Standardized Tests Should Not Be The Standard - 1321 Words

I’ve always done exceptionally well on standardized tests. Whether it was the WKCE, the PSAT, or the SAT, I excelled at multiple choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests. When it came time for me to take the ACT, I knew going into it that I had that test in the bag. I came out with much better than average scores, scoring a 28 on the overall test, much better than most of my peers. Though math was never my strongest subject in high school, I had still managed to pull a score of 25 on the math section of the test. When I got to college, I was put in the normal, freshman level math class. My roommate, who had scored only a 20 on the math section of her ACT, was in Statistics, which is a slightly harder class. I thought I had my class in the bag.†¦show more content†¦This focus on only a few subjects will have detrimental effects on the well roundedness of the education students receive. Teaching to the test also causes teachers to spend less time on more creative parts of the c lassroom. If there is something that the teacher thinks is important and will help the students grow as people, but it won’t be on the test, the teacher has no incentive to talk about it. Because of the high stakes of and pressure to succeed on Standardized tests, many students, teachers, and even school administrations have resulted to cheating to improve their score. In the movie The Perfect Score, a group of students steal the answers to the SAT because they are all so desperate to get good scores on it and get into the schools they want to go to. In it, one of the characters says (in reference to stealing the answers) â€Å"It’s a victimless crime† (). This shows how students are willing to do whatever it takes to score well on these tests, since the stakes are so high. They also don’t think that cheating on these tests has a negative effect on anybody else, causing them to cheat more often. In Atlanta during the 2012-2013 school year, a cheating scandal was uncovered that turned out to be one of the biggest cheating scandals in recent history. In the past 10 years, Atlanta had shown some of the biggest improvements in any district in test sco res. After the scandal was discovered, there was no way of measuring how much the schools hadShow MoreRelatedStandardized Tests Are Not A Fair1709 Words   |  7 PagesEssay One Standardized tests have been around for a very long time, and they are probably going to be around for a long time to come. Testing students does provide information about a school district, student, and teacher, but it is definitely not the entire picture. Everyone would probably agree that the results of one test would not be a fair evaluation of the student. In order to fairly evaluate a student, grades, tests scores, and progress should all be considered. Teachers should be evaluatedRead More The Controversy of Standardized Testing Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesControversy of Standardized Testing â€Å"No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning† (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents ExamsRead MoreStandardized Testing Essay examples1573 Words   |  7 PagesStandardized Testing Every year thousands upon thousands of children, ages seven and upwards sit down to take their scheduled standardized tests. This generation has been classified as the most tested in history. Its progress through childhood and adolescence has been punctuated by targets, key stages, attainment levels, and qualifications (Stalin in School 8). Each year the government devises a new standard and then finds a way to test how each student measures up to this standard. TheyRead MoreStandard Based Learning And Its Impact On Education1371 Words   |  6 PagesStandard based learning has led to the demise of public education for years. Standard based learning is an educational system that measures students’ achievement and mastery of skills by their performance on assessments. Institutions that implement standard based learning use learning standards that explicitly describe what students should theoretically know and what lessons that educators should teach. The learning standards were created to define the adeptness of the students, ensure the retentionRead MorePublic Education and Standard Testing882 Words   |  4 Pages For students to be able to do well on standardized test they rely on their teachers. Several teachers interviewed said they spent hours of extra planning time and hundreds of dollars to create more interesting lessons. They said they must be supremely organized and strict enforcers of classroom rules. (Watanabe). Some teachers are pressured to the point that they make education all about the test and up to the test. The pressure to improve students test performance in California and across the countryRead MoreEssay on Standardized Testing a Failure in Education1335 Words   |  6 PagesStandardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. â€Å"High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving† (Kohn 7). â€Å"Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judgin g children, teachers, and schools.†(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public SchoolRead More An Examination of Standardized Testing Essay1592 Words   |  7 PagesDo standardized tests really improve the quality of public education? For years they have been used to judge schools academic performance and assess the needs of students. No longer can illiterates be graduated from high school. No longer can teachers pass a student from one grade to another without having taught that student anything (Spellings). While these advances are beneficial, standardized exams often hurt already disadvantaged schools, promote states to lower their standards of educationRead More Standardized Testing Essay example1558 Words   |  7 PagesStandardized Testing Every year thousands upon thousands of children, ages seven and upwards sit down to take their scheduled standardized tests. This generation has been classified as the most tested in history. Its progress through childhood and adolescence has been punctuated by targets, key stages, attainment levels, and qualifications (Stalin in School 8). Each year the government devises a new standard and then finds a way to test how each student measures up to this standard. TheyRead MoreIt’s Time to Abolish the ACT and SAT Essay1054 Words   |  5 Pagesgirl represents many students who are not successful at taking standardized tests because they have not developed the advanced skills required to take a test like the ACT or SAT. An academically motivated and responsible student should not be prevented from attending college because a standard test is not his or her standard. The current methods of testing for the ACT or SAT should be abolished and replaced with modified and less standard questions to better measure a students learning potentialRead MoreStandardized Testing and Curriculum Standards Essay1188 Words   |  5 PagesStandardized Testing and Curriculum Standards It cannot be said that all assessments are unnecessary and academically limiting for students. If teachers are to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses, they must formulate a way in which to assess their knowledge. In order to create a curriculum adherent to the most specific needs of a teacher’s class, assessment must play a role when devising the course of action for the academics taught. This does not mean that all standardized testing is