Standardized Tests and Our Future Standardized tests are hurting our educational future. They were implemented for reasons such as evaluating teachers, schools, districts, and so forth, and to determine if students should advance to a higher grade. What standardized tests are actually doing is taking over students’ education. Different levels of the educational system are continuously requiring more tests to assess various objectives, without any evidence that these tests are benefiting students. The effects these tests are having on the education are crippling. Teachers are under a surmountable amount of pressure for their students to achieve high scores, since their careers are in the hands of them. Teachers are reverting to unethical practices to protect their careers. Valuable education time is lost with preparing for and taking of these tests. Students could advance their education further and quicker with less preparation and tests. These tests are not an accurate assessment of students’ abilities since they only assess few subjects. Comparing students’ on only a portion …show more content…
This is putting a lot pressure on teachers and is resulting in “Teaching to the Test”, which means they are spending a great amount of time teaching students only the objectives that they know will be on the test. This is only a small sample of what students should be taught throughout the school year. Another effect of these evaluations is the loss of effective teachers. A survey by NEA Today showed that nearly forty-five percent of teachers have or have contemplated leaving their profession. It is clear to see teachers’ evaluations need less emphasis on their students’ standardized test scores and more on their ability to teach. This would allow teachers to teach a wider range of objectives and be evaluated on their ability to teach and not their students
Standardized tests are unnecessary because they are excruciating to the minds of many innocent students. Each year, the tests get tougher and stricter until the students cannot process their own thoughts. The tests become torturous to the minds of those only starting in the world of tests. The students already battling in the war are continuing to fall deeper and deeper into the world of uncreativity and narrowness. As the walls narrow in on them, they are lost and unable to become innovative thinkers. Moreover, the implementation of standardized tests into the public school systems of the United States of America has controversially raised two different views –the proponents versus the opponents in the battle of the effectiveness of
Standardized testing has become a multi-million dollar business that has shown no substantial progress on the public school system across the nation. Our students and schools are being robbed of expressing creativity and critical thinking skills while major corporations are gaining more and more financial stability. Since the implementation of the harsh testing guidelines, it has forced
What once began as a simple test administered to students yearly to measure understanding of a particular subject has, as Kohn (2000) has stated, “Mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to swallow our schools whole” (p.1). Today’s students are tested to an extent that is unparalleled in not only the history of our schools, but to the rest of the world as well. Step into any public school classroom across the United States and it will seem as if standardized testing has taken over the curriculum. Day after day teachers stress the importance of being prepared for the upcoming test. Schools spend millions of dollars purchasing the best test preparation materials, sometimes comes at the cost of other important material. Although test
For many years, schools all around the United States of America have required students in their public schools to take standardized tests. These schools administer at least one standardized test per nine weeks or every semester. In some cases, these standardized tests determine whether a student is getting accepted into college, going onto to the next grade, or even attending special tutorings. In all these situations, the outcome of whether the student passes or fails the exams is dependant on their future. The future of these students is not only in danger, but the future of our nation is also on the line. Schools should remove all the use of standardized test. These tests give students something to worry about, but it also may cause these
Many forms of standardized tests are in place. There are some for college admissions, for state regulations, along with a variety of other types. The one thing they all have in common is that they are not the best way to educate students, don’t accurately indicate anything about the knowledge of the test taker, and take time away from more principal learning. Most tests are administered during school hours and given too frequently. Therefore, students are forced to miss instruction time and sit through
To achieve this goal, this paper is organized into five different sections, each explaining the viewpoint of different authors. In the first section, there’s an account of five important facts about the negative effects of standardized testing,the amount of information standardized testing really covers, student placement, important abilities that aren’t being found, the potential of tests, and the outcomes of these tests. The second section, discusses five distinct facts about how unnecessary standardized testing is and how radical it truly is, how standardized testing affects teachers, the competition involved, what test scores really reflect, what measures students take, and how scores affect improvement within teachers. The third section, discuss an account of five other different viewpoints about the psychological effects standardized testing causes, the time teachers waste teaching about these tests, the obsession
”Between pre-K and 12th grade, students take about 112 mandatory standardized exams" (washingtonpost). There are numerous negative effects following this shocking statistic that cause a stir with schools all over. For the majority of students, standardized testing is burdensome and loathed. Scores give an inaccurate representation of students' abilities and the system is often corrupt. They pose as a type of analysis that is designed to administer and record information in a consistent method. However, as years have passed, these commercially prepared tests have destroyed the idea of school being a safe learning environment. The stress of the test have also been found to push trusted educators to neglect the goal of maximizing each student to their full potential. Not only are millions spent on
Around 66% of Americans say the scores shouldn’t be used to evaluate teachers. Since the test scores don’t come back until the following year, the teacher has no time to teach what the students are struggling with. So if standardized testing doesn’t reflect student abilities,can’t evaluate teachers properly, and students don’t have the opportunity to learn what the are struggling with that school year then what is the point of standardized testing? Many people want to take away standardized testing and replace it with more
The clock ticks on, and the school day drags slowly. As the pencil hovers over the four answers, the student sighs heavily in distress. This is how many students feel while taking standardized tests. Standardized exams have been a major part of the American education since the mid-1800s. The use of the tests shot up after President George W. Bush signed a bill known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” on January 8, 2002. The act required all fifty states to have their students take the tests. Although, the purpose of the exams was to measure a student’s and their school’s academic improvement, but this idea is incredibly flawed. Many times the tests graded unwell and many people believe that the exams are a waste, which is just a few of the many reasons that students opt out each year. However, eliminating standardized tests from a student’s educational school year is necessary because the tests cause great stress, they are unfair and the tests
Standardized tests are bad for teachers and students alike, and affect many aspects of their lives negatively. For example, many teachers’ jobs can depend on their student’s scores on a standardized test, and so they “teach to the test” rather than ensuring that their students have a good understanding of the entire topic. The tests fail to measure student’s overall growth, and only determine each student’s proficiency at the time of testing. The large amount of stress that is placed on students and teachers by these tests negatively affects their mental and emotional health. Finally, standardized tests create disadvantages to those who do poorly on them, and these disadvantages can affect the rest of their futures.
Standardized testing creates a lot of stress on students and educators alike. Because of how much stress is put on them to prepare students for these tests, many excellent teachers quit their jobs everyday. In fact, in April, new federal data stated that 17 percent of new public school teachers leave their profession after four years due to stress and other reasons. Some teachers fail to teach students skills that go beyond the tests because they’re so pressured to get their students ready for these exams. This amount of stress can lead to feelings of negativity towards school and learning in general as well as cause negative health issues. Standardized tests places a large amount of stress on both teachers and students.
Understandably, it is commonly argued too many standardized tests are being given. The average student takes 112 standardized tests in their elementary through their high school career; it is equivalent to 8 standardized tests per year (Strauss 1). “Standardized Tests ProCon.org” released an article in 2016 about standardized testing and mentioned a study by the Brookings Institution, tests are supposed to be a measure of student performance; the study suggested standardized tests taken on a yearly basis improvements were only temporary and didn’t impact long-term learning (1). Studies have looked at testing practice of schools located in big cities and protests started about the exams. After a study, there was a national opt-out movement of students opting out of mandatory standardized testing. After this opt-out movement, Common Core standards fueled the fire because teachers started refusing to administer giving standardized tests; they were also begging their schools to inquire change for their state’s testing requirements. The concerns of too much standardized testing is turning into a live political issue, which may turn into a complete movement.
Standardized tests are attempting to evaluate teachers, and even schools based on how well their students are doing on standardized tests. This is considered wrong because there are many other ways to assess the creativity and knowledge of a teacher or a school. Rob Montgomery, a teacher, feels as though standardized tests are not working well for many people. “Additionally, no
Standardized testing is the pinnacle of the educational system in America. Education is amongst the most important things in the United States. It can determine where students go to college, what kind of job they secure, and their future. When discussing standardized testing there are many differing opinions because it is a controversial subject. The position of this paper is that standardized testing hurting our educational system. There is so much emphasis on test scores that students will take risky chemical substances or cheat; in addition standard tests have not been written by the top minds in our country and students are wasting hours that could be better spent elsewhere.
It used to be that one week within the school year children dreaded. The paper and pencil exam that would determine their fate of progress for the next year; now has been turned into weeks or an entire month long of missing class and staring at computer screens to take tests. Standardized testing are used in schools as a way of figuring out benchmarks for students and teachers. These types of evaluations are used to see the progression throughout the year. With the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001 by President Bush; was the starting appearance for Standardized Testing. These kinds of exams analyze a student’s ability to memorize; rather than expressing the student’s intelligence. Thus, giving teachers a curriculum to teach to the test, and not actually teach students the information the students need to learn. Standardized tests should not be heavily relied on because the exams don’t prove the students intelligence, and teacher’s jobs could be extremely affected.