Standardized Testing is Debilitating our Education System Standardized testing is the misdirected efforts to improve education in the United States. Though the intent is good, the vehicle by which politicians and administrators have instituted to raise standards is not only flawed in its conception, but a waste of precious time and money resources.
No test has the capacity to stand supreme when it comes to accreditation of schools, allocation of federal funds, or determining the effectiveness of teachers in a classroom. Multiple choice tests have a particular deficiency in that they lack the adaptability to measure fairly based on socio-economic background, culture, race, learning styles, and language barriers. Studies have shown that there …show more content…
In Math the U.S. was ranked 18th in the year 2000 and slid to 27th in 2012. The science ranking took a similar decline during that time period while reading remained steady. (National Center for Education Statistics) The proof is before us, yet we are spending billions of dollars a year on testing without the results to substantiate the spending. (Phelps) Money in education is already at a premium, we do not need to spend needlessly on these tests when teacher retention and updated technology will actually make a difference in the classroom and go a long way in improving the education of our …show more content…
Put yourself in their shoes as they work in a difficult job, some in very challenging classrooms and then tie their compensation or even their entire job to the success of their students in a test which is shown to be bias. They become driven to succeed for their own preservation by teaching to the test which narrows the learning opportunities for their students while others have been driven to cheat by changing the answers on the test before sending them in. In several school districts throughout the country, hundreds of teachers have been charged with felony racketeering for changing answers on their students’ tests because their compensation and evaluations are being based on student scores. Teacher evaluations should be done on an individual basis by the Principal who can evaluate the teacher with appropriate standards that don’t tempt a teacher to cheat the system. Children are not getting a balanced and broad education as teachers are focusing on their students test performance which is tied to their own salary and promotion.
Policy makers like the standardized testing system because they feel it gives them a common standard with which to gauge the success of the education system. These same policy makers see multiple-choice tests, in particular, which are graded by machine and therefore are not subject to human subjectivity or bias and think they are therefore
No test has the capacity to stand supreme when it comes to accreditation of schools, allocation of federal funds, or determining the effectiveness of teachers in a classroom. Multiple choice tests have a particular deficiency in that they lack the adaptability to measure fairly based on socio-economic background, culture, race, learning styles, and language barriers. Studies have shown that there …show more content…
In Math the U.S. was ranked 18th in the year 2000 and slid to 27th in 2012. The science ranking took a similar decline during that time period while reading remained steady. (National Center for Education Statistics) The proof is before us, yet we are spending billions of dollars a year on testing without the results to substantiate the spending. (Phelps) Money in education is already at a premium, we do not need to spend needlessly on these tests when teacher retention and updated technology will actually make a difference in the classroom and go a long way in improving the education of our …show more content…
Put yourself in their shoes as they work in a difficult job, some in very challenging classrooms and then tie their compensation or even their entire job to the success of their students in a test which is shown to be bias. They become driven to succeed for their own preservation by teaching to the test which narrows the learning opportunities for their students while others have been driven to cheat by changing the answers on the test before sending them in. In several school districts throughout the country, hundreds of teachers have been charged with felony racketeering for changing answers on their students’ tests because their compensation and evaluations are being based on student scores. Teacher evaluations should be done on an individual basis by the Principal who can evaluate the teacher with appropriate standards that don’t tempt a teacher to cheat the system. Children are not getting a balanced and broad education as teachers are focusing on their students test performance which is tied to their own salary and promotion.
Policy makers like the standardized testing system because they feel it gives them a common standard with which to gauge the success of the education system. These same policy makers see multiple-choice tests, in particular, which are graded by machine and therefore are not subject to human subjectivity or bias and think they are therefore