Standardized Testing In Public Schools

Standardized testing are words that students do not want to hear. Standardized testing is deeply rooted in the history of the United States. Standardized tests are tools used to measure students’ knowledge and progress. Almost every person that has had an education in the United States has taken a standardized test. Today, standardized testing is a widespread issue in the United States’ public school curriculum. Education has always been an important part of America’s history. Laws about education go back to 1642, when the Massachusetts General Court passed a law that made it a duty to teach children “the principles of religion and…laws of the country,” so that they may “understand” them (Maranto 1). From George Washington’s “first address to Congress,” he noticed that the common “knowledge” of the citizens was spread across a broad spectrum. This was implemented towards the first national education system, which would be a university system. Since that point, there have been many tries at a reformation in the educational system leading to the first standardized test, which was created by Horace Mann in 1845, for the public schools in Boston (Maranto 1). The …show more content…
The Obama administration drafted the Common Core State Standards, released on June 2, 2010, which would provide a simpler set of standards providing better focus. The Common Core standards are not only “leaner” but are also set “higher”. These standards want students to gain the ability of reading and comprehending more difficult texts every school year. It also pushes for more elaboration on writing, so that students may be able to analyze “evidence” and reason from it. The standards in math are also raised, where students must be able to apply the math that they know “to solve problems.” The results of these standards are to be measured by more critical thinking standardized tests (Rothman