Persuasive Essay On High Stakes Testing

Introduction Everyone remembers the massive amount of preparation that went into getting ready to take the SAT or ACT. The anxiety and the unbearable suspense while waiting to get your scores. Unfortunately, many remember the disappointment when they realized they could not get into the college of their dreams because their scores were not up to the college’s standards. Recently in the United States, the number of high stakes tests that a student must endure has increased, and, as hard as it may be to believe, the stakes have risen—both for students and teachers. It has led many to ask, are these tests even worth it?

Historical Overview
Many people believe that the roots of this newly expanded high stakes testing can be traced back to Russia’s …show more content…
Nichols and Berliner apply the Campbell’s principle to the situation which states “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor”. One example of administrative corruption occurred in Texas when administrators gave incorrect ID numbers to students who scored poorly so their scores would not be counted toward the district average. In other instances, principles have given teachers the test booklets early and have instructed teachers to go over the test with their students to prepare them. The number of examples listed in Nichol’s and Berliner’s report was shocking and disappointing. It just shows the pressure these teachers are feeling due to these high stakes tests. The pressure is also felt be students, and the report listed a number of times when student cheating was discovered on high stakes tests (Nichols and Berliner 2005). Many occurrences of cheating most likely go unreported. It leads to question whether the tests are worth it if they are just teaching