...The debate of standardized testing has been going on for some time now. A standardized test is any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, which makes it possible to compare the relative performance of individual students or groups of students. While different types of tests and assessments may be “standardized” in this way, the term is primarily associated with large-scale tests administered to sizeable populations of students. Standardized tests comprise a very important role in student’s education. Many children will take at least one standardized test every year, which means many teachers will spend significant class time on test preparation. The results can reflection the teachers' efforts as well as that of the students. In some states, standardized tests are the yardstick for determining whether a child gets to progress to the next grade level. Many parents want to know the purpose of standardized tests. The answer is that these tests help evaluate the performance of students, teachers, even whole school districts. The results provide information on a child's ability to learn new material, as well as his grasp of the material he's already supposed to understand. With that information, teachers can identify areas where specific students need more attention, while officials can identify the strengths and weaknesses...
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...Abolishing Standardized Tests Standardized tests should be abolished from schools. Standardized tests, like SOLs, are hurting students more so than they are helping them. These tests put a lot of stress on teachers and students. Test scores are used to show school improvement and how well the school is academically. Schools try to raise their test scores to make the school look better. In order to raise the scores teachers are being forced to teach to test. Teachers are only teaching students what they need to know to pass the test. These tests are forcing a curriculum and that is unfair for both teachers and students. There are many students who want to learn more and there are also teachers who want to teach more and go more in depth in a subject but they are unable to because they are required to just teach them how to pass a test. In class we hear our teacher say all the time, “...but you don’t need to know that it, it won’t on the test.” Many would think that standardized test is helpful to students because the main goal is to pass, and move up a level in school, but in reality students do not benefit from this at all because their sole purpose in learning these specific subjects are only by temporary memory. Standardized tests are so important in a students success in school. Whether or not the pass the tests determines if they pass the class. A student could do really well in class and then fail their test at the end of the year then in turn, fail the class. Not...
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...George W. Bush said in 1999, “I don’t believe in national testing. I believe that local folks ought to develop their own tests and their own standards because I strongly believe in local control of schools.”(website) With the passage of the bill No Child Left Behind in 2002, the Bush administration committed to making children’s education a priority in the new millennium. A standardize test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined way. With the examination of standardized testing in local schools, the main objective is to see how the national government implemented No Child Left Behind and how it changed education. In 2001, the arrival of George W. Bush administration brought a new education act called No Child Left Behind or NCLB. In NCLB, mandated that each state had until 2005-2006 to develop and...
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...2012 Standardized Testing Standardized testing is a controversy going on right now in our society. This test is a big debate between parents, organizations and teachers. The controversy is that the standardized testing is a narrow curriculum and that it does not show a student’s creative side and their critical thinking. Children grades 2nd thru11th have to take this test, but students from low-income and minority-group backgrounds are most affected by this standardized testing. This test is an unreliable measure of the student’s performance. I don’t agree with standardized testing because I want my own daughter to be seen for everything she is capable of not just what society thinks she should be. I don’t want my daughter to be categorized for being smart or not smart enough. The two sides debating this issue are those who believe standardized test scores provide a way to categorize students and those who believe that the test are not showing the true abilities of the students. The major disagreement is that one says the testing has had a positive effect on students and the other says that it has not improved the student’s achievements. They do share a common goal: to give our children the best education possible. In the 1960’s and 1970’s this testing became a problem because it showed favoritism towards wealthy white people and showed unfairness to the poor and also African Americans. Because of that the testing wasn’t given. Then in the 1990’s...
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...you are born. At only one minute old, you are given your very first standardized test, the Apgar, which rates your activity, pulse, grimace, appearance, and respiration. At five minutes old you are tested again, and if you score between 7 and 10, you are considered normal. As a society, we strive for normal and anything that differs is cause for further scrutiny. When you begin elementary school, standardized testing begins. In kindergarten, my numbers and scores fell into the “below normal” range, so I was flagged for more in-depth testing. The long process of public school educational evaluations and scoring began. But ultimately, what would these scores and numbers mean for me and my future? It meant that I would have to work harder to succeed. Because some things are more of a struggle for me, it only makes me more determined, and more imaginative in the solutions I find to the problems that I face. With hard work and perseverance, I’ve progressed from an elementary and middle school student...
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...Standardized Testing The world is getting less intelligent, in regards to grammar and speech. The invention of spell check and grammar check has diminished the importance to properly learning grammar and punctuation. Students aren’t as worried about sentence structure or grammar because Word programs have built in features to correct them. Their papers are spelled properly, sentences properly structured without even realizing there was a mistake to begin with. It has defeated the purpose of a rough draft, if the first version of the paper is “perfect.” And annual Standardized testing was mandated in 2002 after the No Child Left Behind Act, when US students fell in math and science in world rankings. These program features and tests contribute to the students’ decline in a number of ways. By offering “multiple choice”, students’ understanding or ability to properly structure a paragraph or an entire essay isn’t being tested, their ability to recall information is. While being able to memorize things is helpful, it’s of no help long term. English and composition classes in higher education institutions will expect students to be able to demonstrate their understanding. “State assessments in mathematics and English often fail to capture the full spectrum of what students know and can do…. Students, parents, and educators know there is much more to a sound education than picking the right answer on a multiple-choice question” (Problems with Standardized Testing). Students are being...
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...Standardized Testing To write a good informative paper, writers need to have three basic criteria in their paper: examples, statistics, and credibility. Right now the big concern in the education system and amongst school administrators deals with the issue of standardized testing. In Don W. Hooper’s 2001 paper on “Accountability for Student Success” published by the American Association of School Administrators, he states that if planned properly the accountability system can greatly improve education. Later in time Childhood Education published Bobbie A. Solley’s 2007 paper “On Standardized Testing: An ACEI Position Paper” which states that the test only focus on what they need to know for the government test instead of actually learning critical thinking and problem solving. Hooper and Solley explain their viewpoints on standardized testing and whether or not it has positive or negative effects on students learning ability. The first type of criteria is examples, which helps with showing that the writer knows what he, or she is talking about. This is important because with evidence the reader knows that some of the paper is actually true and not bias information. In Hooper’s paper he claims schools would fail if they did not have standardized tests. In his second paragraph Hooper gives two scenarios between two different students. The first student is in a relaxed environment were they do not really know the objective, but as long as they pass the test made by...
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...Standardized Testing: Debunking the Myths Trestin M. Holmes Wiley College ENGL 1302 08 OL-English Composition Dr. Don Lawson November 17, 2014 Abstract The purpose of this research is to thoroughly examine the myths and preconceived notions pertaining to standardized testing and compare it with factual evidence. The criteria that will be used to accurately analyze this study will consist of evaluating the overall effectiveness of standardized testing in terms of student achievement, estimating how much of a financial burden standardized testing has proven to be in past years, and observing the adverse impact that standardized testing has had on children from a statistical & realistic standpoint. This will undoubtedly give insight on how much of a detriment standardized testing is in today’s society. Standardized Testing: Debunking the Myths What is Standardized Testing? A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. Any test in which the same test is given in the same manner to all test takers is a standardized test. Thesis Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800’s and its use has skyrocketed since the induction of 200’2’s “No Child Left Behind Act”...
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...Standardized Testing Standardized tests are very common throughout the United States. They are used to measure students’ academic performances in school. These tests vary from state to state in all grade levels. However, these tests are believed to be biased towards those students who come from higher-class neighborhoods, simply because they have more educational resources. I don’t believe that standardized testing is a good idea for many reasons. Standardized testing assesses students, teachers, and the school itself, which puts a great deal of pressure on the students. In classrooms all across America, students sit perched over their desks in the process of taking standardized tests. As the students take the tests, teachers pace nervously up and down the rows of their classroom, hoping and praying that their students can recall the information which they have presented. Some children sit relaxed at their desks, calmly filling in the bubbles and answering essay questions. These children are well prepared and equipped to handle their tests. Other children, however, sit hunched over their desks, pondering over questions, trying to guess an answer to choose. High scores show that the school is effective in teaching students, while low test scores make teachers and schools look as though they are not teaching the students properly. This is not always the case. There are teachers who do teach students what they need to know to pass the test, but their students are still unprepared...
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...Higher education is increasing as the years increase and the importance of grade standardization has increased. The emphasis on GPA, SAT, ACT and other standardized test have been placed on high scale of a students’ future success. Is this nonsense? Some professors feel that these standardizations are the best alternatives as it sets an equal scale for everyone of all ethnicities, genders, and races. Others argue that each individual cannot be grouped in the same category because of their differences in learning and testing strategies. With there being so many different aspects to determine the future of a person, there was a search for a standardization scale to be put in place, ultimately, matching the future of a person with the higher...
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...Results of Standardized Tests The main purposes of standardized tests are to maintain an equal education level across the country and have that level increase to better compete against other nations across the globe. In order to compete with global averages, it was believed that standardized tests were the most effective way in increasing the United States average. Therefore, a country heavily adopted in testing students with these standardized tests should have a steady increase in educational levels throughout the years, yet results show a different story. As a matter of fact standardized tests have not shown a beneficial increase in test scores but rather a slow but steady decrease in scores for some students. With these results in mind,...
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...There are advantages to standardized testing as a whole school instead of each individual. Standardized testing evaluates what is being taught to kids and compares the test scores with other schools. With the standardized test, the states can improve their schools by telling what to teach and what things to improve on. By doing this, the board of education can give equal chance to all students being taught for better future. If the board of education does not make school take standardized testing, then some schools will be teaching different things than other schools. This could be really unfair to students because then some students wouldn't have to work hard as some students in different schools do. With standardizing testing, all students...
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...No more testing. What do you think of this kind of testing is better or not?I think this kind of testing is better because you don’t have to take any test? I belief people should think this is helpful because you have you will not have to be testing anymore. I agree this because it's easier to work with you wont need to study much more or have more things to focus on at once. Standardized test is more helpful because less work, less stress,more time to study on or work on. First, I belief standardized testing is not helpful because more things are helpful that are gave to you. While you stress having to take big tests that means you have to study and...
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...The long history of standardized testing began in the 7th Century Imperial China where the test was administered to people seeking jobs in the government (Mathews). The tested used by the Chinese tested the applicants' knowledge of Confucian philosophy and were used up until 1898 (Crozier). For the Western world, the Industrial Revolution brought about the movement to bring school aged kids working in factories and on farms to the classroom. Standardized testing allowed the newly expanded student body to be tested efficiently (Jehlen). The use of standardized testing exponentially rose after the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 which mandated annual testing in all 50 states (Coulson). The use of standardized testing is now split into a like or dislike because of the amount of achievement, the reliability, and the amount of discrimination they bring. Achievement brings about the sense of accomplishment and opponents of standardized testing believe that standardized testing does not bring about a sense of accomplishment because standardized testing has not improved student achievement. After the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2002, the United States decreased from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment to 31st place in 2009 and with a lesser decrease in science but no change in the ranking for reading (Walker). Opponents of standardized testing use a National Research Council report from 2011 that found no evidence that...
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...of us have dreaded standardized testing. I know I have, as I was always trying to prepare myself whether it was taking classes offered after class, or just putting that extra time in at home. Standardized testing shouldn't be used to measure a students ability and knowledge in school. "The Council of Chief State School Officers and the country's largest school districts have spoken out in favor of reducing the number of standardized tests students take. The national teachers unions and other traditionally Democratic groups are on board with the idea too"(Kamenetz). Students aren't provided the feedback they'd like after taking a standardized test. One thing a student always looks forward to after taking a test is see their score along...
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