Standardized Testing In America

Getting an education is the main goal for everyone, although it is easy to obtain there are some obstacles to it. One of the main obstacles students face at the beginning of their education is standardized tests. Schools have started to adopt this type of tests as their main way to evaluate students’ intelligence and teachers’ effectiveness to educate the students. The way students used to learn has changed, in order to get them ready for the tests they have to spend much of the school time preparing for it instead of learning something they can use in their future life. According to Bruce Jacobs in No Child Left Behind's Emphasis on 'Teaching to the Test' Undermines Quality Teaching, a 2007 study by the University of Maryland teachers were put in much pressure and had thoughts to teach the test […]. This shows that teachers have also been affected by standardized tests in a way they have more pressure to make students pass. Having teachers ‘teach the test’ means their way to educate has been corrupted. In most cases when teachers’ ability to educate has been changed leads them to practice methods not convenient for scholars. One of these methods is memorization, in Relying on High-Stakes Standardized Tests to Evaluate Schools and Teachers: A Bad Idea by Hani Morgan describes how students start to adapt to an “inferior type of learning, based on memorization and recall students gain when teachers

This idea of teaching to the test is a complete waste of educational time, that is spent preparing students for this extremely important test, that could be time going into learning things that will prepare students for college and life after college. The reason teachers do this is because they are under such pressure from the school districts to have good scores on these tests, due to the increase in funding to schools that do well and the lack in funding to schools that do poorly, that they can only find the time to prepare for these standardized tests instead of “teaching students skills that go beyond the tests”

Teachers “teaching to the test” is something I recall from my childhood. The prevalence of standardized tests obviously wasn’t to the degree that it is in today’s education system, but I distinctly remember occasionally being told that the sole reason for learning something was because it was going to be on the test that we had to take at the end of the year; and I remember consciously and actively hating it. I was always the kid who enjoyed school and, to me, learning information or skills that no one could explain the purpose of beyond its importance on the test was just taking time away from other, more beneficial, more interesting topics. Now, as an adult and future teacher, I can see that I was not alone in these thoughts.

Standardized testing usage in the United States has increased since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2002. The purpose of these exams is to assess the skills and knowledge a student should be receiving from school. These tests occur annually, and often have high stakes for the students being tested. However, despite all the testing, the United States is ranked 20th globally in terms of its education system. On the other hand, Finland has been 1st since the year 2000, and their use of standardized testing is practically nonexistent. Do tests accurately assess a student’s performance? Studies show that testing does not properly measure the value of the education a student receives, and often tests discriminate against students who are

Students today have an impeccable ability to absorb information from their teachers and books, and spit it out onto a bubble sheet. Standardized testing provides a platform for students to show off their ability to recite the information which has been drilled into their heads over and over again, rather than actually getting to know the material they’re learning about. Many colleges understand how standardized test scores are misleading in terms of predicting student success. They are biased, and they can only measure one type of learning. Every student has different needs and abilities, because in education, one size does not fit all. Many students struggle with standardized testing, and therefore, develop serious mental illnesses from the stress these tests put on them. America can learn from other countries who do not implement standardized testing, or those who do so sparingly. Giving students the opportunity to exhibit their learning through creative means can be far more effective than forcing students to memorize things they simply do not care about. Standardized testing is ultimately ineffective in improving instruction and student performance, and could be enhanced by allowing students to learn without the pressure of passing a test.

Over the many years, education in the United States has been a source of meaningful issues; including the fact of students learning adequately and mastering specific subjects and more importantly, the wonder if America is assembled for a better and bright future since school had been financed by the government. Since 2001, debating over the standardized tests in American education due to President Bush’s introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act has been a significant issue in the American education since the federal government provides money for educational purposes based on test scores and if educational institutions fail to meet the requirements of improvement. Consequently, schools will not be reinforced by funding; in other words, there is a link between the financial aid and educational goals. What I hope to prove to the audience is that funding should not be established

Under No Child Left Behind, standards and assessments rest tightly at the national education policy, and remain as the strongest force on policy and practice. Despite the importance of high-stakes testing to improve America’s public education system, there have been numerous effects on schools, teachers, and even the students.

Should high school students be forced to take Standardized test before awarded their high school diploma. In my opinion students should not be tested from a Standardized test that will affect their in negative way. I feel very strongly about this subject and don't believe the Standardized test should even be aloud. The test are privately own and are all profit for private companies, which is morally wrong in my opinion. People should be given their diploma solely on their grades and progression through schooling. There's a lot of mental tare on students who overstudy and still get a bad/ low score on the test especially since the test cost a good amount of money and then if you have to take them over multiple times it affects you mentally

Research shows that the use of standardized testing has spanned centuries, some of the earlier studies include data from the early 1900’s. According to Frazier (2009), “there is a significant difference in scores on standardized tests when students have completed a technology education program”. This study shows a correlation between the use of technology within the school system and achievement on standardized tests. Students that are exposed to technology education are more likely to do well on standardized tests.

This influences other individuals to also memorize and prepare for a test for the wrong reasons. By not actually comprehending and digesting the material being studied it leads the students to forget the information after an exam or test thus struggling to remember the information when needed in a work environment. Those who do not have strong memorization skills will sometimes resort to other methods in order to achieve a higher mark than others. Would you rather have an employee who got a scored high on a test because he cheated or an employee who obtained a lower test score but truly understands the material overall? Guaranteed almost all employers will want to hire the employee with the most knowledge, but the only resource the employer has are the test scores to determine a suitable employee. The employer will never know if an individual had cheated or if a capable individual just had a bad day. For example, in India every grade ten student must write a “break it or make it” exam that determines the future of their education. Due to the high pressure to do well, friends and family members scaled the school walls to help the students cheat (Off and Douglass, 2015). With the importance of standardized tests rising, the pressure and stress

Intelligence is not standard anymore. In fact, few schools truly understand how to effectively teach a variety of students the curriculum for their future careers. Therefore, to encompass every student’s needs, schools are obligated to prepare students to be ready for college and their careers. To receive funding, the state requires standardized tests to be implemented in the schools. Naive policy makers believe it is essential to prepare for an exponential amount of time for these tests; however, unbeknownst to these policy makers that the outcome of the students through this rigid system is not actually preparing students for their future; consequently, it just forces students to barely survive school without getting much benefits out of

High-stakes tests often known as standardized tests, are assessments composed of similar questions, taken under similar conditions and scored in the same matter. Standardized testing is used to allocate budgets, craft policy, and determine student placement. Ever since the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, standardized testing has been at the vanguard of education debate. The accentuation of testing has been placed as a means of measuring the quality of students, teachers, and schools. Though these changes are frequently meant to aid under-performing students, there are unintended effects on high performing students. This act has stirred controversy, a number of papers have been written and research has been conducted focusing

If one thing should change in school districts all around the United State it should be the horrid semester exams every student and teacher dread. An English teacher in Corvallis High School named Mr. McConnaha said, “taking a test is testing how well someone can take a test.” That sentence is true in every aspect. Caring students study for hours the night before tests, go into class, take the test, leave class and forget everything they just tested on.

The use of the standardised test in the United States didn’t become common in secondary education until the 1980s when several governors argued that testing students in schools was necessary to raise school standards. This would be expanded upon several decades later with the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB) which required that annual testing in math and reading be implemented into the teaching curriculum; while at the same time mandating that students

Educational tests are used throughout school systems in the Unites States as a way to measure if a student has retained the knowledge he/she has learned. There are other options with the way of testing if a student has learned the information. Students work the whole year to end up with a good grade only to find out that the end of the year test could bring it down dramatically. Educational testing is an inaccurate way of testing if a student has retained information throughout the year and rather than relying on testing data; Teachers and school boards should base how much a student knows by what they have completed throughout the year.