This picture seems recognizable. A student stumbling out of bed, starting the process of getting ready for school. But wait. This is the day, the week, that they have been dreading all year. It is the beginning of standardized testing week, the week the school had been preparing the students for since the beginning of the semester. It was finally here.
According to the New York Times article, How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities by Michael Gonchar, “Students have faced an increasing number of standardized tests from the government — at federal, state and local levels.” With the increasing number of these tests, do they really measure the student's abilities? Sad to say, they don’t. Standardized tests …show more content…
“When next some standardized test scores are found to be incorrect or fraudulent (because they will), or some standardized testing company commits or tries to cover up another egregious error (because they will), perhaps then we can admit large-scale assessment isn't the panacea it's often been touted to be (Farley).” There are many alternatives to standardized testing that not only truly show the student’s intelligence and abilities but also the school’s effectiveness. “Other measures can show how well schools are performing. These indicators include high school graduation rates and the number of dropouts, enrollments in advanced placement and other college prep courses, college acceptance rates, including scholarships, and college remediation rates for recent high school graduates (education.cu-portland.edu).” These indicators, as well as local and classroom evidence of learning, GPA, and AP/Concurrent Enrollment courses, can also better demonstrate the student’s abilities and intelligence. This would enable educators to use multiple measures to evaluate higher order thinking skills and deeper knowledge rather than standardized tests. Isn’t the goal of education to get students to develop higher level thinking and problem solve for themselves
According to the New York Times article, How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities by Michael Gonchar, “Students have faced an increasing number of standardized tests from the government — at federal, state and local levels.” With the increasing number of these tests, do they really measure the student's abilities? Sad to say, they don’t. Standardized tests …show more content…
“When next some standardized test scores are found to be incorrect or fraudulent (because they will), or some standardized testing company commits or tries to cover up another egregious error (because they will), perhaps then we can admit large-scale assessment isn't the panacea it's often been touted to be (Farley).” There are many alternatives to standardized testing that not only truly show the student’s intelligence and abilities but also the school’s effectiveness. “Other measures can show how well schools are performing. These indicators include high school graduation rates and the number of dropouts, enrollments in advanced placement and other college prep courses, college acceptance rates, including scholarships, and college remediation rates for recent high school graduates (education.cu-portland.edu).” These indicators, as well as local and classroom evidence of learning, GPA, and AP/Concurrent Enrollment courses, can also better demonstrate the student’s abilities and intelligence. This would enable educators to use multiple measures to evaluate higher order thinking skills and deeper knowledge rather than standardized tests. Isn’t the goal of education to get students to develop higher level thinking and problem solve for themselves