The Truth about Standardized Testing “In the course of their careers in the American schools of today, most students take hundreds, if not thousands, of tests. They develop a skill to a highly calibrated degree in an exercise that will essentially become useless immediately after their last day in school.” – Howard Gardner 1991 The NCLB (No Child Left Behind) act was implemented in the year 2001 by President Bush as a way to improve our education system in America. A way that has caused for an over emphasis on testing while holding teachers accountable for those results; thus leading to lecturing and teaching to the test as a way to engage students rather than teaching them what they truly need in life to be successful. The truth is Standardized
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Through the use of studies we have been able to see that standardized testing is the most efficient way of measuring the competence, intelligence, and the intellect of students by being both unbiased and comprehensive. “Student performance is a crucial element of a metaphorical three-legged stool that also includes standards and learning. When one leg is weak or missing, educational programs may be faulty, but if all three are strong, the program can be strong. Standardized tests are used to measure the student performance leg of this stool.” – Herbert J. Walberg. The use of standardized test range from admissions for college to licensing and qualifications for skilled occupations to even professional jobs in the fields of medicine and law. Development can be shown over a span of time with use. We are able to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of both teachers and students in a cost effective way. The cost of testing is less than 0.1% of the overall budget of the K-12 education, averaging about less than $6 per student per test. It can also allow for more field questions to be answered in the same amount of time it would take a student to complete an exam with a few questions and an essay given by a teacher. Students benefit from knowing information based on their ability to master the materials intended for learning. (Walberg, Herbert …show more content…
● Approximately thirty percent of high school students who start high school dropout.
● Eighty-eight percent of high school dropouts have passing grades.
● Fifty percent of high school dropouts leave because they 're bored
● “Boring” was the number-one word chosen by high school students that best described their high school experience.
● “Nothing” was the number-one choice by high school students when asked what they liked about high school.
● One primary reason for dropping out of college is because of poor or indifferent teaching. Wurdinger, Scott D. p.7-8)
What Should Be Done to Fix our Education
Through the use of studies we have been able to see that standardized testing is the most efficient way of measuring the competence, intelligence, and the intellect of students by being both unbiased and comprehensive. “Student performance is a crucial element of a metaphorical three-legged stool that also includes standards and learning. When one leg is weak or missing, educational programs may be faulty, but if all three are strong, the program can be strong. Standardized tests are used to measure the student performance leg of this stool.” – Herbert J. Walberg. The use of standardized test range from admissions for college to licensing and qualifications for skilled occupations to even professional jobs in the fields of medicine and law. Development can be shown over a span of time with use. We are able to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of both teachers and students in a cost effective way. The cost of testing is less than 0.1% of the overall budget of the K-12 education, averaging about less than $6 per student per test. It can also allow for more field questions to be answered in the same amount of time it would take a student to complete an exam with a few questions and an essay given by a teacher. Students benefit from knowing information based on their ability to master the materials intended for learning. (Walberg, Herbert …show more content…
● Approximately thirty percent of high school students who start high school dropout.
● Eighty-eight percent of high school dropouts have passing grades.
● Fifty percent of high school dropouts leave because they 're bored
● “Boring” was the number-one word chosen by high school students that best described their high school experience.
● “Nothing” was the number-one choice by high school students when asked what they liked about high school.
● One primary reason for dropping out of college is because of poor or indifferent teaching. Wurdinger, Scott D. p.7-8)
What Should Be Done to Fix our Education