Reliability Of Standardized Testing

Although there is an exuberant amount of research disproving that standardized tests are trustworthy and reliable, there are still people who stand behind it for multiple reasons. One reason as to why there are people and colleges who heavily trust the results of these scores is because so many kids take it, and according to statistical measures, the more people who participate in something, whether it be a survey or a test, the more accurate the yielded results are. Statistics states that in 2011, 1,666,017 students took the ACT and 1,664, 479 students took the SAT (Wikipedia). These massive numbers ensure that the test results produce generally accurate feedback that well represents the students that took the test. Another argument for the …show more content…
That is a civil rights issue” (Michelle Rhee). As Rhee contends, many believe that by having one test for any and all students and allowing the same amount of time for each and every student, this creates an environment that is fair for all, which then in return ensures that these tests are in fact, standardized. Yet another contention for this side of the story is that the Chinese have a very in depth history with standardized tests. One may question why China is of importance in this situation but, “China has a long tradition of standardized testing and leads the world in educational achievement” (“Standardized Testing”). So China serves as a prime example in the realm of testing that it is beneficial to society as a whole. Generally speaking, this side of this controversial topic has many advocated arguments that enhance their ideas that standardized testing is a safe measurement of college readiness and is accurate for all …show more content…
Bracey, there are numerous important characteristics that combine to create an accurate score measurement to dictate college readiness. One that stands out as an important variable is creativity and critical thinking. Colleges are looking for students who want to stand out and create questions and solve problems and push themselves to the fullest, but how does their ACT and SAT score reflect this quality in students? The answer is simply that it does not. These tests do not measure these qualities because, “they do not measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any field. Their use encourages a narrowed curriculum” (“What’s Wrong With Standardized Tests?”). As further explain by this text, creativity is not measured on standardized tests because of the narrow minded test topics. Overall, the ACT and SAT do not express many important qualities in determining college readiness, therefore, should not be relied on so