STANDARDIZED TESTING: Is It Effective?
Do you remember the excitement you experienced when you rushed home from elementary school, just to make sure you wouldn't miss the latest episode of your favorite TV show? Our whole life seemed to depend on whether or not Hannah Montana wrote her new song about Jake or Jesse. Likewise, this is how standardized testing appears to most high school kids; exciting and/or life-defining. Standardized tests are required for most students, but are they even effective? After researching the answer to this question, and today we will cover what I learned. First, we will listen to the benefits cause by testing, and then we will hear the second verse- the downsides of testing. Finally, we will examine at the use …show more content…
One of these reasons is that the exams are too large and generalized. Tests do not provide accurate readings of a student's success. In the article 'Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively Measure Student Achievement' written in 2012 on the database Opposing Viewpoints in Context, educational economist Richard Rothstein said that the "measurement of student achievement is complex- too complex for the social science" or standardized testing "methods presently available." The achievement of a student is too complex to measure. But what exactly is achievement? As stated in the Oxford Dictionary, achievement is anything done successfully with effort, skill, or courage. A test simply cannot measure a student's effort or courage. Harmoniously, testing is disagreeable because students should spend more time learning skills that won't be on the exam. Gerald Bracey, and education policy researcher pointed out that a teacher can't spend all her time 'teaching to the test' or she won't have time to teach other important abilities. Such skills would be leadership, integrity, and being a True Friend. If we want students to achieve these important attributes, then class time should not be spent memorizing for a test. Standardized testing does not provide accurate results, and it prohibits students from gaining important life skills. We have listened to the ups and downs in testing's melody let's peel back the …show more content…
Oxford English Dictionary. 2013.
Harris, Phillip, and Bruce Smith. "Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
McDermott, Ann. "Colleges Do Not Need SAT Scores to Be Selective in Admissions." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 5 Oct. 2016.
"Preface to 'Should Standardized Tests Be a Factor in College Admissions?'" College Admissions, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 5 Oct. 2016.
Walberg, Herbert. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 23 Sept.
Do you remember the excitement you experienced when you rushed home from elementary school, just to make sure you wouldn't miss the latest episode of your favorite TV show? Our whole life seemed to depend on whether or not Hannah Montana wrote her new song about Jake or Jesse. Likewise, this is how standardized testing appears to most high school kids; exciting and/or life-defining. Standardized tests are required for most students, but are they even effective? After researching the answer to this question, and today we will cover what I learned. First, we will listen to the benefits cause by testing, and then we will hear the second verse- the downsides of testing. Finally, we will examine at the use …show more content…
One of these reasons is that the exams are too large and generalized. Tests do not provide accurate readings of a student's success. In the article 'Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively Measure Student Achievement' written in 2012 on the database Opposing Viewpoints in Context, educational economist Richard Rothstein said that the "measurement of student achievement is complex- too complex for the social science" or standardized testing "methods presently available." The achievement of a student is too complex to measure. But what exactly is achievement? As stated in the Oxford Dictionary, achievement is anything done successfully with effort, skill, or courage. A test simply cannot measure a student's effort or courage. Harmoniously, testing is disagreeable because students should spend more time learning skills that won't be on the exam. Gerald Bracey, and education policy researcher pointed out that a teacher can't spend all her time 'teaching to the test' or she won't have time to teach other important abilities. Such skills would be leadership, integrity, and being a True Friend. If we want students to achieve these important attributes, then class time should not be spent memorizing for a test. Standardized testing does not provide accurate results, and it prohibits students from gaining important life skills. We have listened to the ups and downs in testing's melody let's peel back the …show more content…
Oxford English Dictionary. 2013.
Harris, Phillip, and Bruce Smith. "Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
McDermott, Ann. "Colleges Do Not Need SAT Scores to Be Selective in Admissions." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 5 Oct. 2016.
"Preface to 'Should Standardized Tests Be a Factor in College Admissions?'" College Admissions, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 5 Oct. 2016.
Walberg, Herbert. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2012. Accessed 23 Sept.