Standardized tests are bringing this nation down, they expect students to memorize a plethora of information that they most likely will never need in their future. Standardized tests are currently a very controversial issue, should they be kept to keep an equal grading system for students, or should tests be more tailored to students so that everyone can show off their individual skills rather than what they have memorized. Standardized tests force teachers to teach to them rather than teaching to the students need, which is causing them to change test answers so that they can get a good evaluation or a bonus that many teachers already deserve. Tests like the ACT and SAT don’t test all subjects, they only test for Math, English, Writing, Reading,
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Following the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on Jan. 8, 2002, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million to almost $1.1 billion in 2008 (a 160% increase compared to a 19.22% increase in inflation over the same period), according to the Pew Center on the States. This increase is unneeded, and it’s not helping children get the essence of school. They should be getting more individualized care, they should be spending the wasted test money on funding for more teachers, and more activities that stimulate children's personal growth. After the NCLB passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading. A May 26, 2011, National Research Council report found no evidence test-based incentive programs are working: "Despite using them for several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on achievement and to improve education” (Standardized Tests). Students aren’t getting very much out of theses tests, and we should be focusing on bettering the quality of our education system, rather than wasting money and resources on standardized …show more content…
NCLB's mandate begins in third grade, but schools test younger students so they will get used to taking tests. March, 2009 research from the Alliance for Childhood showed "time for play in most public kindergartens has dwindled to the vanishing point, replaced by lengthy lessons and standardized testing” (Miller and Almon). A three-year study completed in Oct. 2010 by the Gesell Institute of Human Development showed that increased emphasis on testing is making "children feel like failures now as early as PreK..." (Gesell Institute). Children especially at that age need time away from the classroom to play and gain social skills. When we deprive children from these activities they lose valuable skills that they will need later in life, because if kids have no social skills, and don’t have time to develop mentally and emotionally then they aren’t going to be ready for adulthood. We are leading them into certain demise where they will fail because we have not given them the skills they need to succeed in life. How are they going to hold a job when they can’t even talk to someone. Now some kids are already apt
Following the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on Jan. 8, 2002, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million to almost $1.1 billion in 2008 (a 160% increase compared to a 19.22% increase in inflation over the same period), according to the Pew Center on the States. This increase is unneeded, and it’s not helping children get the essence of school. They should be getting more individualized care, they should be spending the wasted test money on funding for more teachers, and more activities that stimulate children's personal growth. After the NCLB passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading. A May 26, 2011, National Research Council report found no evidence test-based incentive programs are working: "Despite using them for several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on achievement and to improve education” (Standardized Tests). Students aren’t getting very much out of theses tests, and we should be focusing on bettering the quality of our education system, rather than wasting money and resources on standardized …show more content…
NCLB's mandate begins in third grade, but schools test younger students so they will get used to taking tests. March, 2009 research from the Alliance for Childhood showed "time for play in most public kindergartens has dwindled to the vanishing point, replaced by lengthy lessons and standardized testing” (Miller and Almon). A three-year study completed in Oct. 2010 by the Gesell Institute of Human Development showed that increased emphasis on testing is making "children feel like failures now as early as PreK..." (Gesell Institute). Children especially at that age need time away from the classroom to play and gain social skills. When we deprive children from these activities they lose valuable skills that they will need later in life, because if kids have no social skills, and don’t have time to develop mentally and emotionally then they aren’t going to be ready for adulthood. We are leading them into certain demise where they will fail because we have not given them the skills they need to succeed in life. How are they going to hold a job when they can’t even talk to someone. Now some kids are already apt