the same context dictated by strict and uniform educational standard (Baker, 2006; Kohn, 2000). Experts, like Dr. Montessori, do not agree and counter that there are other methods that can be implemented to evaluate each child. They warn about instilling fear and anxiety in students and the consequences to their brain development (Kohn, 1999; Kunimura, 2010; Montessori, 1949; Myers, 2011). Instead they stress the importance of creating an environment that allows trial and error to maximize learning, to mimic real life situations. Proponents of the current educational system continue on and want to even deepen their Common Core Initiative, that strives to align the different state curricular into a unified whole, while basing it on the current school reform (Kohn, 1999; Ravitch, 2010). Scholars on the other hand are deeply concerned about this and refute that it disengages kids in schools and their learning. They argue that children, too, are diverse human beings, just like adults who are naturally different and that school curricular have to be flexible to allow for challenges each leaner brings along. In addition, they object and remind that children are not machines were one manual would do for all. They remind that children are born explorers and natural learners, educating this out of them deploys emotional instability, rejection and skepticism and achieves just the opposite.
Opponents then challenge that standardized testing is a objective means to evaluate comprehension and continue to hold onto the image that Common Core standards eliminate wasting time by focusing on the essential subje...
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...ychology. (Vol. 8, pp. 242-243). Bedford, St. Martin's: Worth Publisher.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2013). Pisa 2012 results. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm
Runco, M. A. (2009). Divergent thinking. In B. Kerr (Ed.), Encyclopedia of giftedness, creativity and talent (Vol. 1, pp. 252-253). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication.
Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and fife of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Rossier Staff. (2011, February 8). U.S. education spending and performance vs. the world. Retrieved from http://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/
Sir Robinson, K. (Performer). (2010, October ). Changing paradigms [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2eHNFeDeM
Runco, M. A. (2005). Creative giftedness. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 295-311). New York: Cambridge University Press.
In the text, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, author Diane Ravitch explores her ideological shift on school reform and the empirical evidence that caused this shift. Once a proponent and contributor of testing, accountability, choice, and market reforms, Ravitch’s support began to diminish as she realized that these current reforms were not viable options. She came to realize that the new school reforms focused entirely on structural and managerial adjustments and that no focus was given to actual learning.
Another major criticism of the “No Child Left Behind” deals with the implications of using a standardized test as means of assessing achievement.
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...
The ability for all children from varying walks of life to receive a well-rounded education in America has become nothing more than a myth. In excerpt “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch argues the government’s fanatical obsession with data based on test scores has ruined the education system across the country (107). In their eyes, students have faded from their eyes as individual hopefully, creative and full of spirit, and have become statistics on a data sheet, percentages on a pie chart, and numbers calculated to show the intelligence they have from filling out bubbles in a booklet. In order for schools to be able to provide a liberal education, they need the proper funding, which comes from the testing.
Do you like being bombarded with the stress of having to take so many tests? In 1845 the US brought standardized testing in the subjects spelling, geography, and math into public schools (Standardized Testing 1). Standardized tests were made to swiftly assess students abilities (Standardized Testing 1). The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 mandated testing in all 50 states. In the article, “Standardized Tests,” it states that “US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Blame of the decline in rates are on poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use
"The Standardized Testing Debate: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly." TakePart. N.p., n.d. 22 Feb 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.
Today, schools are making it a priority for teachers to follow the strict guidelines of a “one size fits all testing curriculum.” Educators must prepare students for the tests that could make or break their future. This curriculum is focused only on teaching students what they need to know in order to pass the test. “Because the test is based largely on the memorization of facts, teachers will have to teach their students these specific facts instead of teaching for deep comprehension and understanding of material.” (Martin, 309) As a result, students do not learn the true lesson. Although it is highly important that students pass “the test,” this strictly based curriculum is ignoring the important academic skills and fundamentals needed for their future, even beyond the years of high stakes testing; without these needed skills students will be left in the dark once they have graduated from high school. Students often learn on different levels and their educational requirements are not being met with the “one size fits all” approach. Those who create these tests tend not to include those who learn on a different educational level; rather their focus is pointed towards the money rather than on the success of all students. Children need to learn sk...
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
(Common Core State Standards Initiative) Many find flaws in the system such as Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post. Strauss points out in her article Eight Problems With Common Core Standards that the standards set by the Common Core should not be limited to school subjects, but should step outside the box and tie in real world scenarios. (Strauss) Strauss also says the lack of diversity in the curriculum puts students at a disadvantage because of the changing world around teachers should not be limited to teaching information provided by an initiative that makes students from all over the nation learn the same material. (Strauss) Strauss is especially skeptical of the Common Core’s preparation for standardized test as she says, “The Common Core Standards are a set-up for national standardized tests, tests that can’t evaluate complex thought, can’t avoid cultural bias, can’t measure non-verbal learning, can’t predict anything of consequence.” (Strauss) Strauss explains how the Common Core destroys any form of originality by stating; “The word “standards” gets an approving nod from the public (and from most educators) because it means “performance that meets a standard.” However, the word also means “like everybody else,” and standardizing minds is what the Standards
Runco, M. A. (2005). Creative giftedness. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 295-311). New York: Cambridge University Press.
This paper explores a few of the many alternatives to standardized testing within the education system. Also, this research helps the reader understand what standardized exams are, why they are used, and how educators can use other ways of assessing to “test” the children’s/students’ abilities throughout the year. Some of these substitutions may include personal portfolios, developmental benchmarks, and a variety of analyses on comprehension by recording different sessions. Furthermore, this exposition uses research from many different resources to support the importance, credibility, and objectivity of other assessment tools besides standardized test. By reading this composition, one will learn the pros and cons of uniform evaluation implementations and why it is important for everyone’s individual learning and development that standardized testing are no longer required.
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
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.
Although standardized testing is commonly used in most schools and educational intuitions nowadays, it does not measure a student’s intelligence. As such, standardized testing should be revoked because, not only is it an unreliable way of measuring a student’s performance, it also pressures educators and creates a grade conscious mindset. Schools should focus more on the development of students, rather than ranking them based on the grades they receive on a test. Not only are standardized tests an undependable way of grading, but also, it does not promote life skills the student will need when growing