1.6 million students sat down and took the dreaded ACT in the year 2013. Of those 1.6 million at least a few questioned the origin and reason of a four-and-a-half-hour test. (NYT) The answer is simple. The first record of standardized tests came from China to test knowledge on “Confucian philosophy and poetry.”() It was introduced in the Western world as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the increased number of children coming into the schools. ()For almost every student in the 1.6 million this is not the first standardized test either. Many have been taking the standardized examinations for as long as they have been in school. These tests have become a standard in the lives of American students. The score looms over students and teachers
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From the time students start middle school they are drowned with daunting information concerning the ACT (or SAT, depending on the region). Students are presaged about a test that will test them on skills they have not yet developed. In addition, unlike some tests they may have taken in elementary school this test will determine where they go to college, how many scholarships they get, and possibly what job they will obtain when they are done with school. Then, they are given a ‘practice test’, such as the Explorer, for a test at least another four or five years away. The results of this test will tell them how many college courses they will be ready for when they graduate in about six years, where they will be able to go to college and things they have to do to improve. However, The students are only just learning how to put in a locker combination. Information about a test that is years away and yet needs to be studied for today only increases the amount of stress. The pressure that is put on the students distracts them from what they should be learning which is how to think and draw conclusions for …show more content…
A standardized test provides a standard that teachers can work toward while at the same time snuffing out the creativity in the classroom. Each person has an identity, a background, a story. The millions of students who have taken the test cannot all be accurately characterized by a number from one to thirty-six. As students grow, however, the number becomes the focal point. It leads to college, and success, they are told. The stress this can put on a student is outstanding. Students are also taught how to cheat the test to ‘eliminate' the stress. By using strategies like LOTD students learn that a superficial approach is the best way to get a good result. After all, it is impossible to excel in all subjects and since many standardized tests only test in a few focused areas the student who excels in psychology is forgotten. The student loses their identity. They lose creativity and determination. They forget about self-awareness and motivation. Above all, the test that is supposed to show students how to prepare them for college, and the rest of their futures, forgets one thing. It forgets, that college is not a series of multiple choice tests that can be outsmarted. So, to the 1.6 million students who sat down to take a four-and-a-half-hour test, the answer is
From the time students start middle school they are drowned with daunting information concerning the ACT (or SAT, depending on the region). Students are presaged about a test that will test them on skills they have not yet developed. In addition, unlike some tests they may have taken in elementary school this test will determine where they go to college, how many scholarships they get, and possibly what job they will obtain when they are done with school. Then, they are given a ‘practice test’, such as the Explorer, for a test at least another four or five years away. The results of this test will tell them how many college courses they will be ready for when they graduate in about six years, where they will be able to go to college and things they have to do to improve. However, The students are only just learning how to put in a locker combination. Information about a test that is years away and yet needs to be studied for today only increases the amount of stress. The pressure that is put on the students distracts them from what they should be learning which is how to think and draw conclusions for …show more content…
A standardized test provides a standard that teachers can work toward while at the same time snuffing out the creativity in the classroom. Each person has an identity, a background, a story. The millions of students who have taken the test cannot all be accurately characterized by a number from one to thirty-six. As students grow, however, the number becomes the focal point. It leads to college, and success, they are told. The stress this can put on a student is outstanding. Students are also taught how to cheat the test to ‘eliminate' the stress. By using strategies like LOTD students learn that a superficial approach is the best way to get a good result. After all, it is impossible to excel in all subjects and since many standardized tests only test in a few focused areas the student who excels in psychology is forgotten. The student loses their identity. They lose creativity and determination. They forget about self-awareness and motivation. Above all, the test that is supposed to show students how to prepare them for college, and the rest of their futures, forgets one thing. It forgets, that college is not a series of multiple choice tests that can be outsmarted. So, to the 1.6 million students who sat down to take a four-and-a-half-hour test, the answer is