The way that the United States tests it’s students has changed many times since the beginning of public schooling and education. Nowadays, America uses a method known as “standardized testing”. A standardized test requires two key components: all test takers are required to answer the same questions, and all the tests are standard in the sense that they can all be easily compared to compile data. Some examples of these types of standardized tests are achievement based tests, aptitude tests, college-admissions tests, and international-comparison tests. Achievement based testing was designed to measure the knowledge of the test taker and to try and measure, in a comparable way, what the student has learned in their schooling. It is also used
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The tests has many not-so-hidden biases that disadvantage students of color, students of low-income households, students who are unfamiliar with American cultural conventions, students with disabilities, and students who are not proficient in English (Holmes 10). Many students who are not fluent in English are forced to take these tests in English before they have mastered the language (ProCon 1). This puts them at a huge disadvantage, and their scores most likely do not accurately represent their actual knowledge of what they tested over. If the test had been in their native language, they would have likely received higher marks. Students with disabilities are made to take the same tests as other students, receiving very few accommodations. This, clearly, is unfair to a student who cannot help their disabilities. They work at different paces and process things differently than able-bodied students, but are not given fair opportunities at success. Students from low-income families are likely not concerned with reading books every day, or studying. They are likely more concerned with getting through day-to-day life and stressing over whether or not they will be able to remain living in their house (Armstrong 1). Many low-income households can hardly afford their house payments or groceries, let alone textbooks and calculators. Their first priority is not school, …show more content…
Many find that using tests that include multiple choice answers are inadequate. Multiple choice tests encourage simplistic ways of thinking, implying that there are only right or wrong answers (ProCon 1). According to James Popham, these types of tests are weak measurers of complex material and to not properly assess what students can do in actual, real world tasks. ProCon also brings up the interesting point that the multiple choice format is inherently bias toward the male students. Studies show that males adapt far more easily to the “game-like” point scoring, which is precisely what multiple choice questions are (ProCon 1). Many teachers also teach their students the half-and-half method. Teachers tell their classroom, while preparing for a standardized test, that on most of the tests the multiple choice questions will have one or two obviously incorrect answers. This narrows the test taker’s choices down to two, so they have a fifty-fifty chance of getting the question right, regardless of whether or not they actually knew the answer to the question. This is another form of proof for how tests do not accurately measure what a student actually knows. Any student can narrow a question down to two answers. There is another form of advice given to students, like myself, where they are told to choose “b” or “c” if
The tests has many not-so-hidden biases that disadvantage students of color, students of low-income households, students who are unfamiliar with American cultural conventions, students with disabilities, and students who are not proficient in English (Holmes 10). Many students who are not fluent in English are forced to take these tests in English before they have mastered the language (ProCon 1). This puts them at a huge disadvantage, and their scores most likely do not accurately represent their actual knowledge of what they tested over. If the test had been in their native language, they would have likely received higher marks. Students with disabilities are made to take the same tests as other students, receiving very few accommodations. This, clearly, is unfair to a student who cannot help their disabilities. They work at different paces and process things differently than able-bodied students, but are not given fair opportunities at success. Students from low-income families are likely not concerned with reading books every day, or studying. They are likely more concerned with getting through day-to-day life and stressing over whether or not they will be able to remain living in their house (Armstrong 1). Many low-income households can hardly afford their house payments or groceries, let alone textbooks and calculators. Their first priority is not school, …show more content…
Many find that using tests that include multiple choice answers are inadequate. Multiple choice tests encourage simplistic ways of thinking, implying that there are only right or wrong answers (ProCon 1). According to James Popham, these types of tests are weak measurers of complex material and to not properly assess what students can do in actual, real world tasks. ProCon also brings up the interesting point that the multiple choice format is inherently bias toward the male students. Studies show that males adapt far more easily to the “game-like” point scoring, which is precisely what multiple choice questions are (ProCon 1). Many teachers also teach their students the half-and-half method. Teachers tell their classroom, while preparing for a standardized test, that on most of the tests the multiple choice questions will have one or two obviously incorrect answers. This narrows the test taker’s choices down to two, so they have a fifty-fifty chance of getting the question right, regardless of whether or not they actually knew the answer to the question. This is another form of proof for how tests do not accurately measure what a student actually knows. Any student can narrow a question down to two answers. There is another form of advice given to students, like myself, where they are told to choose “b” or “c” if