Cons Of Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has been a common trend all across the world. There are many pros and cons pertaining to standardized testing. According to the National Education Association (NEA), “The tests as we know them today were not used until the late 1920s and College Board created the very first SAT and still is responsible for these tests today.”(Alcocer & Fletcher, 2009) Students begin taking standardized tests in pre-kindergarten and continue the practice beyond the end of their high school career. “On average, by the time a student graduates high school, the individual has taken close to 112 standardized tests.”(Strauss, 2015) With the growing popularity of tests such as these, the reliability has also become a question. Research has …show more content…
“Some inclusive external factors are, but are not limited to one’s home life, anything that happens prior to taking the test, location of test and the number of other students in the room.”(Columbia University, 2013) Standardized test scores can also be inaccurate due to the high percentage of students with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disorders not receiving the adequate support needed. Scores from this type of test indicates where a student ranks based on an ‘average’ score instead of skills or objectives mastered. It has been documented that, “Students have begun to memorize information instead of learning the material resulting in guessing when they do not know the answer due to the test multiple choice style.”(Alcocer & Fletcher, …show more content…
“With standardized tests becoming a norm for students and teachers alike, students begin to feel more pressure to do well on the tests.”(Columbia University, 2013) This stress increases once a student learns that the standardized tests could even determine if they fail their grade or are accepted into college. Consequently, some children are beginning to develop test anxiety even to the extent of developing lifelong health problems. It is a well known fact that stress is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and eating disorders as well as insomnia. “Instead of learning from experiences, student populations are learning test taking skills.”(Ravitch, 2016) Test taking skills will not be helpful outside of the classroom and will not generate success in today's world. “Teachers feel the need to “teach to the test” so that their students' scores are high enough for them to keep their jobs.”(Columbia University, 2013) As a result of this method, teachers feel the added stress. The problem is that ‘teaching to the test’ is a practice that limits a students potential and the knowledge which they are capable of