Standardized Testing Does Not Accurately Represent Educational Quality
Standardized tests are tests that are administered by the state and are graded in a consistent or “standard” manner. They are administered in hopes to measure a student's aptitude by assessing how well a student understands a collection of curriculum that the government deems is necessary for all high school students to understand. These tests are administered all across America. Tests such as the ACT and SAT are highly considered by colleges and universities in hopes to increase competition and ensure that only people who are “qualified” are allowed admittance to the school. Standardized tests are, in theory, necessary and beneficial to teachers and students …show more content…
A poll conducted by The Atlantic showed that only 11% of people use any type of math more advanced that basic geometry in their everyday jobs, whereas 86% of people use basic addition at their places of employment. The people who create these assessments steer away from questions that were answered correctly by 50% or more students. On the math portion of these tests, these questions that are often answered correctly are the basic addition and subtraction questions that 86% of people will actually use in their occupations. Is it not a horrific irony that questions with the math that almost nine out of ten people will use in their daily jobs are not even included in the exams because they are dubbed as “too simple.” These tests are designed to trick the people who take them. They are manufactured for the purpose of ascertaining what the students do not know or understand rather than assessing how well they do understand certain topics. They focus on the questions the students get wrong rather than focussing on the ones they get correct. This directly undermines and goes against the main goals of why people should be educated. One should not receive four years of education in high school in hopes to pass a test. The results of obtaining a good education should be to replace a dull mind not so much with useless information, but to …show more content…
On average, every year it costs 1.7 billion taxpayer dollars for these organizations to create standardized tests for high school students across America. Many people would not care if they believed that these tests helped better prepare students for life after high school. However, as mentioned before, these tests do the polar opposite. They hinder teachers from teaching their students and make them focus more on educating their students. They pressure students to focus more on learning what is necessary to pass the standardized tests rather than motivating the students to learn things that will be useful in life. High school students have stressful lives. Some have jobs, family issues, they have to figure out where they hope to go to college or what kind of job they wish to have. Standardized testing puts unnecessary stress on these students. They know that if they do poorly on one test, that it will likely change their lives forever. They will likely not be accepted to the college of their choice and may not get the degree necessary to obtain the occupation they hope to gain. They are also commonly insecure about many things. Some may think they’re weird or dumb. It is therefore wrong to compare students to each other. It is similar to comparing apples to oranges. People are
Standardized tests are tests that are administered by the state and are graded in a consistent or “standard” manner. They are administered in hopes to measure a student's aptitude by assessing how well a student understands a collection of curriculum that the government deems is necessary for all high school students to understand. These tests are administered all across America. Tests such as the ACT and SAT are highly considered by colleges and universities in hopes to increase competition and ensure that only people who are “qualified” are allowed admittance to the school. Standardized tests are, in theory, necessary and beneficial to teachers and students …show more content…
A poll conducted by The Atlantic showed that only 11% of people use any type of math more advanced that basic geometry in their everyday jobs, whereas 86% of people use basic addition at their places of employment. The people who create these assessments steer away from questions that were answered correctly by 50% or more students. On the math portion of these tests, these questions that are often answered correctly are the basic addition and subtraction questions that 86% of people will actually use in their occupations. Is it not a horrific irony that questions with the math that almost nine out of ten people will use in their daily jobs are not even included in the exams because they are dubbed as “too simple.” These tests are designed to trick the people who take them. They are manufactured for the purpose of ascertaining what the students do not know or understand rather than assessing how well they do understand certain topics. They focus on the questions the students get wrong rather than focussing on the ones they get correct. This directly undermines and goes against the main goals of why people should be educated. One should not receive four years of education in high school in hopes to pass a test. The results of obtaining a good education should be to replace a dull mind not so much with useless information, but to …show more content…
On average, every year it costs 1.7 billion taxpayer dollars for these organizations to create standardized tests for high school students across America. Many people would not care if they believed that these tests helped better prepare students for life after high school. However, as mentioned before, these tests do the polar opposite. They hinder teachers from teaching their students and make them focus more on educating their students. They pressure students to focus more on learning what is necessary to pass the standardized tests rather than motivating the students to learn things that will be useful in life. High school students have stressful lives. Some have jobs, family issues, they have to figure out where they hope to go to college or what kind of job they wish to have. Standardized testing puts unnecessary stress on these students. They know that if they do poorly on one test, that it will likely change their lives forever. They will likely not be accepted to the college of their choice and may not get the degree necessary to obtain the occupation they hope to gain. They are also commonly insecure about many things. Some may think they’re weird or dumb. It is therefore wrong to compare students to each other. It is similar to comparing apples to oranges. People are